(Videographer: Sarah Chaco)
Kelly Kennedy, who covers health and medical issues for the Military Times papers and is also the author of the recently released book “They Fought for Each Other: The Triumph and Tragedy of the Hardest Hit Unit in Iraq,” offers some logistical tips for covering the military and war.
- Talk to someone who has been there recently.
- Prepare for cold showers, laundry done in sinks and very little, if any, privacy.
- Know which unit you want to go with and what its mission is. Talk to someone in that unit and the unit’s public affairs officer. If you don’t have things planned, don’t be surprised if you get overlooked.
- Prepare mentally. Kennedy said parts of her recent trip with a medical evacuation unit where like scenes in a horror film. Have a support system set up there and for when you return, to deal with what you’ve been through. “It’s not stuff you’re used to seeing.”
Kennedy gave her tips following a Medill/Military Reporters and Editors National Security breakfast briefing at the National Press Club in Washiington, DC on Oct. 15.
