R 162030Z NOV 22
MARADMIN 597/22
MSGID/GENADMIN/CMC CD WASHINGTON DC//
SUBJ/2022 DEFENSE MEDIA AWARDS AND MARINE CORPS VISUAL INFORMATION AND EXCELLENCE IN COMMUNICATION AWARDS PROGRAM ANNOUNCEMENT//
REF/A/MARINE CORPS VISUAL INFORMATION AND EXCELLENCE IN COMMUNICATION AWARDS PROGRAM SOP-CY2022//
NARR/REF A, IS THE MARINE CORPS GUIDANCE AND PROCEDURES FOR SUBMISSION INTO THE MARINE CORPS AWARDS PROGRAM AND SUBSEQUENT ENTRY INTO THE DEFENSE MEDIA AWARDS. LINK TO REF A IN MESSAGE BODY.//
POC1/BRYAN PETERSON/MSGT/HQMC CD/TEL: (571) 302-6169/EMAIL: BRYAN.PETERSON@USMC.MIL//
POC2/SCOTT SCHMIDT/GYSGT/HQMC CD AND DVIDS LIAISON/TEL: (703) 614-1494/TEL: DSN 224-1494/EMAIL: SCOTT.SCHMIDT@USMC.MIL//
GENTEXT/REMARKS/1.  Purpose.  This MARADMIN announces the call for nominations for the 2022 Defense Media Awards and the 2022 Marine Corps Visual Information and Excellence in Communication (VIEC) awards program.  This program recognizes Communication Strategy and Operations (COMMSTRAT) units, officers and enlisted Marines and civilians whose leadership, writing, photography, videography, graphic design, and communication planning have promoted the Marine Corps and demonstrated outstanding achievement in furthering the objectives of the service and U.S. Department of Defense.
2.  Background.  The Defense Media Awards program is administered by the Defense Media Activity under the authority of Department of Defense Directive 5105.74, “Defense Media Activity (DMA)” Paragraph e3.1.22.  The Marine Corps VIEC awards program is administered by HQMC Communication Directorate (CD) and the U.S. Marine Corps Combat Correspondents Association (USMCCCA) and Foundation.  The Marine Corps VIEC program is used to select the first place winners who will compete in the Defense Media Awards program.
3.  Eligibility.  The program is open to second lieutenants to captains and privates to staff sergeants, to include reserve Marines on active duty, reserve Marines attending regular drills, and members of mobilization training units for Communication Strategy and Operations, as well as any Government Service (GS) civilians assigned to COMMSTRAT units.  All entrants must be officially engaged in the production of materials for the Marine Corps.  See reference (a) for further information on eligibility in Paragraph III.
4.  Submission entries into the Marine Corps VIEC awards program and DMA program will be accomplished through the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service (DVIDS) at https:(slash)(slash)www.dvidshub.net.  Enter through the awards media contest interface module within Admin tools.  Entries not uploaded to DVIDS as required in the category descriptions will be disqualified.  Send COMMSTRAT Unit/Marine/SNCO/Visual Information Officer/Officer of the Year nominations and communication plan category to MARADMIN POCs.  Marines may submit no more than one submission per category.  Units may only submit one Marine for each COMMSTRAT of the Year category.
5.  All content must have been created and published on DVIDS between 1 January 2022 and 31 December 2022.  Submissions for the Marine Corps VIEC awards program must arrive by 2359 EST, 24 February 2023.  All entries must be submitted in accordance with contest guidelines, reference (a), contained in the 2022 Defense Media Awards program SOP and Marine Corps VIEC SOP found at https:(slash)(slash)www.dvidshub.net/awards/guidelines.  Improper submissions will be disqualified unless fixed by the submitter/unit prior to the deadline date.
6.  COMMSTRAT-specific awards include:
6.a.  Communication Strategy and Operations Marine of the Year
6.b.  Communication Strategy and Operations SNCO of the Year
6.c.  Communication Strategy and Operations Visual Information Officer of the Year
6.d.  Communication Strategy and Operations Officer of the Year
6.e.  Communication Strategy and Operations Unit of the Year
7.  For the full list of Marine Corps award categories and VIEC SOP visit reference (a) at the link above.
8.  This year’s submissions will be subject to major command judging. Five major commands will be used to judge at the regional level in order to submit the most competitive entries to the branch level.  Refer to reference (a), paragraph six under guidance for more information.
9.  Winners will be notified by MARADMIN.  Awards will be presented at the annual COMMSTRAT Training and Leadership Development Summit, tentatively scheduled in August 2023.  Details will be passed via SEPCOR.
10.  Contact POCS 1 and 2 for further information and clarification of submission guidelines.
11.  Release authorized by SES April L. Langwell, Director of Communication, Headquarters Marine Corps Communication Directorate.//