Armed Forces Radio & Television Service (AFRTS) comprises the primary communication media of the American Forces Information Service (AFIS), a unit of the Department of Defense (DoD). AFRTS provides radio and television news, information, sports and entertainment programming to U.S. military personnel and their families stationed at U.S. military installations and seacraft worldwide.

AFRTS programming, acquired and distributed by the AFRTS Broadcast Center in Los Angeles, is selected from popular commercial and public programming found in the United States (though commercials are replaced by DoD information and spot announcements). Most AFRTS programming is acquired with little or no charge thanks to industry cooperation dating back to the AFRTS's beginnings during World War II.

Radio news programming is transmitted by the International Satellite (INTELSAT) and International Maritime Satellite (INMARSAT) (which replaced AFRTS's previous short-wave broadcast service in 1988). Programming includes news and commentary from the major U.S. networks and syndicators. Music and entertainment programming is mailed in weekly program units for use by outlets in producing local programming. Television news, information, sports, and other timely programming is distributed by the AFRTS Satellite Network (SATNET). Most entertainment programming, however, is provided by mail, and normally includes over 90% of the top rated programs in the United States. About 63% of AFRTS programming comes from the commercial networks, comprised largely of news and sports. The balance comes from the major entertainment distributors and producers in the United States. Unlike AFRS during its formative years, AFRTS does not produce its own entertainment shows for television.

As of 1992, according to AFIS sources, AFRTS uses nine satellites in providing service to over 450 outlets in more than 130 countries and U.S. territories worldwide. Over 300 military ships at sea also receive programming. By 1985, the AFRTS had become the largest radio and television network in the world.

AFRTS broadcasts also reach a substantial "shadow" audience of U.S. citizens living abroad and citizens of host nations who view or listen to the programming. Though no official figures exist for the size of the "shadow" audience worldwide, one study of the audience in Japan found that 21% of the local population (approximately 25 million people) listened to AFRTS radio at least once a week. One could safely conclude that the enormous presence of AFRTS broadcasts has probably played an important role in informal English language instruction and, relatedly, fostering a general acceptance of U.S. cultural products worldwide--currently the number one export of the United States.

AFRTS's history can be traced to several small radio stations established by servicemen in Panama, Alaska, and the Philippines near the start of World War II. Following the success and popularity of these small operations, the Armed Forces Radio Service (AFRS) was established by the War Department on 26 May 1942, with the expressed intent of improving troop morale by giving service members a "touch of home." The military also sought to provide a source of information to U.S. servicemen that would counter enemy propaganda (such as that found in the broadcasts of Axis Sally and Tokyo Rose), though it denied the move was an attempt at counter-propaganda.

AFRS programs during the war proved enormously popular with the troops, and were made financially possible largely through the contributions of radio and film stars who donated their time regularly without charge. Two of the more popular programs included Command Performance and Mail Call, which presented such stars as Bob Hope, Jack Benny, Clark Gable, Red Skelton, Bing Crosby, Dinah Shore, and the Andrews Sisters, among many others. Though these stars unselfishly gave of their time to contribute to the patriotic war effort, their careers most certainly didn't suffer from the exposure of a somewhat captive audience. By the end of the war, there were nearly 300 AFRS radio stations operating worldwide (though that number had decreased to only sixty some four years later). Since that time, the number of stations continues to increase and decrease, depending on the level of U.S. military commitments worldwide.

Television came relatively late to the AFRS, considering the enormous impact it was having on American society. The impetus to introduce television, in fact, came from the need to address serious morale problems in the Strategic Air Command. Armed Forces Television (AFT) got its start at Limestone Air Force Base, Maine, in 1953, and after much success in helping to reduce AWOLs, court martials, and the divorce rate at this military installation, AFT was officially joined with the AFRS in 1954 to become the AFRTS--the Armed Forces Radio and Television Service. AFRTS introduced color television in the early 1970's and was one of the first broadcasters to began using satellites for live news and sports as early as 1968.

The AFRTS maintains that its programming is provided "without censorship, propagandizing, or manipulation." The first notable exceptions to that claim surfaced during the Vietnam War period. From 1963 to 1967, AFRTS was instructed by Defense Secretary Robert McNamara to broadcast United States Information Agency (USIA)-produced news analysis programs--material that was widely recognized as propaganda. The more serious challenge to AFRTS's non-interference claims came from broadcast outlets and journalists in Vietnam itself. Though AFRTS and various military policy makers maintained that censorship of programming was prohibited, numerous controversies arose (both public and internal) over news, quotes, and specific words and phrases that were kept off the air due to AFRTS guidelines. According to a history of the AFRTS commissioned by the Service for its fiftieth anniversary, such restrictions even included "the editing of President Johnson's comments that the command believed were inaccurate." Justifications for such restrictions most often included the desire to avoid injuring troop morale, helping the enemy, or offending the host nation's sensitivities.

Though AFRTS still maintains its claim to no censorship, it also adamantly defends the altering of programming that might offend the sensitivities of host nations. The direct broadcasting of American news programming via SATNET has increased the problems for AFRTS broadcasters in nations that are particularly sensitive to criticism (such as Korea and the Philippines, in recent years). AFRTS also defends its review of music lyrics and feature films for similar reasons.

-Jeffrey P. Jones