WASHINGTON — Air Force leaders want Airmen to share their stories with the world and designed the 2014 American Airman Video Contest with that purpose in mind.

“Every Airman has a story — and smartphone technology now allows those Airmen to share those stories to a wider audience than ever before,” said Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark A. Welsh, III.

The contest, which begins July 1, asks Airmen to shoot a selfie video where they share individual stories of service and showcase the unique missions they do every day.

“I think we’ll get some really creative, cool videos that together, tell the larger Air Force story,” Welsh said.

Airmen who want to participate should upload their video, which should be no longer than 30 seconds, to a personal YouTube account and email a link to the Air Force Social Media team at usafvideos@us.af.mil. 

The videos will be reviewed to ensure they don’t inadvertently violate any security, policy or propriety guidelines before they are released for public viewing on the AFBlueTube channel on YouTube.

After review, each major command will select a winner within the command. The 10 finalists’ videos will be will be available on AFBlueTube for public voting from Aug. 12 to 22. Voters can “like” their favorite videos and the video with the most “likes” will win.

The winning video will be shown at the September Air Force Association conference in Washington, D.C., which attracts thousands of visitors annually and receives heavy media attention.

Contest officials said there are important rules participating Airmen should follow, including:

• The contest is open to Guard, Reserve and active-duty Airmen to participate

• Finalists must be in good standing without any adverse administrative actions

For more details and complete contest rules, visit http://airforcelive.dodlive.mil/contest.

“Our Airmen are an amazing communication resource,” Welsh said. “No one tells the Air Force story like they do.”