Fort George G. Meade: The First 100 Years

250 THE FIRST 100 YEARS
deployment story. Pushing the envelope, they then sought
permission at the highest levels to accompany deploying
units to the battlefield. The media wanted to ride along to
war.
Absurd, right? NOT!
Army leadership drafted an entirely new set of
guidelines with the goals of providing as much access as
possible while still maintaining the safety of the media
and the service members. As long as the unit commander
agreed, the CINC U.S. Central Command, Gen. Norman
Schwarzkopf would authorize media to embed with the
unit.
Aside from command approval, the media had several
other requirements to meet, for example, they had to be
from a legitimate media source, each person had to have
a basic security clearance, they had to sign and agree to
follow a list of ground rules set by Army Public Affairs,
they had to go through a brief training period for their
safety and they had to be provided a public affairs escort
to travel with a unit.
A Baltimore-based ABC news crew was the first to
get approved to accompany the 519th MP Battalion
downrange. And the mandatory escort that would travel
with the media crew was, you guessed it, me.
Like most soldiers who received deployment orders
for the war, I met the challenge with a bit of dread and
a whole lot of excitement. I went to finance, personnel,
legal services and Kimbrough Army Hospital for those
dreaded vaccinations. The entire time, I mentally prepared
myself for what I would see and do in the war zone. After
a couple weeks, however, I was notified that one of the
media crewmembers was unable to get a security clearance
so unfortunately, or fortunately, my six-month assignment
to Saudi Arabia was deferred until further notice. In the
meantime the war ended and the units were preparing for
their return home.
The first Gulf War ended quickly, but plans, procedures,
training and agreements the media made with the military
were not abandoned. The value of media embedding
and the importance of including media in war planning
is still applied today. The media learned what it takes to
work with the military and the military learned the media
could help tell the stories of sacrifice and dedication of
service members and the work they do for the country.
It’s not a perfect relationship, but it’s one public affairs
professionals work to improve every day.
***
(Pg. 248) Members of the 55th Combat Camera Company
train on new equipment.
(Below) Garrison Commander Col. Tom Rickard participates
in media training during the installation's full-scale exercise
at Fort Meade.