Allison Barber

Allison Barber is the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Internal Communications, United States Department of Defense. She is responsible for American Forces Radio and Television Service (AFRTS), the Defense Media Center, the Pentagon Channel, several Department of Defense websites, and the Stars and Stripes newspaper, the American Forces Press Service.

On or around June 2 2004 Allison Barber, disclosed that AFRTS selects which programs to broadcast based on content, rather than popularity. In particular, Rush Limbaugh's radio program is broadcast, but Howard Stern's is not. [http://mediamatters.org/items/200406020005?is_gsa=1&final=1]

On October 13 2005 Allison Barber was videotaped while she was coaching soldiers preceding a live teleconference with President George W. Bush. [http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1592179,00.html]

Later that week (October 17), the debut of the Ed Schultz radio show on AFR was canceled. The cancellation notice came via a phone call from Barber. Schultz alleges that the cancellation was due to his criticisms over the staged troop conversation of October 13. The Pentagon alleges the Schultz show was never meant to air, that it had been scheduled by an overzealous employee.

Background

Allison Barber earned a BS in Elementary Education from Tennessee Temple University then an MS in Elementary Education from Indiana University before beginning her career as a teacher at Merrillville Public School in Indiana. She taught there from 1986 to 1991 then abandoned teaching to pursue a career in public relations. From 1992 to 1998, she was a public relations director for the American Red Cross. Then she was president of the D.C. office of [http://www.plowsharegroup.com/ PlowShare Group] , which specializes in public relations for non-profits. Then she was the president of Sodenta, an elusive public relations firm. In June 2001 she was chosen as the special assistant to the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Internal Communications. Then on November 26 2003 Lawrence Di Rita appointed her to her current position as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Internal Communications. [http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=18202&archive=true]

In response to questions from deployed forces about levels of support from the home front, Allison created the award-winning America Supports You program [http://www.AmericaSupportsYou.mil] to help the American people find ways to support the military and their families and communicate that support directly to the troops. In less than two years, the program now includes 225 grassroots organizations that conduct diverse initiatives that support the military; 25 corporate partners that leverage its properties to build the America Supports You brand and provide real benefits to the military; and enjoys the support of all major broadcast networks.

On May 11, 2007, officials said that the Pentagon is "looking into complaints that Defense Department officials charged with building public support for troops in Iraq and Afghanistan might have been engaged in improper fundraising," David S. Cloud reported May 12, 2007, for the New York Times. [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/12/washington/12pentagon.html]

In April 2007, Allison Barber was recognized as "Communicator of the Year" for 2006 by the National Association of Government Communicators. [http://www.nagc.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=167&Itemid=160]