Success stories [IN STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION] do exist. The formation of the U.S. Army’s African Command (AFRICOM) was … a case of turning the communication environment from open hostility to general favorability in two short years.

It is very easy to bash the U.S. government and the U.S. military for strategic communication failures. From bad messaging to poor execution, the U.S. has a less than stellar track record. In 2004, a Defense Science Board Task Force admitted as much and provided a long list of recommendations. But five years later, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, “blasted” the U.S. strategic communication effort in Afghanistan, stating the U.S. was “losing the war of ideas.” More recently, the State Department’s online campaign against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is “in turmoil” because U.S. communications are not seen by audiences as credible, and the messages and strategic direction are unclear and constantly changing.