SUWON AIR BASE, South Korea -- As service members serving overseas, Soldiers
have the opportunity to represent the Army and the U.S. across the world. News
agencies clamor to get stories about our fighting men and women, but Soldiers
are cautioned to avoid leaking specific details that could jeopardize missions
or release classified information.
For units working with highly
classified weapons systems or sensitive real world missions, ensuring Soldiers
know how to interact with the press becomes a crucial priority.
Noting the
importance of protecting secret information, the 6th Battalion, 52nd Air Defense
Artillery Regiment included embedded media training as part of their field
exercise, Iron Forge, July 22-30.
The nine day long exercise focused on
training 6-52 ADA's core air and missile defense mission to prepare for the
annual Ulchi Freedom Guardian exercise next month.
But in addition to
protecting the skies, Soldiers were told a civilian news reporter would be
visiting their sites throughout the exercise to write a story about the lives of
Soldiers serving in the Republic of Korea.
Spc. Kendrix Lima, 6-52 ADA's
unit public affairs representative, went undercover posing as a reporter for
CNN. His actual role was to assess how the unit handled media presence and to
provide guidance to improve their public affairs program.
"I asked a lot
of questions, most of it typical of what a reporter might ask," said Lima. "But
I tried to push the boundaries. I would try to extract classified information or
get access to restricted areas. I even tried to wander off from time to time
just to see what they would do."
Each battery designated a unit public
affairs representative, or UPAR, to escort the reporter, field questions and
provide Soldiers to interview. Their primary goal was to prevent leaks of
sensitive information, but at the same time make sure the reporter captured an
interesting story that highlighted their Soldiers'
accomplishments.
"People back home want to keep up with what we're doing
so it's important to get our stories out there," said Lima. "We just have to
make sure we're following the rules, and not putting anyone at
risk."
Although they were away from the comforts of home at the height of
Korea's monsoon season, Soldiers praised the training they were receiving and
expressed confidence in themselves and their mission.
"It's good to come
out to the field away from distractions," said Victori Wages, a supply
specialist with Fox Company, 6-52 ADA. "Out here we can focus entirely on
training so that doing our primary jobs is just muscle memory."
At the
conclusion of each site visit, participants discussed what they did well, areas
they could improve on, and the significance of media training.
"Our
Soldiers need to see that when they're wearing the uniform, they're not just
speaking for themselves," said Lima. "They represent the Army, and what they say
can have a huge impact."