Strategic Communications – Getting it Wrong

To the reader of this and other blogs, the concept of strategic communications (or stratcom) is not an unknown one.  Indeed a quick search over at Sal’s place, ID or USNI will yield threads on examples of stratcom utilization, if not the the subject itself.  Not long ago we touched on one interesting example in the Chinese press as relates to the Senkaku Islands (as but one piece in an ongoing, larger campaign).  There are any one of a number of offices and venues utilized – official government spokesman to interested blogger; print to new media.  Even traditional, commercial networks can and do participate in strategic communications with varying degrees of effectiveness – and sometimes it is an epic failure; to wit:

– LCS as a battleship?

As the friend who forwarded the link to me noted – “I did not know whether to laugh, cry or throw up…”

One would expect a King’s College War Studies graduate to have a vocabulary, especially in the use of adjectives, that extends beyond “cool” and “super cool.” But then again, one would expect more than a six-minute, over-hyped sales brochure exposition masquerading as thoughtful “analysis.” I won’t go into a lengthy rundown on the shortcomings (and to be fair, potential) of LCS as it has been addressed at length elsewhere in detail and depth. Nevertheless, asserting that the LCS is the new battleship is well over the top and beyond the pale for in no way and no form can the LCS legitimately be called a battleship whether in mission or configuration. Doing so, and in such a breathless manner is more in keeping with fanboy sites that populate the ‘net rather than serious journalism. Enthusiasm is fine – gushing, well, save it for the Hollywood reporting.

(h/t Bob P. and the Turks)