The Media Operations Group (Volunteers), also known as MOG(V), is a nationally recruited, Territorial Army (TA) unit. It delivers capability in the form of media operations skills and training to the Armed Forces to facilitate a proactive relationship with the media.
Individuals who serve with the MOG(V) become involved in a variety of roles. These can include escorting journalists around an operational theatre, working in a Combat Camera Team to capture images and footage, advising senior commanders, being the spokesperson on behalf of UK, NATO, UN or coalition forces, and operating as staff officers planning strategy.
A significant part of the day to day work that MOG(V) conducts is in training all ranks from private soldiers to Generals with basic media skills such as interview techniques. Testing is done through simulated press conferences and interviews with one-to-one coaching. Few people in industry are given the chance to learn these basic skills and practise how to represent their organisations on camera, but this is already proving essential for the Armed Forces. Thanks to this training, soldiers who are already under pressure on operations can also deliver clear and confident interviews for the media so that their audiences can better understand what is going on during a military operation.
Members of MOG(V) are all volunteers and do a minimum of twenty-seven days training each year, taking annual military tests to ensure that they can deliver basic soldiering skills on top of their media operations work. They do these days in addition to their normal day-jobs and their family lives, which takes a significant commitment but brings with it a strong sense of service and satisfaction. Members of MOG(V) might be part-time soldiers and officers, but they are often at the forefront of ongoing operational commitments, with 15%+ of the unit deploying on operations annually. Recently these have been to Iraq, Kosovo and Afghanistan.
As public relations experts, members of MOG(V) work hands-on with the British Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force to help them achieve effective coverage in the media. This work provides individuals with many exciting challenges across the fascinating spectrum of military activity. Wherever the military goes, the media follow, and someone from MOG(V) can usually be found nearby.
The main difference between MOG(V) and other TA units is that individuals use their civilian skills to directly assist UK Forces. These are skills that regular forces personnel are not able to develop easily during their full-time service within the military system. Our people work in a huge range of civilian jobs from PR and photography, to marketing, broadcasting, and journalism. Working closely with, or as part of, the media, gives our specialists an insight which can really benefit military commanders.
Subject matter experts within the unit train the other members of MOG(V) in their fields of expertise including media production, media analysis techniques and military skills. The combined effect is to produce many rounded individuals who constantly develop and grow as media operators. This in turn ensures that MOG(V) delivers a unique source of public relations understanding and talent to the military.
MOG(V)’s Commanding Officer, Lt Col Tim Purbrick, is delighted at the affiliation with the Guild, “It is a great honour to be affiliated with the Guild of Public Relations Practitioners. We are looking forward to developing links with each other which will encompass social activities and networking opportunities to the exchange of skills, knowledge and expertise as well as taking forward the Guild’s kind offers to institute a PR related award in MOG(V) and to send care packages to members of MOG(V) deployed on military operations.”
MOG(V) is now in the process of expanding its numbers, recruiting both from within the military and amongst civilian professionals who work in, or with, the media. Once a part of MOG(V) people have access to high quality training, and a strong sense of teamwork assisting them further in their chosen civilian career.
You can find more about MOG(V) on the Army website : www.army.mod.uk/mog
