This video is the first hand account of CPT Andrea Ourdada's first combat action in Iraq (this interview was a basis for the Parade Magazine article).
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Monday, June 23, 2008
Parade Magazine Cover
My photo of Captain Andrea Ourada on the flight line in Balad, Iraq in January 2008, as seen on the cover of the February 24th, 2008 issue of Parade Magazine.
32 million copies of this issue were printed for over 400 Sunday newspapers around the US.
You can read the text of John Camp's article here: http://www.parade.com/articles/editions/2008/edition_02-24-2008/Blackhawk_Pilot
32 million copies of this issue were printed for over 400 Sunday newspapers around the US.
You can read the text of John Camp's article here: http://www.parade.com/articles/editions/2008/edition_02-24-2008/Blackhawk_Pilot
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Appearing on Alamanac this Friday (Twin Cities Public Television)
John Camp and I will be appearing on Almanac, the weekly public television news program this Friday at 7pm. This is a LIVE show, and we're being asked to talk about our Iraq experiences in general... I'm not quite sure where the program will go, but it's an interesting forum to have a slightly more indepth conversation about what we saw.
Almanac runs on TPT channel 2 in the Twin Cities metro area, and it also runs on WDSE channel 8, the Duluth public television station (I'm not sure about any other Minnesota outstate public television stations).
Almanac runs on TPT channel 2 in the Twin Cities metro area, and it also runs on WDSE channel 8, the Duluth public television station (I'm not sure about any other Minnesota outstate public television stations).
Monday, January 21, 2008
Micheal Yon article in the New York Times
The New York Times has a nice article profiling Michael Yon on the front page of the business section today: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/21/business/21iraqblogger.html?ref=business
Blogger Michael Yon and CSM Mellinger the sergeant major of all US forces in Iraq. (Photographed in Fallujah in February 2007.)
If you aren't already familiar with his work, Michael Yon is the quintessential Iraq blogger. He has spent years of his life embedded in Iraq, at his own expense, and has generated some amazing reporting. I would definitely credit him with inspiring me to start going to Iraq.
Over the past year it has been a pleasure to get to know him over email, and also spend a little time with him in person in Fallujah last year.
Blogger Michael Yon and CSM Mellinger the sergeant major of all US forces in Iraq. (Photographed in Fallujah in February 2007.)
If you aren't already familiar with his work, Michael Yon is the quintessential Iraq blogger. He has spent years of his life embedded in Iraq, at his own expense, and has generated some amazing reporting. I would definitely credit him with inspiring me to start going to Iraq.
Over the past year it has been a pleasure to get to know him over email, and also spend a little time with him in person in Fallujah last year.
Friday, January 18, 2008
Do you feel like a winner?
AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS (in route home from Iraq) - Last February I was in Fallujah at the start of the surge, and when I asked soldiers if they thought we were winning the war they almost universally rolled their eyes, and gave me some version of "Yea, right" for being dumb enough to even be asking the question.
The soldiers I embedded with in Fallujah were justifiably proud of local accomplishments they had made, but violence was generally on an upward spiral across the rest of the country, and their buddies were getting wounded or killed with increasing regularity.
Ten months later I toured the Air Force Theater Hospital in Balad with with COL Storm, the hospital commander, and he shared some amazing statistics with me. In March 2007, right after I left Fallujah the number of combat wounded American soldiers receiving initial treatment at the hospital hit an all time high of 179. By December 2007 that number had dropped to 80. And the trend line was in steady decline.
By contrast the number of combat wounded Iraqi Police (IP) and Iraqi Army (IA) soldiers being admitted to the hospital was on an up trend. The positive interpretation being that the IA and IP were finally really getting into the fight.
When I toured the hospital a majority of the patients were Iraqi children who had been injured by IED's, and wounded Iraqi insurgents, each with their own armed American guard. The only American patients I could find to talk to were there for non-combat injuries or illness.
The medivac crews I flew with also commented on the fact that things were slowing down, and that a much higher percentage of the missions they were flying were to pick injured Iraqis. I spent an entire day with them, and they only flew one mission, to pickup an injured IP soldier.
Now when I talk to soldiers there is definitely a new sense of optimism that was non-existent just 10 months ago. Nobody thinks the war will be over soon, but most people are coming to believe that it's winnable.
One of the most striking signs of progress to me is the number of Iraqis that wave at our helicopters as we fly over.
The soldiers I embedded with in Fallujah were justifiably proud of local accomplishments they had made, but violence was generally on an upward spiral across the rest of the country, and their buddies were getting wounded or killed with increasing regularity.
Ten months later I toured the Air Force Theater Hospital in Balad with with COL Storm, the hospital commander, and he shared some amazing statistics with me. In March 2007, right after I left Fallujah the number of combat wounded American soldiers receiving initial treatment at the hospital hit an all time high of 179. By December 2007 that number had dropped to 80. And the trend line was in steady decline.
By contrast the number of combat wounded Iraqi Police (IP) and Iraqi Army (IA) soldiers being admitted to the hospital was on an up trend. The positive interpretation being that the IA and IP were finally really getting into the fight.
When I toured the hospital a majority of the patients were Iraqi children who had been injured by IED's, and wounded Iraqi insurgents, each with their own armed American guard. The only American patients I could find to talk to were there for non-combat injuries or illness.
The medivac crews I flew with also commented on the fact that things were slowing down, and that a much higher percentage of the missions they were flying were to pick injured Iraqis. I spent an entire day with them, and they only flew one mission, to pickup an injured IP soldier.
Now when I talk to soldiers there is definitely a new sense of optimism that was non-existent just 10 months ago. Nobody thinks the war will be over soon, but most people are coming to believe that it's winnable.
One of the most striking signs of progress to me is the number of Iraqis that wave at our helicopters as we fly over.
Tons of new pictures uploaded
I'm sitting in Kuwait at the Crown Plaza hotel waiting for my flight to Amsterdam, and I have great Internet access for the first time in two weeks, and I've uploaded a bunch of photos.
You can check them all out here: http://photos.scrappydog.com/Military/442690
Note: You can order prints or digital downloads of almost all my Iraq photos. Feel free to email me at photos@scrappydog.com if you have questions about ordering photos, or if you would like to order large prints.
You can check them all out here: http://photos.scrappydog.com/Military/442690
Note: You can order prints or digital downloads of almost all my Iraq photos. Feel free to email me at photos@scrappydog.com if you have questions about ordering photos, or if you would like to order large prints.
Photo essay: Baghdad mission with Alpha 2-147
On Monday, January 14th 2008 I flew a routine "Baghdad shuffle" mission with two Minnesota National Guard Blackhawk crews from Alpha Company 2-147th Assault Helicopter Battalion. We carried a collection of Marine Corps and Air Force generals between Camp Liberty and the Green Zone, and back again several hours later, after a meeting was over presumably.
Crew chief SSG Michelle Smith watches the engines start at the beginning of the mission.
(click the image above to see the rest of the photo essay)
Crew chief SSG Michelle Smith watches the engines start at the beginning of the mission.
(click the image above to see the rest of the photo essay)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
