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Airmen have chance to get hometown ink

  • Published
  • By Maj. Angela O'Connell
  • Tinker Public Affairs
TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla., --  Americans have been singing, writing and reminiscing about their hometown for decades. Songs like "My Hometown" by Bruce Springsteen or "Where I Come From" by Alan Jackson indicate that hometowns, regardless of how large or small, are still a source of identity and pride. 

The Hometown News Release program is a way for Airman to stay in touch with their hometown even when they are on the other side of the world. It is a simple program with great rewards that few take advantage of. 

"The Air Force began its legacy of connecting Airmen to their family and friends back home in 1960 with the creation of the Air Force Hometown News Center at Tinker," said Rich Lamance, chief of the print division for the Army and Air Force Hometown News Service. "In 1979, the Air Force center at Tinker merged with the Army center at Kansas City and moved to Kelly Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas to form what today is called the Army and Air Force Hometown News Service." 

Their mission is to get the story of the people in the Air Force to their friends and loved ones back home, creating a better understanding of what the Air Force does and the individual's role in the mission. 

"Since the merger, Hometown News has highlighted the accomplishments of more than five million men and women worldwide with more than 30 million news releases to media outlets from across the nation," said Mr. Lamance. According to their Web site, the news center distributed more than 750,000 individual news releases last year.
The center receives news stories, photographs and video from local public affairs offices for release. The material is then processed and released. 

"The system is easy and the Air Force has taken all of the guess work out of it," said Kathy Paine, chief of current operations and manager of the local HTNR program here. "An Airman can access the electronic HTNR form on-line, 24-hours a day from any location at Tinker's public site (www.tinker.af.mil). They can also fill out a DD Form 2266 and drop it by the PA Office. In as little as five minutes, you can connect with the folks back home." 

In the past, a release would've been released by a shot-in-the-dark approach to media outlets by a public affairs officer with little chance of seeing a story in print. The success of the HTNR program stems from their targeting of news agencies that want to be a part of spreading the great things military personnel are accomplishing. 

"Each media customer provides the Hometown News Service with a list of ZIP Codes that provide coverage for that media outlet's readership or viewer/listener area," said Mr. Lamance. "That means that the media outlet not only wants the release, but wants a release for that particular coverage area - a combination that gives the success rate of the media using the news releases at between 85 and 95 percent." 

To accomplish this mission, the HTNR program is affiliated with more than 14,000 newspapers, radio and television outlets signed on as customers. 

"People back home - parents, brothers, sisters, friends, former schoolmates even strangers, are interested in your accomplishments," said Mr. Lamance. "It's a link that keeps you connected throughout your Air Force career to those who mean the most in a place you call home."