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Afghan Lunacy

[This dispatch was written by me in December 2008 in southern Afghanistan. It was never published though I recently found it in the unpublished archives. The photos came from the same period.] Published: from Nepal on 14 October 2009 On May 25, 1961, the President of the United States of America said:

“Finally, if we are to win the battle that is now going on Read more...

MARKET GARDEN

Market Garden

A Remembrance During Time of War Kandahar City, Afghanistan Slowly, surely, the city is being strangled.  Signaling the depth of our commitment, security forces are thinner in Kandahar than the Himalayan air.  During the days and evenings, there were the sounds of occasional Read more...

A Story From War

Published: 08 October 2009

“In April this year it became 2 Rifles’ dubious fortune to be sent to Sangin on a six-month tour. By mid-August their battle group, a composite force from various units built around a core of several hundred riflemen and fusiliers, had the worst casualties of any British brigade sent to Helmand, with just over 100 soldiers killed or wounded: a fifth of their total patrol troops. The trend suggested that by the time the battle group’s tour ends this month as many as one in four of these infantrymen will have been slain or injured, a figure that compares with British infantry casualty ratios in Europe during the later stages of the Second World War.”

Anthony Lloyd

Anthony Lloyd, the famed British war correspondent and author has seen much in war.  Years ago, when I read his book My War Gone By, I Miss It So, the idea of taking up the pen and going to war had never been in the question.  After reading Anthony’s book it was definitely out of the question.  War correspondence is a horrible profession.  Taking inventory of battlefields, psyches and body parts is an inevitable, recurring theme.  The horrors are too many to remember or attempt to recount, if there were desire.  And there was Anthony, one of the most experienced war correspondents, and he was going to the same British unit that I was embedded with.  Though Anthony’s journey with British 2 Rifles partially coincided with my own, mostly we were at different bases.  From FOB Inkerman or during missions in the area, I could sometimes hear the fighting over at “his” base on FOB Jackson because, for instance, soldiers at Inkerman would fire the Howitzers in support of combat taking place around Jackson.  Or bombs would drop and noises carry, or sometimes the Apaches would be churning up the enemy with rockets and 30mm cannons.  Modern combat can be loud. As years roll by and more soldiers have done two, three, four or even five long tours, writing about war has changed.  In the early years most of the soldiers and correspondents were green to war and were on equal footing, but these days only a handful of correspondents remain who keep going back and their numbers are diminishing, while the concentration of highly experienced soldiers is increasing.  The increasing and probably irreversible imbalance means that fewer correspondents will share common experiences with current veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan, and very few writers will possess the experience to render so fundamentally accurately what Anthony Lloyd captures in this story from war. {loadposition user8}

Nick Gurr: Reply to Michael Yon

Official News Blog of the UK Ministry of Defence

« Defence News: 1 October 2009 | Main  | Defence Diary: 2 October 2009 »

Thursday, 01 October 2009

Nick Gurr: Reply to Michael Yon

Last week Michael posted a highly critical piece on the ending of his embed with Task Force Helmand (TFH). This attracted a large number of posts from outraged readers supportive of Michael. I undertook to investigate what had happened. I have now done so.

I know that some readers will not be sympathetic to the MOD's position on a matter such as this. But I would be grateful if you would hear me out. It is clear that there has been a (to quote Michael) "Texas-sized" misunderstanding here, made worse by various other factors, and I apologise for any part that MOD has played in that. But there are a few important points that I would like to make:

Michael's embed is the longest of any person this year by quite some way. Most embeds are for between one and two weeks. And demand for embeds with TFH always exceeds our capacity to supply. I wish that were not the case. But it is. Despite this, we have facilitated 136 media visits to TFH since January this year. On average there were about three people per visit, which means that some 400 media people have visited TFH over the first nine months of this year.

Michael's embed ended because the media ops team needed to assist a number of visits by other journalists, including a package from Northern Ireland regional newspapers (home ground for 19 Brigade), reporters from The Times and Independent, a BBC TV crew, a documentary team and a team from PA. Capacity is limited. I can understand that this may have looked different to Michael. But it was the reason that the embed ended when it did.

Hence the Defence Secretary's reply to Anne Winterton.

Last, and most importantly, while we take a number of factors into account in deciding who to embed and when (when an individual was last embedded, when his/her organisation was, readership), a demand for positive coverage is not among them. We believe that the efforts of our forces in theatre will speak for themselves. Of course we hope for balance - and by and large we get that. We have certainly never had an issue with Michael's reporting.

Clearly something appears to have gone seriously wrong in this case. But everyone in theatre is working under huge pressure which will sometimes generate friction and, as I said, I am sorry if Michael felt he was not being treated as he should be. I am assured that the media ops team in theatre worked hard to support him. It is a shame that the experience should have ended on a sour note.

I hope Michael will find the time to drop in for a chat about how we go forward from here when he is next in London.

Posted at 01:16 PM in From the Director

 

 

 

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YON: The Greatest Afghan War

Published today in: 01 October 2009 By Michael Yon The Greatest Afghanistan War has deteriorated so noticeably that one can now feel the enemy's growing pulse. Each month it beats steadier, stronger, and in 2010 it will finally be born. On Sept. 11 in Kandahar, a South African civilian working without security was visibly upset - not at the Taliban but at the police. The 16-year police veteran recounted seeing Afghan police speeding through crowded streets and hitting a bicycle. The rider gymnastically avoided impact while the bicycle was tossed down the road. The South African, with whom I spent a week in Helmand and Kandahar provinces, said the police never slowed down. "That's part of the reason the Taliban are Read more...

Securing Helmand

30 September 2009 Read more...

Pedro Inspired the Vikings

Note: I asked Danish journalist Camilla Fuhr Nilsson to write a couple of stories about the Air Force Pedros.  After publication of her first installment, she emailed from Afghanistan, surprised to have gotten “thank you” notes from readers.  As a journalist, Camilla had never gotten “thank yous” before.  In the about five years I have covered the wars, it is safe to say that British and American service members, their families and others Read more...

The American Pedros – No Nonsense Combat Rescuers

I asked Danish journalist Camilla Fuhr Nilsson to write two dispatches about USAF Pedros.  Camilla accompanied me at Camp Bastion.  Here is the first:

By Camilla Fuhr Nilsson Published: 27 September 2009 It is the last weekend of August 2009. It is also the last weekend in southern Afghanistan for the currently deployed US Air Force rescue crew 129th . They have been in Camp Bastion for four months and have taken on over 400 rescue missions in this deployment. The Pedros, as they are called, are well-known for their kamikaze- like operations. They are far from kamikaze-like themselves but their personalities stand out. These are their last days in the theatre. This time around. ”Dude, I’m like so tired,” Adrian says to Josh. The dark-haired Adrian, who looks a lot like Friends actor David Schwimmer and the smaller sweet-looking Josh have just completed Read more...

Two Firefights: One Video

05 October 2009 In July, British soldiers and I boarded a CH-47 helicopter at Camp Bastion for the flight to FOB Jackson at Sangin where fighting is brutal.  The helicopter was so stuffed with men, gear and supplies that the cargo was not even strapped down.  We steadied the long stack with our hands and prayed that the pilots not begin flying violent evasive maneuvers.  The tail gunner partially lifted the ramp to prevent bundles from tumbling into the skies, and that was it for securing the bundles.  Just a week before, Read more...

Bullshit Bob

By Michael Yon 25 September 2009 The surprise discontinuation of my embedment from the British Army left my schedule in a train wreck.  Until that decisive moment, I am told, that my embed with the British Army had lasted longer than anyone else’s; other than Ross Kemp’s.  I’ve also been told that I’ve spent more time with the British Army in Iraq than any correspondent.  So it’s fair to say, we have good history together. In the last 12 months, I’ve embedded with the British Army in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, then over to the jungles of Brunei to attend a man-tracking school, and again back in Afghanistan.  During that time, I’ve also been with U.S. forces in Iraq, the Philippines, and Afghanistan.  I’ve accompanied the Lithuanians in Afghanistan Read more...