2018 Defense Media Awards and Marine Corps Visual Information and Excellence in Communication Awards Program Announcement

1.  Purpose.  This MARADMIN announces the call for nominations for the 2018 Defense Media Awards and the 2018 Marine Corps Visual Information and Excellence in Communication (VIEC) awards program.  This program recognizes Communication Strategy and Operations (COMMSTRAT) units, officer and enlisted Marines and civilians whose leadership, writing, photography, videography, graphic design, publications, 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 all 45XX officer, enlisted active duty Marines, reserve Marines on active duty, reserve Marines attending regular drills, and members of mobilization training units for Communication Strategy and Operations. 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 iv.
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/Officer of the Year nominations, communication plans, and publication entries to MARADMIN POCs.  Marines may submit no more than one submission per category.
5.  All content must have been created and published on DVIDS between 1 January 2018 to 31 December 2018.  Submissions for the Marine Corps VIEC awards program must arrive by 2359 ETD, 15 March 2019.  All entries must be submitted in accordance with contest guidelines, reference (a), contained in the 2018 Defense Media Awards program SOP found at http:(slash)(slash)www.dma.mil/Services/Defense-Media-Awards/.
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 Officer of the Year
6.d.  Communication Strategy and Operations Unit of the Year
7.  For the full list of Marine Corps award categories and VIEC SOP visit reference (b) at the bottom right side of the following page:  http:(slash)(slash)www.dma.mil/Services/Defense-Media-Awards/
8.  Contact POC1 or POC2 for further information and clarification of submission guidelines. For technical instructions and coordination with DVIDS, contact Marine Corps liaison, GySgt.  Brian Buckwalter, (678) 421-6820, bbuckwaltler@dvidshub.net and Marines@dvidshub.net.  Improper submissions will be disqualified unless fixed by the submitter prior to the deadline date. 
9.  Release authorized by Brigadier General W. H. Seely III, Director,  Communication Directorate.