by Black Flag Communications | Oct 13, 2023 | News
Black Flag Communications Founding Director Scott Rye has been invested into The Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem after being appointed a Member by His Majesty King Charles III in April.
The Order of St John is a working chivalric order and operates ambulance services and provides first responders in 44 countries. The Order also supports the St John of Jerusalem Eye Hospital Group, which includes hospitals in East Jerusalem, Gaza and Hebron, clinics in Anabta and Kufor Aqab, as well as mobile clinics, training, teaching and research programs. The hospitals treat patients of all faiths, regardless of their ability to pay.
“I am deeply honored to have been nominated for and appointed to membership in the Order,” Rye said. “Given the current situation on the ground in Israel and Palestine, the work of the Order and the St John of Jerusalem Eye Hospital has never been more critical or more in need of international support.”
Rye has spent considerable time serving, working and volunteering in the Middle East. His duties as a naval officer took him to Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Dubai, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar and the Persian Gulf, among others, as he served with Navy Central Command/U.S. Fifth Fleet, Multi-National Force-Iraq, U.S. Central Command, and Combined Joint Interagency Task Force-Syria, and his volunteer efforts took him to Iraq, Jordan, and Qatar. Rye chaired the American Foundation for Relief & Reconciliation in the Middle East from 2014 through 2018, during which time he arranged the evacuation of staff and family members from Iraq following the fall of Mosul and oversaw a massive humanitarian assistance effort that provided food, clothing, shelter, health care, education and more to tens of thousands of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and refugees. Under his leadership, AFRRME constructed a kitchen in a settlement camp in Iraqi Kurdistan serving 7,000 hot meals a day, established a day school for refugee children in Amman, Jordan, built a school for girls in a settlement camp and provided 100% of tuition and fees for all IDP students attending Catholic University in Erbil for their first two years. Since January 2023, Rye has served as the sole U.S. trustee on the board of Mosaic Middle East, a UK-registered charity working across religious, societal and political divides to bring hope, help and healing to the Middle East.
by Black Flag Communications | Jul 19, 2021 | News
July 19, 2021–Black Flag Communications Director Scott Rye will be the featured speaker at the July meeting of the Public Relations Council of Alabama (PRCA) on Thursday, July 22, starting at 11:30 a.m., at Heron Lakes Country Club in Mobile, Ala.
Rye’s topic of discussion will be crisis communications. He will discuss examples of crises and offer practical tips and templates on crisis response.
The PRCA is the state’s longest operating and largest group of public relations practitioners. The organization exists to further the professional and networking interests of today’s public relations and communication professionals in private, public and nonprofit businesses and organizations.
Black Flag Communications is a Florida-based agency specializing in crisis communications, government relations and public relations. In addition, Black Flag provides media training, political consulting and litigation support.
by Black Flag Communications | Feb 2, 2021 | News
Feb. 1, 2021—U.S. Israel Education Association (USIEA) has hired Black Flag Communications for public and government relations counsel effective immediately.
Heather Johnston, founder and executive director of USIEA, said, “Scott Rye’s experience in the Middle East, as both a naval officer and in leading an NGO, makes Black Flag an excellent fit for us. Scott has a heart for our work and will help us tell our story to a whole new audience while highlighting our education efforts on Capitol Hill and in Israel.”
Black Flag director Scott Rye said, “In helping to build strategic partnerships and inform senior U.S. leadership, USIEA is doing important work that matters to this nation and to the people of Israel, including Judea and Samaria. It is a privilege to be working alongside them.”
USIEA is a 501(c)(3) nonpartisan educational organization dedicated to educating and serving government leaders who are directly involved in advancing important dialogue between the United States and Israel.
Black Flag Communications is a Florida-based agency specializing in crisis communications, government relations and public relations. In addition, Black Flag provides media training, political consulting and litigation support.
by Black Flag Communications | Sep 11, 2018 | News
Sept. 11, 2018–Director of Black Flag Communications Scott Rye will participate in a panel discussion on public affairs and media relations as part of the Air University’s Joint Flag Officer Warfighting Course on Thursday, Sept. 13, 2018.
Rye will join reporters from the Washington Post and Foreign Policy magazine on the panel. Last March, Rye joined former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer and former Navy Vice Chief of Information Rear Admiral W. Kent Davis, USN (Ret.), to discuss joint task force public affairs at the two-week course, which is designed for one- and two-star flag and general officers from all of the uniformed services. The program is tailored to provide future theater combatant commanders, service component and Joint Task Force commanders with a broad perspective of the strategic and operational levels of war.
“I’m honored to be asked back to speak to these senior military officials,” Rye said. “The dynamics will be different this time given that members of the media will be on the panel as well.”
As a naval officer, Rye served as chief of the Media Operations Center, Multi-National Force–Iraq, and director of Public Affairs for Combined Joint Interagency Task Force–Syria. In addition, during his deployment in Iraq, Rye was assigned to the Joint Interagency Personnel Recovery Task Force. He recently served as acting Public Affairs Officer, U.S. Pacific Fleet, during a period of critical activity in the Indo-Pacific theater.
Black Flag Communications is a Florida-based agency specializing in crisis communications, government relations and public relations. In addition, Black Flag provides media training, political consulting and litigation support.
by Black Flag Communications | Mar 13, 2018 | News
March 13, 2018–Director of Black Flag Communications Scott Rye will address public affairs at the Joint Flag Officers Warfighting Course this week at Maxwell Air Force Base.
Rye will join former Navy Vice Chief of Information Rear Admiral (Ret.) Kent Davis and former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer on a panel discussion as part of the semiannual two-week course designed for one- and two-star flag and general officers from all of the uniformed services. The program is tailored to provide future theater combatant commanders, service component and Joint Task Force commanders with a broad perspective of the strategic and operational levels of war.
“I am honored to be asked to speak about public affairs to such a distinguished audience,” Rye said. “I hope that the students will come away from the discussion with an even greater appreciation for the role public affairs plays in warfighting and the absolute necessity to include it in strategic and operational planning.”
Rye served as chief of the Media Operations Center, Multi-National Force–Iraq, and director of Public Affairs for Combined Joint Interagency Task Force–Syria. In addition, during his deployment in Iraq, Rye was assigned to the Joint Interagency Personnel Recovery Task Force. Last summer, he chaired U.S. Pacific Fleet’s USS Fitzgerald Operational Planning Team in the wake of that ship’s fatal collision.
Black Flag Communications is a Florida-based agency specializing in crisis communications, government relations and public relations. In addition, Black Flag provides media training, political consulting and litigation support.
by Black Flag Communications | Feb 26, 2018 | News
Feb. 26, 2018–Scott Rye, Director of Black Flag Communications, will address the American Association of Port Authorities’ Public Relations Workshop on Thursday, March 1, 2018.
The event is being hosted by the Alabama State Port Authority at the Port of Mobile, Alabama.
Rye will join journalist, author and motivational speaker Drexel Gilbert as the two lead a workshop on crisis communications and how best to communicate with the public and the media during and in the immediate aftermath of a crisis.
“This is an excellent opportunity to provide some tools for professional communicators’ use in the event of a crisis, whether it’s a crisis of confidence, an ethical breach or a natural or man-made disaster,” Rye said. “I’m really looking forward to sharing the podium with my colleague and friend, Drexel Gilbert. We’ve worked together for clients, but this is the first time that we’ve worked together in a presentation. Drexel is a pro’s pro.”
Headquartered in Alexandria, Va., the American Association of Port Authorities represents more than 130 public port authorities in the U.S., Canada, the Caribbean and Latin America. For more than a century, the AAPA has promoted the common interests of the port community and provided critical industry leadership on security, trade, transportation, infrastructure, environmental and other issues related to port development and operations.
Black Flag Communications is a Florida-based agency specializing in crisis communications, government relations and public relations. In addition, Black Flag provides media training, political consulting and litigation support.
