Public Affairs

The Air Force Public Affairs career field manages how the service communicates with the American public, the news media, and its own people. 35P Public Affairs Officers advise commanders on communication strategy, respond to media queries, produce internal news and broadcast content, and represent the Air Force in community engagement. When a major exercise goes public, when an accident happens on base, or when a commander needs to address Congress, a PA officer is in the room.

This career field is a fit for communicators who want their work to matter. The audience isn’t a marketing demographic, it’s journalists, congressional staffers, military families, and foreign publics. The stakes are real and the pace is fast. PA officers deploy alongside combat units to manage battlefield communication, not just write press releases from a desk at home station.

The 35P AFSC is the single designator in this field. Initial skills training runs through the Defense Information School (DINFOS) at Fort Meade, MD, giving 35P officers a foundation shared with public affairs counterparts across all military branches.

At a Glance

Which Role Fits You?

With one AFSC in this field, the choice is whether Air Force Public Affairs fits your goals better than adjacent careers, or whether it’s the right mix of communication work and military service for you.

If media relations and crisis communication are your strengths, the 35P role puts you directly in front of reporters, broadcast outlets, and social media audiences. You’ll learn to work a beat that never stops: any event on base or involving Air Force personnel can become a national story within hours. PA officers who thrive here are comfortable on camera, fast writers, and clear thinkers under pressure.

If broadcast and multimedia production interest you more than media relations, the field also covers visual information and internal communication. You’ll work with enlisted broadcast specialists and photojournalists to produce content that tells the Air Force story to both internal and external audiences. DINFOS training gives you a working foundation in broadcast journalism before your first assignment.

If you’re drawn more to strategic communication at the policy level, PA officers with enough experience move into public affairs positions at major commands, combatant commands, and the Pentagon. Those assignments focus more on communication strategy and less on daily media operations.

PA officers sometimes weigh this field against a civilian communications career or against Air Force Force Support, which handles morale and community programs. The key difference is scope and stakes: PA officers own the Air Force’s public narrative in ways that a civilian communications role at a mid-sized organization doesn’t replicate. See the comparison table above for commissioning and training details.

Common Entry Requirements

All 35P Public Affairs Officer candidates must commission through ROTC, OTS, or the Air Force Academy and hold at least a bachelor’s degree. Degrees in journalism, communications, public relations, or a related field are competitive, but the Air Force does not mandate a specific major. U.S. citizenship is required. A Secret security clearance is required. Initial skills training takes place at DINFOS, Fort Meade, MD, which is the DoD’s joint public affairs school. All 35P officers must meet Air Force physical fitness standards. See the 35P profile below for specific application requirements, training duration, and first-assignment details.

Career Field Directory

• 35P Public Affairs Officer, communications officers advising commanders, managing media relations, and producing Air Force broadcast and editorial content

Related Resources

Explore all Air Force officer career paths to compare public affairs against other commissioning opportunities. Candidates preparing to apply through OTS should review the OTS preparation guide for academic and fitness requirements.