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Media join troops embedded { March 11 2003 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2003/03/11/MN158132.DTLhttp://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2003/03/11/MN158132.DTL
Media join troops preparing for war
600 journalists 'embedded' with military in Kuwait
Carl Nolte, Chronicle Staff Writer
Tuesday, March 11, 2003
©2003 San Francisco Chronicle | Feedback
KUWAIT CITY -- No one knows what will happen if war starts with Iraq -- but the world's media will be the first to know.
Today, about 600 reporters and photographers who have been standing by in Kuwait join the U.S. Marine Corps and the Army.
For the first time in American history, members of the media will become sort of adjunct soldiers and Marines. It is a process called "embedding" in which civilian reporters and photographers will become what the military calls "living and breathing members of units, from front-line rifle companies to support outfits."
"It has never been done, to my knowledge," said Air Force Lt. Col. Jennifer Cassidy, a public affairs officer for operations in the Persian Gulf.
According to Pentagon policy, the media members will be able to observe combat firsthand, if it comes to that. "That's the theory," Cassidy said.
"Commanders have been told the safety of journalists will not be a reason to ban them from combat operations," she said. "If it works, it will be something that will be learned in the trenches, if you will."
"It will take a lot of cooperation on both sides," she said. In recent years, relations between the media and the military have often been strained.
In wars long ago, such as World War II and Korea, battles seemed much farther away. But television brought the Vietnam War into the living rooms of the nation, and that kind of intensely graphic and personal reporting -- images, for example, of a soldier torching a peasant's hut with a cigarette lighter -- ultimately contributed to public erosion of support for the government during the war.
'COMPUTER GAME'
Access by news reporters was greatly limited in the last Gulf War, and as a result the American public was fed television tapes that made the war look like some kind of computer game. Reporters on the ground were kept from the action, and the war, which lasted only two months, was painted as an almost bloodless victory.
Journalists complained bitterly after the war on grounds that the military had censored the reality of war by denying access.
But now, everything is different. In the first Gulf War, reporters were often treated with contempt by the military; now, the reporters are being asked to fill out forms rating the performance of public affairs personnel, who are actually asking journalists for suggestions. During World War II, correspondents even wore uniforms, but the war correspondents here in Kuwait will wear civilian clothes.
Journalists -- even members of foreign media embedded with U.S. forces -- will observe operations in the field and will be made aware of what Cassidy calls "sensitive information." They will be asked not to reveal upcoming operations that could jeopardize coalition forces.
"We'll have to trust them," she said of the journalists.
However, sending journalists to the front appears to be a mixed blessing. They have been told to bring body armor and Kevlar helmets and be prepared to live with the troops. "This," said one public affairs officer, "will be the worst camping trip you ever had."
On Monday, journalists assigned to the Marines were told how to prepare for chemical and biological attack . "This gas mask could save your life," a Marine gunnery sergeant told a couple of hundred grim-faced journalists at a briefing.
REPORT FOR DUTY
At 0700 hours today, they and a similar group of reporters assigned to the Army's Third Infantry Division report for duty with their gear -- cameras, satellite phones, laptops, gas masks and all.
If Saddam Hussein has any weapons of mass destruction, the world is about to find out -- and the journalists, along with the troops, will be among the first to find out. There is speculation that the Iraqis will use them against either Israel or Kuwait, if war begins.
"I think he'll use them on us," said Greg Jarrett of San Francisco's KGO radio, who covered the first Gulf War.
By "us," Jarrett meant the front-line troops who will lead any invasion of Iraq. Jarrett is assigned to a Marine unit.
Chronicle reporter John Koopman and photographer Michael Macor will be with the Marines and reporter Carl Nolte with the Army.
The biggest celebrity on hand is former Marine Lt. Col. Oliver North, who is going with the Marines for the Fox network. Many outlets -- particularly television networks -- have made extensive preparations. CNN has so many people in Kuwait that the network took over an entire hotel -- the Ritz in downtown Kuwait City.
CNN also has a fleet of Hummer SUVs, equipped with satellite uplinks and other technical gear. ABC News television also has two specially equipped Hummers -- one was a falconing vehicle used by a Saudi prince -- and two Land Rover Defenders.
Network technicians estimate that each specially equipped Hummer is worth close to half a million dollars.
"We have everything you could want, except for the beer," said Quincy Brown of El Dorado Hills near Sacramento, a technician on an ABC vehicle.
E-mail Carl Nolte at cnolte@sfchronicle.com.
©2003 San Francisco Chronicle | Feedback
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