A long-standing Air Force Facebook page created to represent its top enlisted leader has been renamed and rebranded as a news source -- an apparent move by the service to control online conversation and messaging within the ranks.
The Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force page, which has more than 200,000 followers on the social media platform, was renamed earlier this month "the Airman's Dispatch" with a mottos of "your source for trusted updates -- by airmen, for airmen," as well as "Truth moves fast. So do we."
The change, according to comments provided to Military.com by Chief Master Sgt. David Flosi, the service's top enlisted leader, was focused on having a reliable source for quick updates about the issues that matter most to airmen, such as physical fitness standards, uniform updates and deployment changes.
Read Next: Marine Sergeant Dies After Collapsing During Fitness Test in Florida
"We took an existing platform with over 200,000 followers and turned it into a more reliable tool for timely information sharing," Flosi said in an emailed statement to Military.com. "This isn't about one person anymore; it's a team effort. We're partnering with subject matter experts across the staff to push timely updates, explain policy changes, and give full context behind what's happening."
Many airmen often learn about policy changes throughout the service by reading leaked memos and communications through social media sites such as Reddit or the wildly popular Air Force amn/nco/snco Facebook page -- where troops often share insider information about developments facing the enlisted.
Some users and administrators of those sites expressed skepticism about Flosi's new initiative, arguing that it ultimately will just be another avenue for public affairs messaging and will discourage the transparency of those pre-existing pages.
"Rumors move fast, whether through Facebook groups, Reddit threads, or memo screenshots," Flosi said. "This page provides confirmed updates, clear explanations, and [helps] airmen understand what's real, what's still evolving, and what to expect next."
Katherine Kuzminski, the director of studies at the Center for a New American Security, told Military.com that the creation of the page could be a good resource for the rank and file if it's executed properly and actually provides timely updates to airmen.
"To a certain extent, I think this is a healthy and a good thing," Kuzminski said, adding the caveat that "if there is truly a up-to-date, clear, consistent message coming from the service and particularly for the enlisted force, coming from the chief master sergeant of the Air Force to the force, that can get ahead of a lot of speculation or concern that service members may have."
But she added that there is potential for the new page to go haywire if it strays from just providing memos and updates to the force.
"If instead, it gets into kind of partisan debates with other counter-information, that's where it could be risky," she added.
That type of messaging is already occurring in other parts of the military.
The Department of Defense's public affairs communications, since being overseen by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, have taken on a more combative tone -- challenging lawmakers, partisan messaging by pundits, and even attacks on the veracity of media reports.
Military.com reported that further changes to the military's once apolitical public messaging are already taking shape within the Army, and potentially the Navy, as political and partisan spokespeople join the fold.
The Airman's Dispatch hasn't taken on a political or overtly combative tone since its rebrand, but its creation led to some mixed reviews, criticisms and questions from commenters.
"The force will always hear it first from Air Force amn/nco/snco," one person commented, referencing what has long been seen as the go-to social media page for insider updates.
"Understanding the reasoning behind the recent lack of communication on social media will go a long way in helping airmen grasp your intent," one user said, adding, "This is a great idea!"
"Why not create a new page for the Airman's Dispatch instead of repurposing this page?" one account asked.
Flosi told Military.com that, even though the original page changed, he is "very much connected to the Airman's Dispatch, just as my predecessors were connected to the CMSAF Facebook page." He added that he often communicates through internal Microsoft Teams channels, sends notes to the field and makes frequent base visits.
But it's unclear how far ahead of public affairs messaging the new Facebook page will be and how forward it will be with sharing developments. For example, U.S. Forces Korea published a news release Tuesday about lengthening deployments.
The Airman's Dispatch posted a Department of Defense memo on the South Korea deployment on Wednesday morning, mostly reiterating the information within the official correspondence and news release. Many of the policy updates provided on the page link to already released information from public affairs pages.
"The more they can share, the less speculation there will be and thus less dependence on those kind of back-channel conversations that are happening on Reddit or other social media sites among airmen," Kuzminski said. "So it would be in their best interest to make sure they're getting out timely information, or being the lead in getting information out, before people are independently, privately worrying about what changes are coming."
Military.com learned that at least three pages that sprang up this month with similar or related names parodying the new Airman's Dispatch page, including those that were verified with a blue checkmark, had been removed.
When asked by Military.com, Flosi said "we do not have anything to do with Meta verification, account approval or removal," referring to the company that owns Facebook. Spokespeople for the top enlisted leader did not respond when asked whether they had complained or flagged those accounts to Meta.
When the administrator of the popular Air Force amn/nco/snco Facebook page was reached for comment about his reaction to the creation of the Airman's Dispatch page, he spoke frankly.
"We were here before CMSAF Flosi, and we'll be here after CMSAF Flosi," he said.
Related: Army Puts Political Operative in Charge of Public Affairs, Stoking Concerns of Creeping Partisanship
