Defense Media Activity

Defense Media Activity (DMA) is a field activity of the United States Department of Defense established in 2008 to consolidate and provide media-related services across the department and the military services. It operates as a separate DoD component under the authority, direction, and control of the Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs. Unlike a commercial media brand, DMA is a government organization whose outputs support public communication, internal information, visual documentation, training, and the delivery of news and entertainment to U.S. military audiences around the world. DMA is headquartered at Fort Meade, Maryland. Its activities are organized around several principal lines of business. The Defense Information School trains military and civilian personnel in public affairs, journalism, broadcasting, visual information, and related communication specialties. Media Production creates and distributes photographic, video, print, radio, television, web, and mobile content for the Department of Defense and other authorized agencies. This work includes services associated with the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service, or DVIDS, and support for the public websites and communication channels of the military departments. The American Forces Network provides radio and television programming for U.S. service members, families, and other eligible audiences at overseas installations. Stars and Stripes produces and distributes an overseas newspaper and online journalism for U.S. military communities. Mission Support supplies administrative, logistical, transportation, and facilities services, while WEB.mil provides hosting and technology services for selected DoD web properties and media systems. The organization’s lineage is broader than its 2008 founding date. Its historical predecessors include Stars and Stripes, whose military newspaper tradition reaches back to the American Civil War, and the Armed Forces Network, which began radio broadcasting from London in 1943. Other predecessor organizations included the Armed Forces Radio and Television Service, the Army Broadcasting Service, the Army Soldiers Media Center, the Naval Media Center, the Air Force News Agency, the Joint Hometown News Service, and the American Forces Information Service. DMA was created in the aftermath of the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure process. The approved realignment plan called for the consolidation and relocation of multiple service-level and DoD media organizations, many of them in Virginia, Washington, D.C., and Texas, into a more integrated activity at Fort Meade. In 2007, the deputy secretary of defense directed that the American Forces Information Service be consolidated with the new activity and that relevant Marine Corps internal media elements also be included. DoD Directive 5105.74 established the organization’s charter in December 2007. DMA formally began operations on January 1, 2008, while personnel and funding from predecessor organizations were transferred later in 2008. A dedicated headquarters and media production center was constructed at Fort Meade. The facility was designed to accommodate approximately 660 personnel and was completed in 2011; the organizational move was completed in August of that year. Some DMA components remained at other military or government locations, including the Pentagon, Tobyhanna Army Depot, Riverside, California, and overseas sites. The organization therefore combines a central headquarters with geographically distributed broadcasting, training, production, and support operations. DMA’s role is both operational and institutional. It documents military activities, supports crisis and routine communication, trains public-affairs professionals, distributes official visual information, and supplies overseas audiences with news and programming. Its services help the Department of Defense communicate with service members, families, the public, and news organizations while maintaining specialized media capabilities that are difficult to provide separately within every military department. Reference material states that the organization was officially renamed War Media Activity on May 6, 2026; the historical subject of this dossier remains Defense Media Activity.

Defense Media Activity was created to bring together media, information, and communication functions that had historically been distributed among the U.S. military services and other Department of Defense organizations. Its institutional lineage includes Stars and Stripes, the military newspaper first produced by Union soldiers during the Civil War, and the Armed Forces Network, which began broadcasting from London in July 1943 using borrowed equipment. During the early 1970s, the Armed Forces Network assumed responsibility for Air Force Television in Ramstein, Germany, and developed into the Armed Forces Radio and Television Service. Beginning in 1980, the Army Broadcasting Service managed AFRTS operations in locations including Europe, Korea, Honduras, and the Marshall Islands. In November 2006, the Army Soldiers Media Center was established and assumed responsibility for AFRTS, Soldiers Magazine, and other Army-related media functions. The immediate institutional basis for DMA was the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure process. The Department of Defense recommended consolidating media organizations operated by the military departments and locating them with the American Forces Information Service, an existing DoD field activity. The BRAC Commission accepted the recommendation, the President approved it on September 8, 2005, and Congress did not disapprove it by the statutory deadline. The approved actions included relocating Soldiers Magazine from Fort Belvoir, Virginia; the Naval Media Center from the Anacostia Annex; Army Broadcasting–Soldier Radio/TV from Alexandria, Virginia; and the Air Force News Agency and Joint Hometown News Service from San Antonio, Texas. The plan also called for closing or realigning several leased sites and consolidating the affected functions at Fort Meade, Maryland. In September 2007, the deputy secretary of defense directed further organizational integration. The American Forces Information Service was to be consolidated with DMA, internal Marine Corps media elements not covered by the original BRAC decision were to be included, and DMA was to be established on January 1, 2008. DoD Directive 5105.74, the organization’s chartering directive, was published on December 18, 2007. DMA formally began operations on January 1, 2008. The transfer of personnel and funding from predecessor organizations occurred during 2008, while some physical relocations awaited construction of the Fort Meade facility. On March 13, 2009, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers awarded a construction contract for DMA’s headquarters and media production center. The facility covered 185,870 square feet and was designed for approximately 660 personnel. It was completed in May 2011, and the move to Fort Meade concluded in August 2011. Not every element moved to the new headquarters: components in the Pentagon, Tobyhanna Army Depot, Riverside, California, and overseas locations remained at their respective sites. DMA’s operating structure combines headquarters functions with five principal lines of business. The Defense Information School provides joint-service instruction for military and civilian personnel in public affairs and visual information. Media Production creates still and moving imagery, print material, radio and television programming, internet and mobile content, and other communication products. It also supports DVIDS and internal news and information for major DoD and military-service websites. The American Forces Network supplies radio and television programming to eligible U.S. military audiences in overseas communities, with a central broadcast center at March Air Reserve Base in California. Stars and Stripes continues the tradition of overseas military journalism through print and online distribution. Mission Support handles administrative, facilities, logistics, and transportation requirements, while WEB.mil supplies hosting and technology services for selected defense websites and media systems. The organization is led by a director appointed by the Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs. The director may be a military general or flag officer or a civilian member of the Senior Executive Service. Reference material lists a succession of permanent and acting directors beginning with the organization’s launch in 2008. It also states that the organization was renamed War Media Activity on May 6, 2026. The historical and institutional record presented here continues to identify the subject by its established name, Defense Media Activity.

• 2026

  Reference material records a name change

  [1]Defense Media Activityen.wikipedia.org

  Reference material states that the organization was officially renamed War Media Activity on May 6, 2026.

• 2011

  Move to Fort Meade completed

  [1]Defense Media Activityen.wikipedia.org

  The new headquarters and media production facility was completed in May, and the move was finished in August.

• 2009

  Fort Meade construction contract awarded

  [1]Defense Media Activityen.wikipedia.org

  The Army Corps of Engineers awarded a contract for DMA’s headquarters and media production center.

• 2008

  Defense Media Activity formally established

  [1]Defense Media Activityen.wikipedia.org

  DMA began operations on January 1, 2008, with personnel and funding subsequently transferred from predecessor organizations.

• 2007

  DMA charter issued

  [1]Defense Media Activityen.wikipedia.org

  DoD Directive 5105.74, establishing the organization’s charter, was published on December 18, 2007.

• 2005

  BRAC consolidation approved

  [1]Defense Media Activityen.wikipedia.org

  The BRAC process approved a plan to consolidate multiple military media organizations and relocate them toward a common Fort Meade operation.

• 1943

  Armed Forces Network predecessor begins broadcasting

  [1]Defense Media Activityen.wikipedia.org

  The Armed Forces Network lineage begins with a radio broadcast from London using borrowed equipment.

• 1861

  Stars and Stripes lineage begins

  [1]Defense Media Activityen.wikipedia.org

  The newspaper tradition later associated with DMA traces its origins to Stars and Stripes publications produced by Union soldiers during the Civil War.

A centralized U.S. defense-media and communication service supporting military public affairs, visual information, overseas broadcasting, journalism, digital infrastructure, and professional training.

• Radio and television broadcasting · 1943

  American Forces Network

  The American Forces Network provides radio and television news, information, and entertainment programming for U.S. military communities and other eligible audiences outside the United States. Its operations include stations serving communities in Europe, the Pacific, and the Middle East, supported by a central broadcast hub at March Air Reserve Base in Riverside, California.

• Newspaper and digital journalism · 1861

  Stars and Stripes

  Stars and Stripes produces an overseas newspaper and online reporting for U.S. military communities outside the United States. It combines staff-produced stories with U.S. and international news and distributes content to service members, families, and military installations.

• Visual information distribution

  Defense Visual Information Distribution Service

  DVIDS supports the collection, management, and distribution of authorized defense visual information, including imagery and video produced by military and defense organizations. It helps make official visual material available to internal users and external media.

• Professional education and training

  Defense Information School

  The Defense Information School provides joint-service education for military and civilian personnel working in public affairs, journalism, broadcasting, visual information, and related communication specialties.

• Web hosting and technology services

  WEB.mil

  WEB.mil provides technology and hosting services for DMA and selected Department of Defense web properties. Its responsibilities include support for the DoD Public Web program, DVIDS, and the Television-Audio Support Activity.

• 2009

  Construction of centralized headquarters and production centerOther

  Background

  The BRAC consolidation required a purpose-built facility at Fort Meade for headquarters and media-production functions.

  Action taken

  The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers awarded a construction contract for a 185,870-square-foot facility designed for approximately 660 personnel.

  Aftermath

  The building was completed in May 2011 and the move was completed in August 2011.

  Construction contract value. $56,195,000 (Awarded March 13, 2009)

  Source

• 2007

  Integration of predecessor defense media organizationsStrategy

  Background

  The planned consolidation would otherwise have left multiple field activities operating near one another at Fort Meade.

  Action taken

  The deputy secretary of defense directed the consolidation of the American Forces Information Service with DMA and the inclusion of relevant Marine Corps internal media elements.

  Aftermath

  The directive supported DMA’s formal launch and the transfer of predecessor personnel and funding.

  Source

• 2005

  Consolidation under the BRAC programStrategy

  Background

  The Department of Defense determined that numerous media services operated separately by the military departments could be delivered more effectively through a consolidated organization.

  Action taken

  The approved BRAC plan directed the relocation and integration of several newspaper, broadcasting, public-information, and news-agency functions at Fort Meade.

  Aftermath

  The decision created the organizational and facilities framework that led to DMA’s establishment in 2008 and its headquarters move in 2011.

  Source

1. 1Defense Media Activityen.wikipedia.org