This research paper discusses a serious and disturbing problem facing the U.S. Armed Forces today and outlines a way to help restore the public’s faith in how the military cares for its members.

Benoit’s image repair taxonomy is applied and identifies inadequacies in the way public affairs and other official military spokespeople responded to this life-threatening crisis.

Tables are presented to outline image restoration strategy and offer specific responses for use during events such as this. The implications for future research in the area of image repair are limitless. Countless taxonomies can evolve from these models and be applied to any number of corporate crises.

Utilizing these guidelines, public affairs practitioners can help the United States Military and other corporations take a proactive, long-term approach toward improving their images.