Military Reporters and Editors

By ROBERT D. McFADDEN
New York Times

A correspondent held captive by the Taliban for more than seven months and journalists who exposed inhumane treatment of inmates in a “supermax” prison and criminality in a state child-care program were among the winners of 13 George Polk Awards for 2009 announced Monday by Long Island University. [Read more...]

Being prepared to cover the military during training or combat is one of the most important duties for a reporter, photographer or videographer. To assist first-timers, Military Reporters and Editors have compiled several lists of gear, clothing, equipment and other items that journalists should consider taking along. Of course, each person should customize their own gear list based on their personal needs, experience and circumstances, with ample consideration given to the assignment length, climate, season, danger quotient and weight and space constraints.

CRAWLEY’S GUIDE TO GEARING UP
By Jim Crawley

Being prepared to cover the military during training or combat is one of the most important duties for a reporter, photographer or videographer. To assist first-timers, Military Reporters and Editors have compiled several lists of gear, clothing, equipment and other items that journalists should consider taking along. Of course, each person should customize their own gear list based on their personal needs, experience and circumstances, with ample consideration given to the assignment length, climate, season, danger quotient and weight and space constraints.

I have covered a couple of real military operations and dozens of training ops in nearly 10 years of covering the Navy and Marines and here are some ideas, observations and caveats about equipment, personal gear and other techniques that can be usual to other journalists covering military operations, either embedded or unilateral.
Medical

Before covering a war, peacekeeping operation or any other situation in a foreign nation, journalists should have a complete physical to assess their health. Frankly, one should be in reasonably good health before leaving. Any medical conditions should be discussed with the doctor.

Obtaining prescriptions overseas can be difficult or impossible even with a physician’s orders. Or, in some countries, it’s incredibly easy albeit caveat emptor. Better bring an adequate supply (I suggest having a supply that will cover 150 percent of the time one anticipates being overseas).

Even journalists who are embedded with U.S. military personnel should not depend on military medical care except in extreme cases. Most military medical units, except the largest field hospitals, do not carry common drugs like anti-histamines, insulin, Lipitor, blood pressure medication and other drugs used to treat chronic diseases. Remember, military medicine is geared to treating extremely health, predominately young men and women. Knowing basic (preferably, intermediate) first-aid should be a requirement for any journalist entering a war zone. Not so much for oneself but to assist wounded colleagues and others. If you are seriously wounded, you will need someone else’s assistance, so it’s best that all journalists get some training in first-aid, either from the local Red Cross or hostile environment training firms, like Centurion or AKE.

Knowing first-aid is one thing, having the equipment is also important. Several good first-aid kits are on the market and available from outdoor stores, such as REI; mail-order firms; or obtainable from clinics and physicians catering to adventure expeditions. Some include sterile syringes, IV tubing and needles that are particularly useful for travels in Third World areas with inadequate medical facilities and non-sterile conditions.

Quikclot, a clotting aid that recently went on the market, also may be useful for journalists. Sprinkled on a heavily bleeding wound, the substance can be a lifesaver until proper treatment can be reached.

Computers

Not all laptop computers are created equal.

Before taking a laptop into a war zone — or any place outside North America, Europe, Australia, Japan or Korea — consider the “What Ifs?”

What if the computer fails? What if I’m in a sandstorm of biblical proportions? What if the IT staff forgot to verify the CD-ROM burner software is installed? What if …?

Being in a war zone (or any Third World) nation with a laptop can be a challenging and often frustrating experience.

Finding a repair service or replacing hardware or software can be difficult, impossible or time consuming. And, if you are using a Mac, forget-about-it! Apple computers and service are rare outside North America and Europe.

Environmental conditions — dust, sand, rain and temperature — can be harsh. Excessive handling also can be a problem. During Operation Iraqi Freedom, many computers were damaged and rendered inoperable by weather or handling.

Being prepared is the key to preventing problems.

First, know your computer. Practice operating your laptop and the associated hardware, such as satellite phones, modems, CD-ROM burners. Also, become familiar with handling emergency repairs, including changing out accessories and hard drives, in the field.

Journalists might consider purchasing one of several models of ruggedized computers that are on the market. The laptops come in several grades, based on their protection against dust and water. Price is commensurate with the level of protection. While the laptops cost more, the added cost is the same or less than purchasing two computers — the original one and a replacement.

For everyone without a ruggedized computer, here are some suggestions:

Tape closed any openings, such as power inputs, PCMCIA card ports, earphone plugs and air vents, while the computer is OFF. Make sure to untape any air vents while using the computer.

Bag it. Buy several large (1 or 2 gal. capacity) recloseable plastic bags. Insert the laptop in the bag whenever not being used.
Use a padded laptop case insert.

Have company computer department format a replacement hard drive with same operating system and software as the laptop. The hard drive is the most susceptible component to dust and a busted computer might be resurrected by substituting the replacement hard drive.

Obtain a “rescue disk” to boot up your computer. The computer department can assist.

Take along backup copies of installed software (Windows, Office, etc.)
Too often a journalist will discover that being away from the office means they are without often used reference materials, like dictionaries, thesauri and style books. One suggestion: get CD-ROM versions of encyclopedias, dictionaries and other reference materials.

For OIF, I made copies of various military reference sources and other information on CD-ROMs. I carried the Encyclopedia Britannica; a dictionary; the Koran (in Arabic and searchable English translation); an atlas; CIA and military country guides for the Mideast; open-source information on U.S., British, Iraq and other nations’ militaries, including satellite imagery of Iraqi military bases; and copies of all pertinent beat stories. (Unfortunately, the material was “combat loss” along with several music CDs when I was medevaced from Baghdad with a kidney stone.)

Communications
Which sat phone should you take? Pick one and take two. The right satellite phone to take depends on what you do.

A photographer will want a high-speed sat phone to move digital photo files, while a reporter might only need to move text so could use a handheld, slow-speed sat phone.

But, there may be other considerations too. Staying in touch with the home office and scanning the Internet for news may require a sat phone terminal with some oomph. A regional B-GAN terminal might be useful.

A handheld sat phone, such as an Iridium, Thuraya or Globalstar, is handy for voice communications with editors and spouses.

A laptop terminal, such as a Thrane & Thrane Communicator or BGAN, can handle heavy data demands, like photos or browsing the Internet. A couple of linked terminals can even be used as a videophone.

Clothing and personal stuff

Body armor or not?
As insurgent attacks increase on military forces and non-combatants alike, journalists need protection.

Body armor is one consideration. While wearing body armor, either overtly or covertly (under clothes), is a personal decision, there are certain situations, such as when covering military forces in combat situations, when wearing a vest is advised.

Clothing should be of such color and appearance as to not draw attention to oneself. While I eschew wearing military-style camouflage, I wouldn’t wear a red shirt in a bullring or in Iraq.

Long-sleeve shirts and long pants are good in all climates because they provide protection from sun and dirt. Other must-have apparel items are money belts and other concealment items to hide money and ID.

Gloves can provide hand protection and/or warmth. I carry a pair of leather gloves for climbing over fences, digging through debris and other manual labor. I carry a pair of winter gloves for warmth and protection against sand and wind.

For Iraq duty, I create a personal set of flash cards that I laminated and hung around my neck along with my press cards.

I had several cards printed front and back with phone numbers for editors, public affairs offices, computers, cell and satellite phones, family members, airlines and hotels. Cards also included information about using the sat phones. The cards came in handy on several occasions.

GEARING UP
Not sure what to take to Iraq. Here are some suggestions from journalists who have been there. Not really a mandatory gear list, just some ideas that could be useful when you are out in the middle of some unforgiving region.

Medical

Personal medications (have enough to cover 150 percent of anticipated days outside US; get copies of physicians’ prescriptions)

Anti-histamines (prescription, like Zyrtec or Allegra, and over-the-counter)

Imodium (over-the-counter)

Lip balm

Cipro (prescription)

Foot powder

Suntan lotion (30+ SPF)

Neosporin cream

Expedition-grade first-aid kit (or customized kit for trauma wounds) (get a doctor’s note on letterhead if it contains IV needles and/or syringes; helpful for clearing customs in some countries)

Anti-malarial (prescription)

Tylenol or Advil (over-the-counter)

Tylenol 3 (with codeine) (for extra painful situations) (prescription)

Benedryl lotion/cream

Anti-fungal cream or powder

Insect repellant (contains DEET)

Miscellaneous

GPS

Leatherman 830850 Skeletool CX Multitool

Pocket knife (backup knife)

50 feet of parachute cord

AA batteries

Power inverter (to hook to car battery)

Extension cord

Cobra CPI 480 400 Watt 12 Volt DC to 120 Volt AC Power Inverter with 5 Volt USB output

Professional

Laptop (ruggedized, CD-ROM burner)

Preloaded replacement hard drive

USB Flash Drive (to trade files and save backup copies)

Compact flash card and adapter (to trade photos/files with photographers)

Backup software (including rescue disk)

Reference material (on USB flash drive, CD-ROM or paper)

Olympus Digital Voice Recorder (VN 6200PC) (downloadable to laptop)

English-Arabic phrase book

Shortwave radio

Calculator (credit-card sized)

Business cards (English and Arabic)

Clothing and personal gear

Body armor (non-military issue, Class III or better, with side protection)

Kevlar helmet (for accompanying U.S. forces)

Goggles – Revision Eye Wear Bullet Ant Ballistic Goggles Basic Kit

3 -in-1 Sleeping bag system(rated 20 degrees or colder rated)

Sleeping mat

Poncho liner or similar water-repelling shell

Camelback-style water container

Daypack

Long pants

Long-sleeve shirts

Hiking boots (extra bootlaces)

Gore-Tex jacket (depending on season)

Leather gloves

Bandanas

Shower shoes (flip-flops)

Ear plugs (use for sleeping in noisy environments such as ships)

Mosquito netting

Communications

Satellite phone

Sat phone (high-speed — ISDN or BGAN)

GMRS/FRS walkie-talkie (if traveling with photographer and/or fixer/translator)