By Tim Cherry
Staff writer
Thursday, September 27, 2012

The Fort Belvoir Multimedia Visual Information Center is limiting its primary services to command, Department of the Army and passport photos starting Monday.

The service reduction stems from a budget cut requiring the MVIC to reduce contracting staff.

The MVIC will also provide limited graphic art, presentation and video documentation support to garrison organizations. Soldiers in tenant organizations can use the VI’s primary services, but tenants as a whole are advised to seek assistance from other internal or external resources for support of all other events, according to Terry Stott, MVIC chief.

“To do more than the garrison (services) would exceed our abilities and exceed our personnel,” Stott said. “The tenants really need to make plans to find that service somewhere else, contract resources or in-house personnel.”

The primary services MVIC will provide are considered mission critical. The free passport service helps servicemembers and DA civilians prepare for international travel. Soldiers use DA photos for promotion boards and the command photos provide community members visual images of Army leadership.

The MVIC is developing a training and loaning program to allow partner-organization personnel to sign-out or use media equipment and software for coverage of an event or to create a product. The personnel must have operational knowledge, classroom training or certifications of media equipment and software.

“The training program will be based on the need of partners on a case-by-case basis,” said James Leone, Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobilization and Security director. “There’s only limited equipment to loan.”

The MVIC will also provide familiarization training for organizations lacking audio visual knowledge.

“We’re familiar with our equipment and we can pass that knowledge on to anyone who needs familiarization training,” Stott said. “If somebody needs a motion or still camera or a computer with software, we can familiarize them with the equipment.”

The MVIC does not have certified trainers in the areas of software applications such as PhotoShop 5.5 and Adobe Suite 5.5 for graphics.

In the past, the MVIC covered change of command ceremonies, ribbon cutting ceremonies and provided graphic arts for event promotion, among other services for garrison and tenant organizations.

The 70 percent budget cut helps Belvoir, and the Army, save money during the 2013 fiscal year. Stott said losing contracting staff hinders the MVIC flexibility in covering multiple events. In addition, Stott must have one staff photographer dedicated to doing command, DA civilian and passport photos, which furthers constrains service capabilities.

Stott said the MVIC will cover garrison ceremonies and special events, but a limited staff equals limited coverage.

“We should be able to provide a full range of services that we’ve always provided but, with people only one-deep in services, you’re going to see a reduction in the scope of that service,” Stott said.

MVIC may support tenant high-visibility events, but Stott encourages partners to prepare to use alternative means for coverage.

Organizations can visit the Pentagon’s Army Multimedia and Visual Information Directorate webpage (http://www.hqda.army.mil/avid/indexF.html) for a phone list of MVI contacts to request assistance. Organizations can also call Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Multi VI Enterprise Center (757) 878-3761 for possible assistance.

Contact Terry Stott at email address for more information regarding the reduction.

Contact Ruth Adams at (703) 805-2731 to schedule training.