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(Date Posted:08/20/2009 01:12:08)
Now is the time to ask Secretary of Defense Gates if he is in favor of the Cold War Victory Medal,
and will he support and issue the medal this year. Go to http://www.defense.gov to ask your
question.
http://www.defenselink.mil//news/newsarticle.aspx?id=55540
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Aug. 19, 2009 – Got questions you’d like to pose directly
to the defense secretary or chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff? Now
is your chance!
Robert M. Gates and Navy Adm. Mike Mullen have launched interactive, virtual town hall sessions through the Internet.
The
initiatives are part of a broad administration effort to connect more
closely with the military, the American public and people overseas. The
goal, officials explained, is to provide a forum for people to ask
questions or offer suggestions or insights and get direct feedback.
The
new Defense Department home page that went live this week features a
prominently placed “Ask the Secretary” section. Anyone visiting
http://www.defense.gov -- military members, American citizens, people
overseas -- can submit a question to Gates.
Questions will be
accepted for two weeks, then participants in the town hall will have
another two weeks to vote on the questions submitted. The secretary
will answer the five to 10 questions that top the list.
Meanwhile,
Mullen launched an “Ask the Chairman” venue yesterday that enables
anyone to pose a question to him via YouTube. The virtual town hall is
open to everyone, whether they’re in the military or a military family
or simply care about military issues, officials said.
Viewers
can ask questions about whatever is on their minds -- the wars in
Afghanistan or Iraq, what the military is doing for wounded warriors
and families, the new Post-9/11 GI Bill or another topic of interest --
by visiting http://www.youtube.com/dodvclips.
“The chairman
really wants to have a conversation with the troops akin to the way he
does all-hands calls at bases all over the world,” Navy Capt. John
Kirby, Mullen’s public affairs officer, told American Forces Press
Service. "He wanted that conversation to be as interactive as possible
and reflective of what is on their minds.”
Aug. 31 is the
deadline to submit video questions. After the deadline, Mullen will
watch questions submitted by YouTube viewers, then respond in a
podcast, officials said.
Price Floyd, principal deputy
assistant secretary of defense for public affairs, said taking
advantage of new media tools will enable Pentagon leaders to engage in
an important two-way conversation with the public.
“We do live
in a democracy, and that feedback from people is important to know what
they’re thinking, what they believe is important,” he said. “It’s their
national security policy, it’s not ours. It’s theirs. The president was
elected, and he appointed people here at the Defense Department to
lead, but it starts with the American people.”
The White House
is planning a similar interactive venue for President Barack Obama to
take questions directly from U.S. troops deployed in the U.S. Central
Command area of operations.
(If you have questions or comments about this story, contact the reporter at donna.miles@osd.mil.)
We are going to need a lot of people asking this question and then followup in the second round. He will only answer 5 to 10 questions. Jerry
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Illegitimi Non Carborundum
US Navy 1960-1970
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