CAMP HANSEN, OKINAWA, Japan -- The III Marine Expeditionary Force(MEF) Information Group (MIG) held the activation of command ceremony for the Communication Strategy (COMMSTRAT) and Operations Company on Camp Hansen, Okinawa, Japan, Dec. 14, 2018.

COMMSTRAT Co.’s mission is to train and maintain deployable, task-organized teams that create still and video imagery products and support command element communication objectives. Additionally, the company provides imagery production support to III MEF, 3D Marine Expeditionary Brigade, the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, the MIG Headquarters, and MIG major subordinate units.

“In today’s information environment, the truth is under attack from both uninformed and malicious actors. COMMSTRAT capabilities allow a unit to show who they are and what they do, which is crucial to countering misinformation and disinformation,” said Lt. Col. Kelly Frushour, the III MEF Director of Communication Strategy and Operations.

According to the newly-appointed company commander, Capt. Benjamin E. Barr, there are a number of efforts tied to the development of COMMSTRAT Co.

“The first is ‘Force 2025,’ an initiative to modernize the Marine Corps as a whole,” Barr said. “The second is the re-designation of the MEF Headquarters Group to the MEF Information Group to focus on operations in the information environment. The last is the merger of the two occupational fields: public affairs and combat camera. These three efforts came together at the right time for the COMMSTRAT Co. to support the MEF.”

The new company is one of three MIG COMMSTRAT companies in the Corps to be established since the merger of the combat camera and public affairs occupation fields in October of 2017.

COMMSTRAT informs key publics with truthful information to support the command while conducting operations in the information environment. The ability to deliver information to anywhere in the world instantly has and will continue to evolve the way people communicate.