From East to West: The Army Public Affairs regional offices — your resourcesacross the country

While the Office of the Chief of Public Affairs regional offices have similar roles, different niches make each one unique:

Master Sergeants Jeremy Crisp, Adam Shaw and Kimberly Green are the senior NCOs at the Office of the Chief of Public Affairs regional offices, respectively, in New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles.

OCPA – Northeast (New York City)

By Master Sgt. Jeremy Crisp

Growing up a small-town country kid in Texas, I never had aspirations to be in the big city. My natural reaction on finding out about my new assignment to the Big Apple last summer went something like this: “New York City? What? Why?”

Several months in, however, I now realize the magnitude of the opportunity I’ve been afforded, and I want to share with all of you what it is we do. While it is true the New York office handles the Army Book Program, it’s a fairly small part of our mission.

OCPA-NE hosted Lt. Gen. Nadja West, U.S. Army surgeon general and commander, U.S. Army Medical Command, for a series of engagements throughout New York City, to include an interview with The New York Times, a meeting with the Business Executives for National Security (BENS) and others. Seen here, she shakes the hand of Dr. Levi McIntyre, superintendent of schools, Brentwood Union Free School District, at a school event in Brentwood Hamlet, Islip, New York, May 2, 2017.

What we really focus on is building relationships, which leads to opportunities to tell the Army story at the national level — your Army story.

Whether that is through senior leader engagements, or working to tell a unique story through a variety of venues and mediums, we have you covered.

For instance, last year on Veterans Day, we worked with the 82nd Airborne Division to have their NCO and Paratrooper of the Year in the city during the NYC Veterans Day Parade. We planned events such as appearances on Good Morning America, Sirius/XM, Public Access Radio, marching in the parade, a VIP trip to the top of the One World Trade Center building, a VIP tour of the 9/11 Memorial Museum, and ringing the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange.

An 82nd Airborne Division fan poses for pictures with the 82nd Airborne Division NCO and Paratrooper of the year (left). The 82nd’s Spc. Joshua Denman is interviewed on Sirius/XM Patriot channel.

We have connections with numerous entities, and continue to develop more. Examples include:

Think tanks: Council on Foreign Relations, New America, Carnegie Council, Harvard Business School Club.

Education: Columbia University, John Jay College, New York Institute of Technology

Magazines: GQ, Men’s Journal, Marie Claire, Allure, Popular Mechanics, The New Yorker.

Media/Entertainment: ABC, NBC, Fox, Bloomberg, CNN, The Harry Connick Jr. Show, The Rachel Ray Show, Vice.

When it comes to senior leader engagements, our office can work up a full engagement schedule for your leader, with the goal of engaging all of the ‘Meet your Army’ key publics. Or, we can help round out an already planned visit.

National-level story? We can help push it, or we can work with you to come up with unique ways to help tell your story.

We have the relationships, and we are here to help you!

The OCPA-Northeast Team is led by Mr. John Manley.

Deputy Director: Lt. Col. Jason (Jay) Billington

NCOIC: Master Sgt. Jeremy Crisp.

Phone numbers: 212–784–0111/0112/0113/0114

Facebook: @ArmyPAONortheast

Instagram: @U.S.ArmyNYC

OCPA – Midwest (Chicago)

By Master Sgt. Adam Shaw

We don’t have the glamour of Hollywood or the bright lights of Broadway, but Chicago is a perfect mixture of big city attractions and Midwest hospitality. When I was assigned to OCPA-Midwest, I thought it was going to be primarily setting up color guards and flag details for sports teams, doing a little work with the Steve Harvey Show and running into Oprah at Whole Foods every now and then.

While two of the three have happened, our office is much more than the sports office, we are a conduit for government, civic and industry leaders in the Midwest to meet with U.S. Army senior leaders. Our focus is to inform centers of influence in the Midwest who have or potentially could have impacts on the Army’s ability to fight and win our nation’s wars.

Left: Lt. Gen. Kenneth Dahl, commander, Installation Management Command, walks down the streets of Chicago during the 2016 Memorial Day Parade with Chicago Mayor Rahm Emmanuel. Right: Staff Sgt. Leon Harrison is recognized as the Chicago White Sox “Hero of the Game,” May 9, 2017.

As an example, we recently had the Vice Chief of Staff of the Army General Daniel Allyn speak at a dinner for the Young Presidents Organization. He spoke to nearly 100 industry leaders from Chicagoland about Army operational tempo and the direction of the Army in the Contemporary Operational Environment. These opportunities to inform key influencers are vital to the Army’s long-term success.

Our office can help you get your message out to a larger audience by providing speaking opportunities, sports recognition, and a variety of community relations events across the Midwest.

Special Assistant to the U.S. Army Surgeon General/Army Medical Commander Brig. Gen. Ronald Place speaks to nearly 100 researchers and athletic trainers during the Big Ten Conference and The Ivy League TBI Summit, July 19.

We work with organizations such as: Young Presidents Organization, Union League Club, Business Executives for National Security, Pritzker Military Library, McCormick Foundation, Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs, Chicago Mayor’s Office, Cubs, White Sox, Bulls, Blackhawks and Bears.

The OCPA-Midwest Team is led by the Director: LTC Matthew Gregory

Deputy Director: MSG Adam Shaw

Phone # 312–596–4416/4417

Facebook: @USArmyPublicAffairsMidwest

OCPA– West (Los Angeles)

By Master Sgt. Kimberly Green

Whether you’re a musical hopeful, creative entrepreneur or a Soldier, LA is the place to be if you have a dream to sell or a story to tell.

Here in Hollywood, I truly realize that being able to share the Army’s story has never been more important and being able to help others tell it accurately isn’t as easy as I thought.

It’s Big Screen vs. Reality. At times it can be practically impossible for a movie to realistically portray the Army and still be entertaining.

We have all seen a movie or two, depicting Army Soldiers, and said to yourself — wait for it … cause you already know you’re about to see some crazy unrealistic scenario.

That’s where we come in. It’s always lights, camera, action at OCPA-LA!

Left: A 1st Cavalry Division MEDEVAC crew member explains to Long Road Home executive producers how to properly provide advanced trauma care while in flight. The MEDEVAC team will be featured in the upcoming series this fall. Right: Mikael Salomon, exec. producer, Long Road Home, reviews a scene on set at Fort Hood.

We serve as the entertainment industry’s direct liaison to the Army. Our goal is to educate American and global audiences about who we are, what we do, and how we do it.

We do this by ensuring a realistic/plausible portrayal of U.S. Army personnel, equipment and installations.

We assist directors, producers and writers with:

• Feature film/television script review
• Coordination for use of personnel and equipment
• Obtaining Army stock photos and footage
• On-site technical military assistance

Our office has become a beacon for Hollywood and all who want to get the Army story right.

Some of our supported projects are:

• Jackie showcased the “The Old Guard”
• The Fate of the Furious featured the Ripsaw Unmanned Ground Vehicle
• The Last Knight, featured COL Lennox, an Army Soldier played by Josh Duhamel

The eighth installment of the Fast and Furious blockbuster franchise “The Fate of the Furious” featured the U.S. Army’s developmental unmanned “Ripsaw” vehicle driven in the movie by Tej (Ludacris). OCPA-LA supported filming in Atlanta, GA and Iceland.

Coming this fall, The Long Road Home, a National Geographic miniseries documents the 1st Cavalry Division’s 2004 brutal two-day firefight in Iraq. Four months of filming took place on Fort Hood, Texas.

Early 2018 Jerry Bruckheimer’s production of Horse Soldiers will hit the big screen.

While our primary mission is the entertainment industry we continuously seek opportunities to showcase the American Soldier and all that they do for our nation through community outreach planning, television appearances and media engagements.

So, the next time your Soldier wants to appear on a reality TV show or you receive a call from industry professionals requesting to film your personnel, installation or equipment, please send them our way. We’re here to help you tell your story morally, legally and accurately.

For OCPA-LA FAQs visit https://www.army.mil/info/institution/publicAffairs/ocpa-west/faq.html

The OCPA-West team is led by Director Mr. Kenneth Hawes.

Deputy Director: Lt. Col. Timothy Hyde

NCOIC: Master Sgt. Kimberly Green

310–279–8342

Facebook: @USArmyEntertainmentOffice

Master Sergeant Jeremy Crisp has been in Army Public Affairs 16 years and has worked in a variety of positions ranging from a Special Forces Group, to AFN, to numerous others at the operational and SRC 45 levels. His most recent assignment before joining the OCPA-Northeast team in summer 2016 was at Training with Industry at Siemens Corporation in New Jersey.

Master Sergeant Adam Shaw has been in Army Public Affairs for nearly 17 years. He joined the OPCA-Midwest team in January 2017 after serving as the First Sergeant of the 7th MPAD at Fort Hood. His previous assignments include DMA, AFN stations in Afghanistan, Heidelberg, Wuerzburg, the 16th Sustainment Brigade, the Broadcast Center and the 2nd Infantry Division.

Master Sergeant Kimberly Green has been in Army Public Affairs for a little more than 20 years and has literally been all over the map. Her previous assignments include duty as a detailed recruiter in Louisiana and Training with Industry at USAA in San Antonio. Her most recent assignment, before joining OCPA-LA in the fall of 2016, was as the NCOIC at the 2nd Infantry Division in Korea.