Keep up with winter road condition changes this season

  • Published
  • By Air Force Staff Sgt. Zachary Wolf
  • JBER Public Affairs
JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska --  Staying up-to-date is important, especially with winter weather looming on the horizon. There are a few things to do to ensure everyone receives these important notifications regarding weather or other issues that may happen on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson.

JBER Public Affairs uses different tools to put notifications out to the public when something happens on base.

They use social media websites Facebook and Twitter and the official JBER website and the 552-INFO (552-4636) line to push out information regarding the base.

It is important to remember the information from these channels regarding road conditions apply only to JBER - not to the Glenn Highway, the Anchorage area, or the Mat-Su area. Call 511 for information on those roads.

As always, if you feel it is unsafe to drive, contact your supervisor and use your chain of command.

Social media is a form of electronic communication through which users create and share information, ideas and other content.

"Prior to the use of social media, public affairs personnel would have to report to the office and put out a news release and or call local TV and radio stations to inform them of delayed reporting due to road conditions," said Erin Eaton, 673d Air Base Wing Public Affairs chief of media operations.

"With the use of social media, we are able to communicate this information to the news media and our personnel in a much quicker fashion."

For Facebook updates, go to www.facebook.com to sign up and create an account if you don't have one already. Once signed up, type "Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson" in the search bar at the top of the Facebook page.

Then select "Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson JBER (official)" and click like. After that a checkmark will appear and display the page as "liked." If the mouse is placed over the liked box, a dropdown menu will appear. Click on "Get Notifications" to ensure all updates are received. After that, every update should be received.

"While the JBER official Facebook page is one of the installation commander's communication tools, it is also a place where we provide news and information about JBER activities and its personnel," Eaton said.

Another social media site Public Affairs uses to get notifications out is Twitter.

For Twitter updates, go to www.twitter.com to sign up and create an account. During the tutorial, type in @JBER_Official in the search bar and click on the follow button on the JBER Official Twitter site. Notifications JBER puts out via Twitter will now be received.

Only road conditions and crisis communication are conveyed via Twitter.

Facebook and Twitter aren't the only ways to get notifications online.

Road condition updates can also be found in the upper left-hand corner of the JBER website at www.jber.af.mil along with reporting instructions.

Under "more information" there are details regarding what the road condition statuses mean and also what mission essential reporting, delayed reporting and early release mean. That information can be found at http://tiny.cc/hy2r5w.

Another option is to call 552-INFO, if you don't have access to the Internet. When the road conditions are updated or there is any kind of delayed reporting or the base is closed due to weather, the Command Post will let the Public Affairs office know.

Command consults with outside agencies, like the State Troopers, Anchorage School District, and others, before making a decision to delay reporting or close the installation.

A representative will update all of these outlets to get the notification out as soon as possible with the most up-to-date information.

"We are here to serve you," Eaton said.

If there are any questions or suggestions, contact the Media Operations section at jber.pa.mediaops@us.af.mil or leave us an ICE comment at http://tiny.cc/gz2r5w.