The Defense Information School
In 1946. the Army Information School began at Carlisle Barracks, PA, and through 1947, the Navy,
Air Force and Marine Corps sent their officer students to the Army school for
public affairs training. During this time, however, the Navy established its own
journalism school and the Air Force opened its own school for public information
training. Early in 1948, a series of meetings was held by representatives of
each of the Services with the Army Information School to consider combining
their separate information training efforts. Subsequently, the Armed Forces
Information School was established, replacing the Army’s and Air Force’s
information schools and was moved to Ft. Slocum, NY in 1951. The Navy, however,
continued to operate its own journal- 7 ism school at Great Lakes.
A renewed effort
began in 1961 to combine information training for all of the services and on 21
February 1964 the Department of Defense issued a charter for the establishment
of the Defense Information School (DINFOS). The following year, DINFOS was moved
from Ft. Slocum to Ft. Benjamin Harrison, IN.
From 1964 to 1973,
the Army exercised administrative control of the school through the Deputy Chief
of Staff for Personnel, Department of the Army. In July 1973, DINFOS was placed
under the Army’s Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC). Then on 28 July 1992,
the Deputy Secretary of Defense approved the functional transfer and
consolidation of service training for public affairs, visual information and
broadcasting under the direction of the American Forces Information Service (AFIS).
On 1 October 1992,
AFIS assumed operational control of DINFOS, and at the same time, the decision
was made to consolidate DINFOS, the Defense Photography School (DPHSCH) at
Pensacola FL, and the Defense Visual Information School (DVISCH) at Lowry AFB,
CO to operate as a single, joint-service educational facility at Ft. George G.
Meade, MD. The visual information and broadcast training elements moved from
Lowry AFB to Ft. Meade in 1994; DINFOS moved from Ft. Benjamin Harrison to Ft.
Meade in 1995 and the DPHSCH elements joined them in early 1998. The current
Defense Information School was dedicated 12 June 1998, concluding the
consolidation. The new facility at Ft. Meade encompasses 232,000 square feet and
its classrooms and labs are equipped with the latest state-of-the-art equipment.
About 4,000 students
are trained each year by the DINFOS faculty at the newly consolidated school.
Military and civilian graduates of the School can be found in almost every major
broadcast, newspaper, public affairs or visual information related operation in
the United States and overseas.
Upon consolidation,
institutional accreditation for DINFOS was transferred from the North Central
Association of Colleges and Schools to the Accrediting Commission of the Council
on Occupational Education (AC/COE). In February 1999, COE reaffirmed DINFOS’
institutional accreditation. The American Council on Education (ACE) also
evaluates School training programs for academic hours of credit transferable to most colleges in the United States.
