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. Image File history File links AFN_TV.jpg Summary American Forces Network Logo Licensing File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... The armed forces of the United States of America consist of the United States Army United States Navy United States Air Force United States Marine Corps United States Coast Guard Note: The United States Coast Guard has both military and law enforcement functions. ...

Organization

AmericanForces 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). The American Forces Information Service (AFIS) is a United States Department of Defence-provided service that supplies information about the U.S. military. ... Assistant Secretary of Defense is a title used for many executive positions in the United States Department of Defense. ... Public affairs is a catch-all term that includes public policy as well as public administration, both of which are closely related to and draw upon the fields of political science as well as economics. ...

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 and follow-on training at the Defense Information School (DINFOS) at Fort George G. Meade in Maryland. Some of AFN's broadcasters have previous commercial broadcasting experience prior to enlisting in the military. The broadcasters operate state-of-the-art audio and visual editing equipment and receive training from professionals in the broadcast industry. A Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) is a job classification in use in the United States Army and Marine Corps. ... The Defense Information School, or DINFOS, is a Department of Defense school located Fort George G. Meade. ... NSA headquarters in Fort Meade, Maryland Fort George G. Meade, 5 miles (8 km) northeast of the town of Laurel, Maryland, is an active US Army installation. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... Commercial broadcasting - Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ...

The current head of the AFN is Allison Barber. Allison Barber is the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Internal Communications. ...

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. 1942 (MCMXLII) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1942 calendar). ... Line drawing of the Department of Wars seal. ... 1954 (MCMLIV) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... January 1 is the first day of the calendar year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. ... 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ...

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. Combatants Major Allied powers: United Kingdom Soviet Union United States Republic of China and others Major Axis powers: Nazi Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Harry Truman Chiang Kai-Shek Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tojo Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead... A military base is a facility, settlement, reservation, or installation that shelters military equipment and personnel. ... 1942 (MCMXLII) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1942 calendar). ... The Panama Canal Zone (Spanish: ), was a 553 square mile (1,432 km²) territory inside of Panama, consisting of the Panama Canal and an area generally extending 5 miles (8. ... A bivouac may be: Look up camp on Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

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). London (pronounced ) is the capital city of England and the United Kingdom. ... This article is an overview article about the Crown chartered British Broadcasting Corporation formed in 1927. ...

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. For the United States holiday, the Fourth of July, see Independence Day (United States). ... 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1943 calendar). ... The current BBC News logo BBC News and Current Affairs is a major arm of the BBC responsible for the corporations newsgathering and production of news programmes on BBC television, radio and online. ... Corporal is a rank in use in some form by most militaries, police forces or other uniformed organizations around the world. ... Antenna tower of Crystal Palace transmitter, London A transmitter (sometimes abbreviated XMTR) is an electronic device which with the aid of an antenna propagates an electromagnetic signal such as radio, television, or other telecommunications. ... The Battle of Normandy was fought in 1944 between the German forces occupying Western Europe and the invading Allies. ...

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. Land on Normandy In military parlance, D-Day is a term often used to denote the day on which a combat attack or operation is to be initiated. ... The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), a Canadian crown corporation, is the countrys national radio and television broadcaster. ...

Although the network's administrative headquarters remained in London, its operational headquarters soon moved to AFN Paris. City flag City coat of arms Motto: Fluctuat nec mergitur (Latin: Tossed by the waves, she does not sink) Location Coordinates Time Zone CET (GMT +1) Administration Country France Région ÃŽle-de-France Département Paris (75) Subdivisions 20 arrondissements Mayor Bertrand Delanoë  (PS) (since 2001) City Statistics Land...

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, LeHarve, Marseille, Nice, Paris, and Reims. Tourist Office Hotel du Palais or Eugenie Palace La Grande Plage, the towns largest beach Biarritz is a town and commune which lies on the Bay of Biscay, on the Atlantic coast, in southwestern France. ... Cannes (Canas in Provençal) (pronounced ) is a city and commune in southern France, located on the Riviera, in the Alpes-Maritimes département. ...   City flag Coat of arms Motto: By her great deeds, Marseille shines in the world Coordinates Time Zone CET (GMT +1) Administration Country France Région Provence-Alpes-Côte dAzur Département Bouches-du-Rhône (13) Subdivisions 16 arrondissements (in 8 secteurs) Intercommunality Urban Community of Marseille... City flag City coat of arms Motto: [1] (Latin: Nice the city) Coordinates : , Time Zone : CET (GMT +1) Administration Département Alpes-Maritimes (06) Région Provence-Alpes-Côte dAzur Mayor Jacques Peyrat (UMP) (since 1995) Intercommunality Community of Agglomeration Nice Côte dAzur City (commune) Characteristics... City flag City coat of arms Motto: Fluctuat nec mergitur (Latin: Tossed by the waves, she does not sink) Location Coordinates Time Zone CET (GMT +1) Administration Country France Région ÃŽle-de-France Département Paris (75) Subdivisions 20 arrondissements Mayor Bertrand Delanoë  (PS) (since 2001) City Statistics Land... Reims (English traditionally Rheims) (pronounced in French) is a city of northern France, 144 km (89 miles) east-northeast of Paris. ...

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. December 31 is the 365th day of the year (366th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1945 (MCMVL) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1945 calendar). ... 1948 (MCMXLVIII) was a leap year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1948 calendar). ... 1949 (MCMXLIX) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1949 calendar). ...

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 small number of AFN stations continued broadcasting from American bases in Europe (particularly Germany) after World war Two (some remain on-air today) During 1950's 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. Radio jamming is the transmission of radio signals that disrupt communications that decrease the signal to noise ratio. ... Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a radio and communications organization which is funded by the United States Congress. ...

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. Korea (Korean: 한국 or ì¡°ì„ , see below) is a geographic area, civilization, and former state situated on the Korean Peninsula in East Asia. ... Seoul (Sŏul[1] 서울)   is the capital and largest city of South Korea (Republic of Korea). ... 1950 (MCML) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ...

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. Stratovision is an airborne television transmission relay system from aircraft flying at high altitudes. ... USN redirects here. ...

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. National motto: ??? Official language Vietnamese Capital Saigon Last President Duong Van Minh Last Prime Minister Vu Van Mau Area  - Total  - % water 173,809km² N/A population  - Total  - Density 19,370,000 (1973 est. ... This article contains information that has not been verified and thus might not be reliable. ... Pleiku is a town in central Vietnam seated in the central highland region. ... Da Nang (occasionally Danang; in Vietnamese: Quốc Ngữ Đà Nẵng, Chữ Nôm 沱囊/沱曩, Chinese: 峴港) is a major port city in the South Central Coast of Vietnam, on the coast of the South China Sea. ... Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnamese: Thành Chí Minh) is the largest city in Vietnam, located near the delta of the Mekong River. ...

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. Geneva Convention definition A prisoner of war (POW) is a soldier, sailor, airman, or marine who is imprisoned by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict. ...

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. For other meanings of DJ, see DJ (disambiguation). ... Adrian Cronauer (born September 8, 1938) is a lawyer and former radio disc jockey from the United States. ... Good Morning, Vietnam is a 1987 comedy/drama film set in Saigon during the Vietnam War, based on the career of Adrian Cronauer, a disc jockey on Armed Forces Radio Saigon (AFRS), who proves hugely popular with the troops serving in South Vietnam, but infuriates his superiors with what they... For other people named Robin Williams, see Robin Williams (disambiguation). ... Patrick Leonard Sajak (born October 26, 1946 in Chicago, Illinois), recognized as Pat Sajak, is best known as the current host of the popular and long-running American television game show, Wheel of Fortune. ... 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1971 calendar). ... Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnamese: Thành Chí Minh) is the largest city in Vietnam, located near the delta of the Mekong River. ... 1973 (MCMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday. ...

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 satelite 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 reconnaisance 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. 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday, and was designated the International Year of Old Farts by the Sometimes-United Nations. ... Map of Panama, with Panama canal The Torrijos-Carter Treaties (sometimes referred to in the singular as the Torrijos-Carter Treaty), are a pair of treaties signed by the United States and Panama in Washington, D. C. on September 7, 1977, abrogating the Hay-Bunau Varilla Treaty signed in 1903. ...

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, Italy; Puerto Rico; Hawaii; and others. Single-sideband modulation (SSB) is a refinement of the technique of amplitude modulation designed to be more efficient in its use of electrical power and bandwidth. ... A solid-state, analog shortwave receiver Shortwave radio operates between the frequencies of 2,310 kHz and 30 MHz (30,000 kHz) [1] and came to be referred to as such in the early days of radio because the wavelengths associated with this frequency range were shorter than those commonly...

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). The 1970s decade refers to the years from 1970 to 1979, inclusive. ... Central Europe is the region lying between the variously and vaguely defined areas of Eastern and Western Europe. ... The U.S. Air Force redirects here, for the official song, see The U.S. Air Force (song) The United States Air Force (USAF) is the aerospace branch of the United States armed forces and one of the seven uniformed services. ... Boeing C-17A Lot XII Globemaster III Serial 00-0172 Spirit of the Cascades at the Ramstein cargo terminal. ...

On October 28, 1976, AFN television moved from AFTV's old black and white studios at Ramstein Air Base 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, Holland. October 28 is the 301st day of the year (302nd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 64 days remaining. ... 1976 (MCMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday. ... Boeing C-17A Lot XII Globemaster III Serial 00-0172 Spirit of the Cascades at the Ramstein cargo terminal. ... The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view. ... Würzburg is a city in the region of Franconia which lies in the northern tip of Bavaria, Germany. ... Soesterberg is a village in the municipality of Soest, Utrecht, Netherlands, with a population of about 7,000. ... Holland is a region in the central-western part of the Netherlands. ...

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. January 1 is the first day of the calendar year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. ... 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ...

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. September 15 is the 258th day of the year (259th in leap years). ... 1957 (MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

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 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. The Far East Network or FEN, was a network of American military radio and television stations, primarily serving U.S Forces in Japan, Okinawa, the Philippines, and U.S. Territory of Guam. ... Very high frequency (VHF) is the radio frequency range from 30 MHz to 300 MHz. ... This article is about the prefecture. ... This article is becoming very long. ... This article is about the radio frequency. ... United States Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni is located at the Nishiki river delta in the city of Iwakuni in Yamaguchi Prefecture in the Chugoku region of the island of Honshu, Japan. ... Danny Kaye entertains at Sasebo U.S. Fleet Activities Sasebo is a United States Navy naval base, in Sasebo, Japan, on the island of KyÅ«shÅ«. It provides facilities for the logistic support of forward-deployed units and visiting operating forces of the US Pacific Fleet and designated tenant activities. ... American and Japanese air traffic controllers work together in Misawas busy control tower. ... Tokyo , literally Eastern capital)   is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, the home of the Japanese Imperial Family, and the de facto[1] capital of Japan. ... Cable television or Community Antenna Television (CATV) (and often shortened to cable) is a system of providing television, FM radio programming and other services to consumers via radio waves transmitted directly to people’s televisions through fixed coaxial cables as opposed to the over-the-air method used in...

AFN-Japan's radio services consist of AM and FM stereo operations at Yokota Air Base (AM), MCAS Iwakuni (AM), FLTACTS Sasebo AM), Okinawa (FM stereo & AM) and Misawa Air Base (AM). Yokota Air Base ), a base of the United States Air Force, is located in the city of Fussa and nearby communities in the suburbs of Tokyo, Japan. ...

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. Infantry inspect a hole in the devasted Kwajalein Atoll Kwajalein Atoll is part of the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI), 2,100 nautical miles (3900 km) southwest of Honolulu, Hawaii, at 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. 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... See also: 2003 invasion of Iraq and Gulf War (disambiguation) C Company, 1st Battalion, The Staffordshire Regiment, 1st UK Armoured Division The Persian Gulf War was a conflict between Iraq and a coalition force of 34 nations led by the United States. ... See also: 2003 invasion of Iraq and Gulf War (disambiguation) C Company, 1st Battalion, The Staffordshire Regiment, 1st UK Armoured Division The Persian Gulf War was a conflict between Iraq and a coalition force of 34 nations led by the United States. ...

Operation Iraqi Freedom

Broadcasting "from a secret location" in the Baghdad area, radio's "most heavily armed staff" continues the AFN tradition of going where the troops go with AFN-Iraq. AFN-Iraq began broadcasting in the FM band shortly after the fall of Saddam and legend has it that the first song on the air was Freedom by Paul McCartney. By the end of OIF II, AFN-Iraq was broadcasting three FM channels on the increasingly busy Iraqi airwaves. The abbreviations FM, Fm, and fm may refer to: Electrical engineering Frequency modulation (FM) and its most common applications: FM broadcasting, used primarily to broadcast music and speech at VHF frequencies FM synthesis, a sound-generation technique popularized by early digital synthesizers Science Femtometre (fm), an SI measure of length... Saddam Hussein Saddām Hussein ʻAbd al-Majid al-Tikrītī (Often spelt Husayn or Hussain; Arabic صدام حسين عبدالمجيد التكريتي; born April 28, 1937... Look up freedom in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, (born June 18, 1942) is an English songwriter, musician and singer, best known as a member of The Beatles and one half of the songwriting partnership known as Lennon/McCartney. ...

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. For other uses, please see Cold War (disambiguation). ...

The U.S. defense drawdown began in earnest after the Gulf War, and impacted AFN stations across Europe, as many stations were closed because of the closing of bases.

In Europe, AFN is still on the air from Tuzla, Bosnia and Taszar, Hungary to inform and entertain U.S. forces. Tuzla (Serbian Cyrillic: Тузла) is a city in Bosnia and Herzegovina. ... Motto: none Anthem(s): Intermeco Capital Sarajevo Largest city Sarajevo Official language(s) Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian Government Republic  - Presidency members Haris Silajdžić1 (Bosniak) NebojÅ¡a Radmanović (Serb) Željko KomÅ¡ić (Croat)  - Chairman of the Council of Ministers Adnan Terzić Independence From Yugoslavia   - Recognized 6 April 1992  Area  - Total...

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. May 29 is the 149th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (150th in leap years). ... Skanderbeg Square (Photo by Marc Morell) Tirana (Albanian: Tiranë or Tirana) is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Albania. ... For other uses of the name Kosovo, see Kosovo (disambiguation). ... NATO 2002 Summit in Prague The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation[1] (NATO), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, the Atlantic Alliance or the Western Alliance, is an international organisation for collective security established in 1949, in support of the North Atlantic Treaty signed in Washington, DC, on 4 April 1949. ...

AFN viewers abroad witnessed live television coverage of the terrorist attacks on The Pentagon and World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. A sequential look at United Flight 175 crashing into the south tower of the World Trade Center The September 11, 2001 attacks (often referred to as 9/11—pronounced nine eleven or nine one one) consisted of a series of coordinated terrorist[1] suicide attacks upon the United States, predominantly... The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located at 48 N. Rotary Road, Arlington, Virginia 22211 (Map). ... World trade centers or world trade centres (usually abbreviated WTC) arose in the United States and Japan in the 1970s, spearheaded by New York Citys World Trade Center. ... September 11 is the 254th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (255th in leap years). ... 2001: A Space Odyssey. ...

During military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq AFN provided non-stop coverage of the campaigns. AFN radio and television media personnel from Europe deployed with the troops to cover events. Today AFN has a staffed affiliate in Iraq, AFN Baghdad (launched 2003). Baghdad ( translit: ) is the capital of Iraq and of Baghdad Governorate. ...

Wherever large numbers of US troops are deployed, the AFN sets up operation, providing news and entertainment from home. Today the 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. Naval 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. NTSC is the analog television system in use in Korea, Japan, United States, Canada and certain other places, mostly in the Americas (see map). ... PowerVu is a conditional access system for digital television developed by Scientific Atlanta. ... This article is about algorithms for encryption and decryption. ... Official DVB logo, found on compliant devices DVB, short for Digital Video Broadcasting, is a suite of internationally accepted, open standards for digital television maintained by the DVB Project, an industry consortium with more than 270 members, and published by a Joint Technical Committee (JTC) of European Telecommunications Standards Institute... Like John says copyright law in the UK is u make something and its copyrighted but in america u must make a patent haaaa ... How to obtain a amature radio licence differs from country to country. ... The United States Department of State, often referred to as the State Department, is the Cabinet-level foreign affairs agency of the United States Government, equivalent to foreign ministries in other countries. ...

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. A Satellite dish antenna A satellite dish is a type of parabolic reflector antenna designed with the specific purpose of transmitting signals to and/or receiving from satellites. ...

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. A public service announcement or PSA is a non-commercial advertisement—typically on U.S. or Canadian radio or television, broadcast for the public good. ... The winning Super Bowl team receives the Vince Lombardi Trophy. ...

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. country music, see Country music (disambiguation) Country music, also known as country and western music or country-western, is a blend of popular musical forms originally found in the Southern United States. ... Ryan John Seacrest (born December 24, 1974) is an American radio and television personality, most famous as the host of the reality-television talent-search series American Idol. ... American Country Countdown -- also known as ACC or American Country Countdown with Kix Brooks -- is an internationally syndicated radio program which counts down the top 40 country songs of the previous week, from No. ... Brooks & Dunn are a country music singer/songwriter duo, one of the most successful in the history of country music. ... In the entertainment and news industries, syndication is a method of making content available to a range of outlets simultaneously. ... Talk radio is a radio format which features discussion of topical issues. ... Rush Hudson Limbaugh III (born January 12, 1951) is an American radio talk show host. ... The Motley Fool is a website about stocks, investing, and personal finance. ... Prudence Johnson and Garrison Keillor live on-stage at Shelburne, Vermont as part of the 2005 Rhubarb tour A Prairie Home Companion is a live radio variety show created and hosted by Garrison Keillor. ... Laura Schlessinger, Ph. ... NPR redirects here. ... Letters From War (Song) Letters From War is a popular song by singer/songwriter Mark Schultz. ... Mark Schultz is an American comicbook writer and artist. ...

As of 2005 the Network has liberal/progressive talkers Al Franken from Air America Radio and Ed Schultz from Jones Radio Network. [1] Alan Stuart Franken (born May 21, 1951, in New York City) is an Emmy Award winning American comedian, actor, author, screenwriter, political commentator and radio host, noted for his work on Saturday Night Live and liberal socio-political views. ... Logo of Air America Radio, a U.S. radio network and program syndication sevice with a liberal point of view. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Jones Radio Networks is a radio programming company. ...

On December 5, 2005, Al Franken and Ed Schultz, along with Sean Hannity, were added to the radio programs provided by the AFN Broadcast Center to its affiliate stations.

On April 24, 2006, AFN Europe launched AFN The Eagle, a virtually 24-hour-a-day radio service with a format modeled after "Jack FM" . This replaced ZFM, which usually used the Z Rock stream (see below). Primary Jack FM logo Jack FM is the moniker and on-air brand of several radio stations in Canada, the United States and now the United Kingdom. ...

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: Single-sideband modulation (SSB) is a refinement of the technique of amplitude modulation designed to be more efficient in its use of electrical power and bandwidth. ...

• 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 what is airing on American TV. This means that a lot of programming is sourced from commercial networks and PBS at minimal or no cost. Like in the United States, AFN broadcasts using the NTSC television standard. PBS re-directs here; for alternate uses see PBS (disambiguation) PBS logo The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is a non-profit public broadcasting television service with 349 member TV stations in the United States. ... NTSC is the analog television system in use in Korea, Japan, United States, Canada and certain other places, mostly in the Americas (see map). ...

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.
• 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.

A sitcom or situation comedy is a genre of comedy performance originally devised for radio but today typically found on television. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... A talk show (U.S.) or chat show (Brit. ... A game show involves members of the public or celebrities, sometimes as part of a team, playing a game, perhaps involving answering quiz questions, for points or prizes. ... Reality television is a genre of television programming in which the fortunes of real life people (as opposed to fictional characters played by actors) are followed. ... The first TIME cover devoted to soap operas: Dated January 12, 1976, Bill Hayes and Susan Seaforth Hayes of Days of our Lives are featured with the headline Soap Operas: Sex and suffering in the afternoon. A soap opera is an ongoing, episodic work of fiction, usually broadcast on television... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... General Hospital is the longest-running daytime American soap opera on the ABC television network, and is also the longest-running soap opera produced in Hollywood (having been taped at the Prospect Avenue ABC Television Center West and Sunset-Gower Studios). ... Passions is an American television soap opera created by veteran soap opera writer James E. Reilly. ... Turner Broadcasting System logo The Turner Broadcasting System (often abbreviated to Turner or TBS) is the company managing the collection of cable networks and properties started by Ted Turner from the mid-1970s to the late-1990s. ... WGN is the callsign of two broadcast stations in Chicago, Illinois, both owned by the Tribune company. ... NBC Nightly News is the flagship evening news program for NBC News and broadcasts from Studio 3C at the GE Building, Rockefeller Center in New York City. ... ABC World News Tonight (often abbreviated as WNT) is the ABC television networks flagship evening news program. ... Walter Cronkite on the CBS Evening News in the 1970s. ... ESPN (formerly an acronym for the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American cable television network dedicated to broadcasting sports-related programming 24 hours a day. ... SportsCenter is a sports news television show shown every day on ESPN since the network was founded on September 7, 1979. ...

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)
• Sembach transmitter (AFN Kaiserslautern)

(incomplete) The transmitter Weisskirchen is a medium wave broadcasting facility located near Weisskirchen, Oberursel, Germany. ... The Transmitter Ismaning is a large radio station inaugaurated in 1932. ... Mast of Hirschlanden transmitter. ... Fernmeldeturm Frauenkopf on the left and Funkturm Stuttgart on the right The Stuttgarter Fernmeldeturm (Stuttgart Telecommunication Tower)is a reinforced concrete tower for radio relay, UKW and TV transmitting services tower at Stuttgart-Frauenkopf ( Geographical coordinates: 48° 45 53 N, 9° 12 26 E). ... Sembach transmitter is the mediumwave radio transmitter of the American Forces Network (AFN) in Kaiserslautern, Germany. ...

The AFN transmitters in Germany are operated by different authorities. Some are the property of Deutsche Telekom, while others are controlled by German public broadcasting companies. Some transmitters are operated directly by the U.S. military. [[Images:Bonn DTAG2. ...

See also

• Pentagon Channel
• British Forces Broadcasting Service
• Canadian Forces Radio and Television
• Israel Army Radio

The Pentagon Channel is a TV channel devoted to covering the US Armed Forces, primarily for viewing by these forces and other United States Department of Defense (DoD) employees while stationed in the US. It is widely available on US cable television, can be viewed FTA in Europe, north east... The British Forces Broadcasting Service was established by the British War Office (now Ministry of Defence) in 1943, and today provides radio and television programming for HM Forces, and their dependents worldwide, in Germany, Cyprus, Belize, Canada, Bosnia, Kosovo and the Middle East. ... Canadian Forces Radio and Television (Call sign: CFRT) is a television and radio network system broadcast by satellite to those members of the Canadian Forces ground forces who are serving overseas in places such as the Middle East, Africa and Europe and, due to popular demand, the service began broadcasting... Israel Army Radio, or Galèi Tzáhal as it is called in Hebrew (גלי צהל, lit. ...

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)