We seem to be suggesting that the MOD spokesman in the PCM/
PR situation should be someone very senior.
In certain circumstances it may well be appropriate for an Air Officer to front the media. OTOH the best person is often the station commander of the relevant unit. The station commander will know the background and therefore not need a background brief. They will be able to face the cameras and field fast balls questions more easily than an imported
PR person.
After a Harrier crash, about 10 years ago, the Wittering Station Commander gave an early press brief that was an exemplar of its kind.
Where the MOD often seems spectacularly inept is when the
PR person is one of the professional
PR heads. Excellent PRO may be, but often too generalist and therefore not as credible as the man at the front.
Examples of good, on the ground, PROs are the ones at Kinloss or in East Anglia although the latter is off somewhere hot, sandy and hilly very soon.