Wanted: Airmen selfie videos

Courtesy of Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs

WASHINGTON — Do you have a unique story about the path that led you to the Air Force? Are you proud of your job and how it impacts the bigger Air Force mission? Do you work in an exceptional unit? If so, the Air Force wants to hear from you.

The 2014 American Airman Video Contest, which began July 1, is open to all Airmen — uniformed, civilian, Guard and Reserve — who want to share their story of being an
Airman.

The contest rules have been relaxed to allow participants to shoot up to a one-minute video, or selfie, talking about their story as an Airman or about the unique mission they do every day.
The content of the video is limited only by imagination.

“Every Airman has a story, and smartphone technology now allows those Airmen to share those stories to a wider audience than ever before,” said Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark A. Welsh III at the start of the contest.

Airmen are encouraged to create their own video for the contest and to challenge their friends to come up with the most creative selfie video to be added to the American Airman Video Contest.
The competition has reached the halfway point, and submissions are needed to show the diversity and quality of the Air Force.

Videos must be received by Tuesday to be eligible for the contest.

The top 10 finalist videos will be available on AFBlueTube, www.youtube.com/user/AFBlueTube, for public voting from Aug. 12 to 22.

Voters can “like” their favorite videos, and the video with the most “likes” will win.

Many of the clips will be compiled for a special video presentation by Welsh during the Air Force Association’s Air & Space Conference and Technology Exposition in September.

The original video length has doubled, so Airmen, uniformed and civilian, can now send in up to a 60-second video of his or her Air Force story. It’s as simple as taking out their smartphone, shooting a quick clip and uploading it to their YouTube account. Once it’s there, send a link to
usafvideos@us.af.mil to enter.

For more details and complete contest rules, visit http://airforcelive.dodlive.mil/contest.

“Our Airmen are an amazing communication resource,” Welsh said. “No one tells the Air Force story like they do.”