'American Forces Network' (or 'AFN') is the brand name used by the
United States Armed Forces Radio and
Television Service (AFRTS) for its entertainment and command internal information networks worldwide.
Organization
American Forces Network (AFN) is the operational arm of the American Forces Radio and Television Service (AFRTS), an agency of the
American Forces Information Service (AFIS), and is under the operational control of the Office of the
Assistant Secretary of Defense for
Public Affairs (OASD-PA). Editorial control is by
The Pentagon, whereas the
BFBS for example is independent of the
Ministry of Defence and the British armed forces.
This broadcasting service employs primarily military broadcasters, but there are some civilians employed as engineers or operations personnel. Service personnel hold a broadcasting
occupational specialties for their military branch. All of AFN's military personnel receive primary training at the
Defense Information School (DINFOS) at
Fort George G. Meade in
Maryland. Additional/Advanced training is also available at the same location. Some of AFN's broadcasters have previous
commercial broadcasting experience prior to enlisting in the military, but it is not a prerequisite for enlistment in military as a broadcaster. During their training, the broadcasters are taught to use state-of-the-art audio and visual editing equipment similar to their civilian counterparts.
The current head of the AFN is
Allison Barber.
History of American Forces Network
The American Forces Network can trace its origins back to
1942, when the
War Department established the Armed Forces Radio Service (AFRS). A
television service was first introduced in
1954 with a "pilot" station at Limestone AFB, Maine and AFRS became the Armed Forces Radio and Television Service (AFRTS). All of the Armed Forces broadcasting affiliates worldwide merged under the AFN banner on
January 1,
1998.
The Beginning of the AFN
In the years just preceding
World War II there were several radio stations based in American
military bases, but none were officially recognized until
1942. The success of these individual radio stations helped pave the way for the AFN. As such, there was no single station that could be called the "first" to sign on as an AFN station. About two months before formal establishment of AFN, however, a station called "PCAN" began regular broadcast information service in the
Panama Canal Zone, primarily for troops on jungle
bivouac. The station, located at
Fort Clayton, was later to become part of AFRS, first simply as "Armed Forces Network" located at
Albrook Field.
World War II
The U.S. Army began broadcasting from
London during World War II, using equipment and studio facilities borrowed from the
British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).
The first transmission to U.S. troops began at 5:45 p.m. on
July 4,
1943 and included less than five hours of recorded shows, a
BBC news and sports broadcast. That day,
Corporal Syl Binkin became the first U.S. Military broadcaster heard over the air. The signal was sent from London via telephone lines to five regional
transmitters to reach U.S. troops in the
United Kingdom as they made preparations for the inevitable
invasion of
Nazi-occupied Europe.
Fearing competition for civilian audiences the BBC initially tried to impose restrictions on AFN broadcasts within Britain (transmissions were only allowed from American Bases outside London and were limited to 50 watts of transmission power) and a minimum quota of British produced programming had to be carried. Nevertheless AFN programmes were widely enjoyed by the British civilian listeners who could receive them and once AFN operations transferred to continental Europe (shortly after D-day) AFN were able to broadcast with little restriction with programmes available to civilian audiences across most of Europe (including Britain) after dark.
As
D-Day approached, the network joined with the BBC and the
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation to develop programs especially for the
Allied Expeditionary Forces. Mobile stations, complete with personnel, broadcasting equipment, and a record library were deployed to broadcast music and news to troops in the field. The mobile stations reported on front line activities and fed the news reports back to studio locations in London.
Although the network's administrative headquarters remained in London, its operational headquarters soon moved to AFN
Paris.
As Allied forces continued to push German soldiers back into their homeland, AFN moved east as well. The liberation of most of Western Europe saw AFN stations serving the forces liberating
Biarritz,
Cannes,
Le Havre,
Marseille,
Nice,
Paris, and
Reims.
Post war contraction and expansion
On
December 31,
1945, AFN London signed off the air, and in
1948 AFN closed all its stations in France. This started the cycle of AFN stations where they would be built up during wartime then torn down or moved after the war was over. Of the 300 stations in operation worldwide in 1945, only 60 remained in
1949.
After World War II
AFN continued its mission of connecting troops with home and boosting morale in both the
Vietnam and
Korean conflicts.
Europe
A large number of AFN stations continued broadcasting from American bases in Europe (particularly Germany) after World War II. (Eight remain on-air today. See German Wikipedia:
AFN Europe Frequencies).
During the 1950s and 60's civilian audiences in Europe widely listened to AFN as American music was very popular but rarely played on most European broadcasting stations (which at the time were largely state operated). This was particularly the case in Communist bloc countries where (despite the language barrier) it was seen as an alternative way of maintaining contact with the west and had the added bonus of not being subjected to
radio jamming unlike such stations as
Radio Free Europe which carried News and propaganda in Eastern European languages.
Korean War
When war broke out in
Korea, Army broadcasters set up in
Seoul, in the Banto Hotel (the old American Embassy Hotel). When the Chinese entered Seoul in December,
1950, the crew moved to a mobile unit that was just completed and retreated to
Daegu, South Korea. Due to the large number of American troops in Korea, a number of stations were also started. Mobile units followed combat units to provide news and entertainment on the radio. By the time the 1953 armistice was signed, these mobile units became buildings with transmitters, and a network, American Forces Korea Network, was born.
Iran
An AFRTS radio station, and later a television station, became operational in
Tehran in late 1950's. The office and the equipment were stationed in
Saltanat-abad area of Tehran. Its listeners (and viewers) were American military personnel stationed in Iran as part of
ARMISH and
MAAG programs, as well as non-military Iranians and foreigners residing in Iran. The AFRTS ceased to operate on the eve of the
Iran Revolution of 1979.
Vietnam War
As the American military presence in
Vietnam increased, AFRTS opened radio and later television stations there. During the Vietnam War, the first broadcasts were beamed to the ground from fully equipped
flying studios operated by the
United States Navy.
AFRTS stations in Vietnam were initially known by the name "AFRS" (Armed Forces Radio Saigon), but as the number of stations quickly expanded throughout
South Vietnam became known as "AFVN" (American Forces Vietnam Network) and had several stations including
Nha Trang,
Pleiku,
Da Nang, with the headquarters station in
Saigon.
In Vietnam, AFVN had a number of war related casualties. The station staff at Hue had been captured and spent time as
prisoners of war. At the height of American involvement in the war, Armed Forces Vietnam Network served over 500,000 fighting men and women at one time.
For Vietnam AFVN developed a program along the lines of "G.I. Jive" from World War II. A number of local
disc jockeys helped make hour-long music programs for broadcast. Perhaps the best known program became the morning "Dawn Buster" program, (the brainchild of Chief Petty Officer Bryant Arbuckle in 1962) thanks to the popularity of the sign-on slogan "Gooooood Morning, Vietnam" (which was initiated by
Adrian Cronauer and later became the basis for the film ''
Good Morning Vietnam'' starring
Robin Williams). Among the notable people who were AFVN disc jockeys were Cronauer and
Pat Sajak. Beginning in
1971 AFVN began to close some stations in Vietnam. The last station to close was in
Saigon in
1973.
In Thailand, the Department of Defense began the planning for the Armed Forces Thailand Network in 1964 with Project Lamplighter. By late 1966, implementation of the network began by the US Air Force with stations on the air at Korat, U-Tapao, Ubon, Udon, Tahkli, and Nahkon Phanom (NKP). In addition, there were more than 20 satellite stations that rebroadcast one or more of the primary stations and that included one or more clandestine locations in Laos.
In April, 1970, a battle damaged F-4 fighter-bomber, returning from a reconnaissance mission to survey a road being built by the Chinese toward Burma in northwest Laos, crashed into the AFTN station, killing nine of the Air Force broadcasters. This incident was the single worst catastrophe in the history of military broadcasting.
AFTN became the American Forces Thailand Network in the summer of 1969, and continued operations until the spring of 1976 when the remaining US troops in Thailand were withdrawn at the request of the Thai government. More than 600 broadcasters from the Air Force, Navy, and Army had served during the ten years that AFTN operated.
The history of AFTN can be found at the
www.aftn.net web site along with a memorial to the nine broadcasters who gave their lives in the service of their country.
Central America
Radio, and later television, to U.S. troops stationed in the Panama Canal Zone was provided initially by Armed Forces Radio (AFN) at Albrook Field and later as the
Caribbean Forces Network at
Fort Clayton with translators located on the Atlantic side of the Canal Zone. In the early 1960s with reorganization of the command located in the Canal Zone, CFN became the Southern Command Network (SCN). SCN also broadcasted to U.S. troops stationed in
Honduras starting in
1987. SCN discontinued broadcasting in
1999 just before the turnover of the Canal Zone to the
Republic of Panama when U.S. troops were removed from that country pursuant to the
Torrijos-Carter Treaties.
Shortwave Radio
AFRTS has shifted its emphasis to relaying its broadcasts by satellite; however, there are still a number of
single sideband shortwave radio relay sites around the world to provide service to ships, including Diego Garcia, Guam, Sigonella in Italy, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, and others.
AFN Television Services
European operations
Until the early
1970s, U.S. military television service was provided in
Central Europe by
Air Force Television at
Ramstein Air Base, Germany. In the early 1970s, AFN assumed this responsibility for the Armed Forces Radio and Television Service (AFRTS).
On
October 28,
1976, AFN television moved from AFTV's old black and white studios at Ramstein to the network's new color television studios in Frankfurt. In the
1980s the network added affiliates with studio capabilities in
Würzburg, Germany, and
Soesterberg, the
Netherlands. AFN Europe headquarters is now on
Coleman Army Airfield in
Mannheim, Germany.
Pacific operations
Over-the-air TV for U.S. Forces in the Pacific is currently provided by AFN-Korea, AFN-Japan and AFN-Kwajalein. All local operations merged under the AFN banner effective
January 1,
1998.
Korea
AFN-Korea, formerly American Forces Korea Network (AFKN), is the largest of AFN's Pacific TV operations. AFKN began TV operations on
September 15,
1957, and consists of an originating studio in Seoul and six relay transmitters throughout the peninsula. AFKN's first live television newscast aired on
January 4, 1959.
Japan
AFN-Japan, formerly the
Far East Network (FEN), has one full-power
VHF terrestrial TV outlet. Located on
Okinawa atop the Rycom Plaza Housing area in the central part of the island, AFN-Okinawa's (U.S. channel 8) TV signal serves
Marines,
Airmen,
Sailors,
Soldiers, and their families stationed on-island. AFN-Japan also operates three low-power
UHF terrestrial transmitters at
Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Commander
U.S Fleet Activities Sasebo, and
Misawa Air Base. TV viewers on military bases in the
Tokyo and Kanto Plain area of Japan can view AFN via contractor-operated base
cable TV services, or through AFN Direct-To-Home (DTH) dishes if they reside off-base.
AFN-Japan's radio services consist of AM and FM stereo operations at
Yokota Air Base (810 AM & cable FM), MCAS Iwakuni (1575 AM), FLTACTS Sasebo (1575 AM), Okinawa (89.1 FM & 648 AM) and Misawa Air Base (1575 AM).
Kwajalein Atoll
AFN-Kwajalein at the Reagan Missile Test Range on
Kwajalein Atoll is the only civilian-run affiliate in AFN, broadcasting on U.S. channel 13 for military personnel and civilian contractor employees and their families. AFN-Kwajalein's signal is beamed by microwave to the nearby atoll of Roi Namur and rebroadcast on channel 8.
With the availability of AFN's DTH service, terrestrial over-the-air TV broadcasts at all AFN outlets are slated for deactivation in the near future.
Gulf War
In January
1991, the network dispatched news teams and technicians to
Kuwait and
Saudi Arabia for Operations
Desert Shield and
Desert Storm. These broadcasters reported to families of soldiers deployed from Europe, and staffed a number of the U.S. radio stations making up the Armed Forces Desert Network. The first song on the air was
Rock the Casbah by
The Clash.
Operation Iraqi Freedom
AFN Iraq on-air radio studio. Baghdad, Iraq (April 2004).
Broadcasting ''"from a secret location"'' in Iraq, radio's ''"most heavily armed staff"'' continues the AFN tradition of going where the troops go with AFN-Iraq, Freedom Radio. AFN-Iraq began broadcasting in December of 2003 on the
FM band shortly after the fall of
Saddam. The first song on the air was ''Freedom'' by
Paul McCartney. Within a short period of time, Freedom Radio was broadcasting on multiple FM channels from as far south as Basra to as far north as Mosul.
AFN-Iraq, Freedom Radio began as a joint effort between the Air Force, the Marines, and the Army. The very first unit to operate the station was the 222nd Broadcast Operations Detachment, an Army Reserve unit out of Southern California. ''"Always There and On The Air"'' was the phrase that started it all, even though there were only 8 hours of live radio to kick things off.
After an introduction from Lt. Gen.
Ricardo Sanchez, the Commander of Coalition Ground Forces in Iraq, Air Force Master Sergeant Erik Brazones was the first DJ on the air. When the 222nd BOD took the reins of the radio operations, the first two regular radio shows were "Niki Cage in the morning" and "Abbey in the Afternoon".
Operations in Western Europe
AFN in Germany and SEB (Southern European Broadcasting) in
Italy provided broadcasting to U.S. troops in Western Europe throughout the
Cold War.
The U.S. defense drawdown began in earnest after the Gulf War, and impacted AFN stations across Europe, as many stations were consolidated or deactivated with the closing of bases.
In Europe, AFN is still on the air from
Tuzla,
Bosnia and
Taszár,
Hungary to inform and entertain U.S. forces.
AFN went on the air
May 29th with service at the
Tirana airport in
Albania with satellite decoders and large screen televisions placed in high traffic areas. At the same time, the AFN also advanced into the Yugoslav Republic of
Kosovo along with
NATO.
AFN viewers abroad witnessed live television coverage of the
terrorist attacks on
The Pentagon and
World Trade Center on
September 11,
2001.
During military operations in
Afghanistan and AFN-Iraq provided non-stop coverage of the campaigns. AFN broadcast personnel from Europe deployed with the troops to cover events. Today AFN has a staffed affiliate in Iraq, AFN-
Baghdad (launched 2003).
Wherever large numbers of US troops are deployed, the AFN sets up operation, providing news and entertainment from home. Today AFN has several satellites and uses advanced
digital compression technology to broadcast TV and radio to 177 countries and territories, as well as on board U.S. Navy vessels.
Media Services
AFN's television service is broadcast in standard North American
NTSC format of 525 lines. All programming delivered by satellite is
PowerVu encrypted DVB. While programming is provided to AFN by major American TV networks and program syndicators at little to no-cost, for
copyright and
licensing reasons it is intended solely for U.S. Forces personnel, authorized Department of Defense civilian employees,
State Department diplomatic personnel, and their families overseas.
AFN-TV is available to authorized viewers by "
Direct-To-Home" (DTH) service; with set-top decoders purchased or leased through military exchanges (similar to a membership store), licensed/contracted commercial cable operators, purchased used from other military members (the cheapest option) or
terrestrial signal. With the advent of DTH service, AFN plans on phasing-out terrestrial TV broadcasts over the next few years.
AFN programming
While the audience tunes-in to AFN to watch their favorite shows or listen to the latest Stateside hits, entertainment is the "candy coating" used to attract the military viewer/listener; as AFN's primary mission is to provide access for local command information (CI) programs. Spots run in the place of commercials in breaks run the gamut from reminding servicememebers to register to vote, promotions of local command-sponsored recreation events, off-duty educational programs, health and wellness tips, and what's playing at local base movie theaters.
AFN inserts
public service announcements, educational featurettes (as in presenting an American state capital), and localized messages from senior leadership in place of normal commercials. Many service members welcome this approach, while others find it troublesome, especially during the airing of the
Super Bowl.
The network is allowed to broadcast commercial movie promotion trailers provided by the Army & Air Force Exchange Service (
AAFES) and the Navy Motion Picture Service (NMPS) to promote the latest film releases in base theaters worldwide. They are the only true "commercials" authorized for broadcast.
Radio
AFN also offers a variety of radio programming over its various frequencies throughout the world. Not only is there local programming (with airmen and soldiers as disc jockeys), but there is satellite programming, as well. Music programming spans Rock, Oldies, R&B and
country music.
Ryan Seacrest ''AT 40'' and the ''
American Country Countdown'' with
Kix Brooks are broadcast weekly over AFN Radio. In addition to music, AFN broadcasts
syndicated talk radio programs such as ''
Car Talk'', ''
Kim Komando'',
Rush Limbaugh, ''
The Tom Joyner Morning Show'', ''The
Motley Fool Radio Show'', ''
A Prairie Home Companion'', ''
Dr. Laura'', ''
Sports Overnight America'', and other programs from
National Public Radio and other sources.
Letters From War by
Mark Schultz was the #1 song on AFN in 2004.
On
December 5 2005, liberal/progressive talkers
Al Franken from
Air America Radio and
Ed Schultz from
Jones Radio Network, along with
Sean Hannity, were added to the radio programs provided by the AFN Broadcast Center to its affiliate stations.
[1]
On
April 24 2006, AFN Europe launched AFN The Eagle, a virtually 24-hour-a-day radio service format initially modeled after "
Jack FM" but most recently a "Hot AC" format. This replaced ZFM, which had more of a CHR flavor.
Altogether, AFN produces 10 general-use streams for AFN stations to use. Of these, seven are music-based, two are sports-based, and one is a general channel (which is also the one heard on shortwave, if the shortwave radio has
Single sideband (also known as SSB) installed). How these stations use these formats is up to them. These formats are:
★ 'Oldies Radio' (50's, 60's, and 70's)
★ 'Hot AC' (young adult alternative/80's and 90's)
★ 'Z Rock' (alternative rock)
★ 'Bright AC' (adult contemporary hit radio)
★ 'Country' (country/western)
★ 'the Touch' (urban adult contemporary)
★ 'Adult Rock and Roll' (classic rock)
★ 'Interruptible Voice Channel' (mainly NPR programming and sports programming from FOX, ESPN, and the Sporting News; this channel also broadcasts many talk shows such as those from Al Franken and Rush Limbaugh; it's called "Interruptible" because the channel can be "interrupted" by sports programming)
★ 'ESPN Plus' (sports programming from ESPN and the Sporting News)
★ 'FOX Sports Plus' (sports programming from FOX)
Television
Like its radio counterpart, AFN TV tries to air programming from a variety of sources to replicate programming on a typical U.S. TV channel; sourcing from U.S. commercial networks (including PBS), and program syndicators at little to no-cost. AFN uses the
NTSC (North American) television systems standard to broadcast its programming. But unlike stateside commercial broadcasters, AFN does not air commercials during breaks in programming. In their place, AFN inserts public service announcements (PSAs) on various subjects; these can be civilian "agency spots" created by
The Ad Council, nationally-recognized religious and public health charities, AFN's own Radio-Television Production Office (RTPO), or announcements by a regional/local AFN affiliate. The most common PSAs shown deal with
sexual harassment, public health and safety, force protection/anti-terrorism, pride in service, and messages to the troops.
There are 8 TV streams that are produced by AFN. All of them can be picked up via satellite by military audiences. These streams are:
★ 'AFN Prime'. Formerly AFN Atlantic and AFN Pacific. The standard AFN feed airs current
sitcoms,
dramas, syndicated "judge" shows,
talk shows,
game shows, and
reality shows popular in the United States, with a time delay from 24 hours to a week behind the United States airdates. In addition, popular US
soap operas such as ''
Guiding Light'', ''
General Hospital'' and ''
Passions'' are aired by AFN on a one-week tape delay. This stream is divided into three feeds ('AFN Prime Atlantic,' 'AFN Prime Freedom' (Middle East), and 'AFN Prime Pacific'); the difference between the three is that they are time-shifted so that programs air later on AFN Prime Pacific then they are on AFN Prime Atlantic, with AFN Freedom in between. Many regional feeds (such as AFN-Europe, AFN-Iraq, and AFN-Korea) are based off of AFN Prime and add local programming to it; thus, in a way, AFN Prime mimics the regular network TV concept.
★ 'AFN Spectrum'. AFN Spectrum is more of a culture-oriented channel and also airs a lot of public television programming in addition to programming from cable networks and classic TV series. In a way, it mimics the "superstation" concept from cablecasters
Turner Broadcasting System (TBS) and
WGN-Chicago. However their lineup has begun to add more conventional programming to the schedule, like
American Idol,
Everybody Hates Chris,
Men In Trees,
The Simple Life and
Ugly Betty, as some of the public television and classic fare that made up Spectrum is being reduced but remain the primary constant on the channel.
★ 'AFN Xtra'. A youth-oriented channel, with shows from Comedy Central, MTV, and more.
★ 'AFN News'. AFN News is a rolling-news channel providing news from all major news outlets, including military ones. Newscasts, such as the ''
NBC Nightly News'', ''
ABC World News Tonight'', and ''
CBS Evening News'', were all scheduled to air in the mornings so viewers could watch the headlines live, but now they air on a tape delay in the regular early evening slot, back to back. In addition, AFN News also airs current affairs programming.
★ 'AFN Family'. AFN Family is a general entertainment channel providing programming for families.
★ 'AFN Movie'. AFN Movie is a channel showcasing movies as well as film-oriented programming.
★ 'AFN Sports'. AFN Sports is a rolling-sports channel, providing sports news and programming, including
ESPN's
SportsCenter.
★ '
Pentagon Channel'. This is the only AFN channel that is available in the USA to the general public. It airs military news and information programming 24 hours a day.
Transmitters in Germany
★
Transmitter Weisskirchen (AFN Frankfurt, most powerful AFN transmitter)
★
Transmitter Ismaning (shut-down in 1994)
★
Hirschlanden transmitter (AFN-Stuttgart, AM-service)
★
Fernmeldeturm Stuttgart (AFN-Stuttgart, FM-service)
The AFN transmitters in Germany are operated by different authorities. Most transmitters are operated directly by the U.S. military. Some are the property of
Deutsche Telekom, while others are controlled by German
public broadcasting corporations.
See also
★
Pentagon Channel
★
British Forces Broadcasting Service
★
Canadian Forces Radio and Television
★
Israel Army Radio
Literature
★ Patrick Morley: 'This Is the American Forces Network'. The Anglo-American Battle of the Air Waves in World War II.'' Westport, CT (2001)
★ Trent Christman: "''Brass Button Broadcasters: Lighthearted Look at Fifty Years of Military Broadcasting.''" Turner Publishing (1992)
★ American Forces Information Service: "''History of AFRTS, the first 50 years.''" U.S. Government Printing Office (1993)
External links
★
American Forces Network
★
American Forces Radio and Television Service
★
AFN Korea
★
AFN Europe
★
AFN Tokyo
★
AFN Sasebo
★
AFN Iwakuni
★
Canadian Forces Radio & Television (CFRT)
★
British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS)
★
British Army Garrison Radio (GR)
★
Armed Forces Radio Service collection of broadcast recordings, at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
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