The base multimedia center: Showing you to the world Published July 9, 2007 By Master Sgt. Lisa M. Zunzanyika Base multimedia center superintendent ANDERSEN AIR FORCE BASE, Guam -- When I tell people that I work at the base multimedia center, they often retort, "So what, all you guys do is just take pictures?" We do more than "just take pictures." Through our eyes and lenses, we record history. We provide the public with a dynamic, over-the-shoulder view of servicemen and women performing their duties home and abroad. More importantly, we provide Department of Defense and senior Air Force leadership with timely and informative visual imagery that enhances daily operational decisions in garrison as well as during combat and humanitarian contingencies. Many people ask "Why do we have photographers and videographers in the Air Force?" or "Why can't the civilian media inform the public about military operations?" First and foremost, Air Force photographers and videographers are a military asset trained to deploy worldwide on short notice to austere locations often for an extended period of time. Our personnel are equipped with the access, knowledge and experience necessary to operate and document a combat environment without becoming a liability to the forces we are covering. All of these factors give Air Force multimedia footage a perspective typically unavailable to most civilian media. On a more local level, we are a special asset for commanders to utilize to highlight mission innovations and justify budget and asset increases. We provide critical training aids for new equipment and processes. Our footage is crucial to safety investigations, and we play a vital role in force protection education and enforcement. When Air Force photographers and videographers document military troops in action, whether during wartime or peacetime, the imagery is transmitted to the Department of Defense Joint Combat Camera Center located in the Pentagon. JCCC is the hub for DoD imagery from every branch of service covering all aspects of military operations. From here, imagery is used to brief the President, the Joint Chiefs of Staff and other military leaders. Furthermore, Air Force photographs and video footage are distributed to multitude of national and international media outlets through JCCC. Our video department is staffed with broadcast qualified personnel. Have you seen the AFN broadcasts or the new series of Air Force commercials highlighting an Airman talking about their career? Well, we have a videographer trained to produce those types of clips for you. In addition, we can create vital training aids that will significantly enhance your mission capability. The base multimedia center's vision is to seek every opportunity to document and publicize Andersen's ever-growing core mission. So why is this important to you? Do you want the world to know how important your job and your unit's mission are? Sure you do! We want to help tell your story, so contact the multimedia center's customer service desk at 366-2228.