Army Public Affairs Unit Teaches Soldiers How to Use AI for Faster Content Production
The 361st Theater Public Affairs Support Element, a U.S. Army Reserve unit, held a training class on using artificial intelligence to produce news articles and counter enemy narratives. Lt. Col. Raymond Ragan, the unit's commander, led the April 9 session at Fort Dix, New Jersey.
The class covered GenAI, the Department of War's AI platform built for military use. Soldiers learned how to write effective prompts, understand the ethics of AI in public affairs, and recognize the speed advantage AI provides in information warfare.
Why Speed Matters in the Narrative Fight
Ragan framed the problem plainly: "We are in a cognitive fight, told through the narrative to support multidomain operations, and the enemy can lie." Adversaries spread false information faster than public affairs teams can fact-check and publish corrections.
The Army's public affairs operation faces real constraints. Every message must be fact-checked, cleared for operational security, and verified against current policy before publication. That takes time. AI can compress that timeline without removing human oversight.
Ragan holds two AI patents and works as a chief information officer for a startup that builds customer service AI. His civilian experience informed the instruction.
The Five-Part Prompt Structure
Ragan demonstrated a method for getting GenAI to produce usable content quickly. The process has five steps:
- Persona: Tell the AI it's a Defense Information School-trained Soldier
- Context: Provide the information you have on the subject
- Ask: Specify what you want created
- Constraints: Set style rules-AP style, no hyphens, no semicolons, etc.
- Clarification: Ask the AI to interview you before generating output
That final step matters. The AI may ask questions you hadn't considered, surfacing gaps in your brief before the tool generates a draft.
Ragan ran multiple prompts through GenAI during the class to show the difference between generic requests and structured ones. Soldiers saw the strengths and weaknesses of each output.
Accountability Remains With Humans
The Army authorizes AI use in public affairs, but with clear limits. Ragan emphasized that commanders and public affairs officers remain accountable for everything published under their names.
"Nothing leaves your newsroom that hasn't been personally signed off by someone," Ragan said. Leaders cannot pass fact-checking responsibility to the AI tool.
He referenced Department of Defense Instruction 5400.19, which sets guiding principles, policy limits, and transparency requirements for generative AI in public affairs. The instruction includes a decision matrix that tells public affairs teams when they must disclose AI use to the public.
"We want to see our Soldiers working hard on their computers and using GenAI as a tool to increase the efficiency of the work," Ragan said. "We cannot accept Soldiers using GenAI to check the box and move on to something else."
Soldiers Shift From Skepticism to Confidence
Staff Sgt. Tyler Matz, a public affairs specialist, said he arrived skeptical. "Before this class, I've always looked at AI as something I don't fully understand and do not want to use," he said. The live demonstration changed his view.
"The demonstration really opened my eyes as to not only what it is capable of but also how to use it in a way that will be helpful to my team," Matz said. He plans to train his unit using what he learned.
Pfc. Isabella Youngblood appreciated learning both the constraints and the possibilities. She saw AI as a tool for brainstorming article angles and drafting approaches, not a replacement for her judgment.
The Pace of Change
Ragan closed the class by noting that adversaries move faster than the Army historically has. Speed matters in the information environment.
But he also flagged a second benefit: AI can spark innovation. "No matter how bad the AI is today, it is the worse AI you will ever use. In other words, it is always going to get better."
Public affairs teams that build competence with current tools now will adapt more easily as capabilities improve.
For communications professionals, the lesson extends beyond military operations. Understanding prompt engineering techniques and how to maintain human oversight of AI-generated content applies across sectors. The Army's approach-treating AI as a speed tool while keeping humans accountable-reflects how other organizations should structure AI for PR and communications work.
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