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."