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BALAD, Iraq (May 27, 2008) - Iraqi security forces are taking
"shooting" to a new level as they learn to use cameras in their
quest to bring security and stability to their country.
Over the past six months, some Iraqi special weapons and tactics
teams and Iraqi special operations forces have been learning how to
combat terrorism and insurgency through the use of imagery.
U.S. Army Maj. Joseph Peterson, civil-military operations
officer of the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force Arabian
Peninsula here, is a proponent of a new program to teach camera
skills to Iraqi security forces.
"An active public communications outreach program provides a
means for the government of Iraq's security forces to maintain
credibility and legitimacy," Peterson said. "And, accurate and
timely imagery is one important part of any effective
communications program."
The first step in providing imagery to the Iraqi citizens is to
teach the Iraqi security forces how to use a camera while on
different types of operations.
U.S. Army Sgt. McCoy developed a combat camera course for the
Iraqis and served as its first instructor. He adapted the 10-month
curriculum he learned from the Defense Information School at Fort
Meade, Md., and condensed it to a two-week program that can be used
to teach Iraqi troops in the field.
McCoy recalled some of the challenges his students had with the
camera and computer equipment in the beginning of the class. He
explained that they were not very confident in their abilities at
the beginning, but by the end of the course, they knew just what to
do.
"They went from looking at a camera and wondering, 'What do you
want me to do with this?' to holding the camera with confidence and
saying, 'Let me show you what I can do with this,'" McCoy said. "To
me, the overall knowledge they gained was impressive for 10
days."
McCoy's first class was with a Hillah special weapons and
tactics unit, one of the more advanced SWAT units in the country.
The unit is at a stage where its combat skills are advanced enough
to introduce this new combat camera element to its missions, McCoy
said.
Through the course, the students learned police photography
functions, such as crime-scene photography, and how to do media
outreach by taking video during missions and providing that video
to the local media.
Three other SWAT units have completed the combat camera course
and now are interfacing with the community through their new
media-outreach capabilities.
McCoy added military elements of photography such as operational
security, handling classified information and combat documentary
photography to the basic elements of the course. He also provided
instruction in teaching techniques and materials. As a result, one
student instructed the first Iraqi-taught combat camera course,
graduating seven members May 6.
"They were eager to learn everything they possibly could. They
were really focused, [and they] paid attention," McCoy said. Seeing
some of the work that other Iraqi special operations forces members
had done helped motivate them, he added.
McCoy said he liked what he saw when the Iraqis applied their
training during a real mission. "They did an outstanding job on
their first mission," he said.
The first mission with combat camera-trained personnel was the
liberation of the southern city of Basra in March. As the troops
pushed through the city, a newly trained Iraqi combat cameraman
documented every move the special operations forces made.
"Sometimes, the picture you take is how you feel inside," said
Iraqi Col. Falah Hasan Khadhim, a brigade deputy commander in the
Iraqi special operations forces, during the May 8 graduation
ceremony.
"It could be a picture of nature or the scene of a battlefield.
The camera has more effect than the gun. Our duty is to our
country," he continued. "You are now fighting with two weapons: by
your camera and by your gun."
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