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Soldier journalists prepare to cover brethren

  • Published
  • By Ryan Morton
  • Army Support Activity-Dix Public Affairs
JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. --  
The 196th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment is mobilizing here, conducting mock press conferences and preparing news stories for its upcoming deployment to Balad, Iraq, where it will support the 13th Expeditionary Support Command.

This organization, headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, is made up of 20 Army National Guard Soldiers. Some of the Soldiers in this unit will be telling the OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM story for a second time.

Previously, the unit colors were set in Tikrit, Iraq, in January 2004 until February 2005, supporting the 1st Infantry Division. It produced "Danger Television," a monthly video news magazine, and "Danger Forward," a monthly print news publication.

Some of the Soldiers who deployed then are back for a second go-round as they will produce "Balad and Beyond," a bi-weekly video newscast, and "Expeditionary Times," a weekly 20-page newspaper, with their first-time deployed counterparts.

"I hope our younger Soldiers get as much experience as they can in public affairs, such as setting up media operations centers, working the joint information bureau, acting as media escorts and partaking in all the other tasks that don't necessarily involve journalism such as shooting video and taking pictures," said Sgt. 1st Class Steven Johnson, 196th MPAD print team operations noncommissioned officer, from Columbus, Ohio, who deployed with the organization in 2004 through 2005.

"What I've learned from my experience is to pay attention to what the veteran Soldiers are doing," Johnson said. "I try to tell my fellow Soldiers to keep their eyes open, because the only way you can learn to be a Soldier is to pay attention to other Soldiers who are doing the right thing."

Sgt. 1st Class William Smith, 196th MPAD broadcast team operations NCO, from Felicity, Ohio, was also in Iraq as a specialist. He feels much more nervous the second time because of his added responsibility as a senior NCO.

"I'm responsible for my fellow Soldiers, so it's completely different," said Smith. "I focus on making sure they're prepared in every single way. I let them know that the key to any deployment is flexibility. You may have to pick up and move or cover missions on consecutive days. You just have to be ready."

The challenge for this new mission, according to 1st Sgt. Steve Toth, from Columbus, Ohio, will be to showcase Soldiers who do the less alluring jobs such as postal and administrative, rather than most of the jobs the public sees, such as infantry and armor.

"Our challenge is to take these types of missions under the sustainment umbrella and feature these Soldiers who do the jobs that may not seem as glamorous, but still important to the overall success in Iraq or theater of operations," Toth said.

While at JB MDL, the 196th MPAD Soldiers conducted both public affairs and combat training, including M-4 weapons qualification, convoy training, Improvised Explosive Device recognition and mounted and dismounted patrols.

As part of their public affairs training, they conducted a mock news press conference with ASA-Dix's deputy commander for mobilization, Col. Larry Boyd. The 72nd Field Artillery Brigade trainers played the roles of cameramen and reporters, grilling Boyd with questions on the state of mobilization at JB MDL.

The Soldiers did very well according to the public affairs staffs of the 72nd FA Brigade and ASA-Dix.

Expectations are high for these Soldiers when they head to Iraq. They were named Keith L. Ware winners for 2009 in the local television newscast category for a program they produced, "Eye on Ohio." The KLW is a major annual Army-wide honor which recognizes journalistic excellence for both Soldiers and Department of the Army civilians. The awards are given in different categories including print, radio and television products.