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    • Francis Steele
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JOCM John Burlage, JO1 Paula Pedene Inducted into DINFOS HOF​

August 11, 2022
Ms. April Langwell to Head USMC Public Affairs
JOCM John Burlage, JO1 Paula Pedene Inducted into DINFOS HOF

Dear USNPAA Members,

Here are some items that may be of interest to you:
 
JOCM John Burlage Inducted into DINFOS Hall of Fame. John Burlage, CHINFO’s first senior enlisted advisor, was inducted into the DINFOS Hall of Fame on Wednesday, 10 August. The ceremony was held at Ft. Meade in Maryland where DINFOS is now located.
 
John was a legend in not just the Navy public affairs community but in the overall Navy. Quite simply, he was an icon who possessed unsurpassed integrity. He was the quintessential gentleman and professional. While on active duty for 25 years, John served as a mentor to countless Navy journalists and photographers. His professional skills earned him the highest respect. His becoming CHINFO’s first senior enlisted advisor was a clear acknowledgment that he not only had the respect of enlisted journalists and photographers but officers and civilians in the community as well. 
 
After his retirement from the Navy, John went to work for Navy Times where he continued to tell the story of the Navy’s people for nearly 20 years. I, like many of my peers, had the privilege—and I say that word again, privilege—of working with John. He was an incredible journalist. If he saw a wrong or a policy that impacted Sailors and/or their families and that needed some adjusting, John was on it like the proverbial “white on rice.” To say he was tenacious would be an understatement, but he always had the Sailor in his mind. More importantly, he always got his stories ‘right,’ and that’s why he commanded the respect he did. He was a pleasure to work with.
 
John, as many of you know, passed away two years ago. MC1 Mark Faram, one of John’s best friends and a former reporter at Navy Times, represented the Burlage family and spoke about John at the induction ceremony.
 
Mrs. (JO1) Paula Pedene also Inducted. Another Navy inductee into the DINFOS Hall of Fame was Mrs. Paula Pedene. Many of you may know her as Paula LeClair, the first female anchor of Navy-Marine Corps News. Paula left the Navy and became a civilian public affairs specialist. While working for the Veterans Administration, Paula became a whistleblower and exposed corruption, including the infamous VA Wait Time Scandal. Her allegations were substantiated and led to the resignation of the VA Secretary, the Undersecretary for Health and others. 
 
Other inductees at the event were: Sergeant Major William Armstrong, U.S. Army (Ret.); Capt. Dale Dye, USMC (Ret.); Mr. Robert Hastings, former Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs; Command Sergeant Major Emma Krouser, U.S. Army (Ret.); and Sergeant First Class Thomas Taylor, U.S. Army (Ret.).
 
Marine Corps Selects Civilian to Head Public Affairs. O’Dwyer’s, a daily digital newsletter that covers the PR industry and marketing communications noted the naming of a civilian to head its public affairs efforts—Ms. April Langwell. I found this news interesting because the Marines have traditionally had a uniformed officer (a brigadier general) as their head of public affairs. The officer may not have been a public affairs specialist but represented the service as a uniformed member. Here is a link to the O’Dwyers article. You will note Ms. Langwell’s Navy connection.
 
Tom Jurkowsky
President
 
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