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General restricts war-zone photography
By Dan Lamothe - Staff writer
Posted : Thursday May 24, 2012 20:46:40 EDT
CAMP LEATHERNECK, Afghanistan — Marine commanders in Afghanistan have cracked down on war-zone photography in the wake of two international scandals this year in which U.S. troops were depicted posing with dead Taliban fighters.
Rank-and-file personnel assigned to Regional Command Southwest, headquartered here in Helmand province, have been ordered to take photographs only for official purposes while outside the wire, said Maj. Gen. Charles Gurganus, head of I Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward). Recreational souvenir photographs — “happy snaps,” as Gurganus called them — should only be taken on bases in-between missions, he said.
Related reading
Panetta: Troop scandals hurt Afghan mission (May 4)
“If it’s not an official purpose, and they’re outside the wire, then they shouldn’t have their camera out,” Gurganus said in an interview this month with Marine Corps Times. “This isn’t rocket science.”
RC-Southwest comprises Helmand and Nimroz provinces. There are about 36,000 coalition forces from 11 countries there, including 15,800 Marines. An additional 9,000 U.S. soldiers, sailors and airmen also serve under Gurganus’ command.
The general’s instructions reinforce that taking ill-advised photographs can undermine the war effort, Marine officials said. Separate scandals erupted earlier this year after a video surfaced online showing Marines appearing to urinate on dead Taliban fighters and photographs were published by the Los Angeles Times showing U.S. soldiers posing with dead insurgents.
The U.S. military has long prohibited the photographing or filming of detainees or human casualties. U.S. Central Command General Order 1B outlines ethical requirements for deployed service members. Commanders in Helmand have taken it a step further to underscore the need to make smart choices, Gurganus said.
“It’s not the camera,” the general said. “It’s the person behind the camera. You know, ‘I have a dead Taliban over here. Man, wouldn’t that be cool to have a picture to show my friends, but I’m going to be smart enough not to take that picture.’ That’s what I’m after.”
What it means
U.S. troops carry digital point-and-shoot cameras on most patrols, using them to collect evidence and intelligence that can be turned over to their commands later. That is still required, but the crackdown has resulted in Marines taking fewer keepsake photographs and video to share with friends and family members, several infantrymen told embedded Marine Corps Times journalists in April.
Lt. Col. David Bradney, commander of 1st Battalion, 7th Marines, out of Twentynine Palms, Calif., said the primary reason for the new restrictions is to maintain operational security. In particular, there’s no reason rank-and-file troops should be outside the wire with unauthorized helmet-mounted cameras, he said. The practice has become common, leading to dozens of web videos depicting combat footage.
“It is amazing what ends up on YouTube and flying through email and onto the Internet,” said Bradney, whose unit deployed to volatile Sangin district this spring.
CENTCOM’s general order is clear about what should not be photographed or filmed, said Lt. Col. Stewart Upton, a spokesman for Gurganus. However, the general also “has provided his commander’s intent that he expects leaders to hold themselves and their Marines to the highest of standards,” Upton said.
“Undisciplined conduct, especially here, threatens to overshadow all our good work and sacrifice, as well as have an impact on the overall mission,” Upton said.
Army Maj. Paul Haverstick, spokesman for the 1st Infantry Division in RC-East, and Army Lt. Col. Dave Connolly, spokesman for the 82nd Airborne Division in RC-South, said their guidance for troops on photography is outlined in their unit’s General Order No. 1.
Though the orders differ slightly — it’s explicitly forbidden to photograph NATO aircraft at Bagram, for instance — both ban the videotaping and photographing of improvised explosive devices and the damage caused by them, casualties, detainees and anything else deemed to compromise OPSEC.
Like the CENTCOM order, neither Army order explicitly restricts recreational photos taken outside the wire.
There also is no directive from Marine Gen. John Allen, the top commander in Afghanistan, that specifically bans cameras, said Army Lt. Col. Jimmie Cummings, a spokesman for the International Security Assistance Force in Kabul. However, individual commanders are authorized to establish additional policies that are more restrictive, he said.
By Dan Lamothe - Staff writer
Posted : Thursday May 24, 2012 20:46:40 EDT
CAMP LEATHERNECK, Afghanistan — Marine commanders in Afghanistan have cracked down on war-zone photography in the wake of two international scandals this year in which U.S. troops were depicted posing with dead Taliban fighters.
Rank-and-file personnel assigned to Regional Command Southwest, headquartered here in Helmand province, have been ordered to take photographs only for official purposes while outside the wire, said Maj. Gen. Charles Gurganus, head of I Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward). Recreational souvenir photographs — “happy snaps,” as Gurganus called them — should only be taken on bases in-between missions, he said.
Related reading
Panetta: Troop scandals hurt Afghan mission (May 4)
“If it’s not an official purpose, and they’re outside the wire, then they shouldn’t have their camera out,” Gurganus said in an interview this month with Marine Corps Times. “This isn’t rocket science.”
RC-Southwest comprises Helmand and Nimroz provinces. There are about 36,000 coalition forces from 11 countries there, including 15,800 Marines. An additional 9,000 U.S. soldiers, sailors and airmen also serve under Gurganus’ command.
The general’s instructions reinforce that taking ill-advised photographs can undermine the war effort, Marine officials said. Separate scandals erupted earlier this year after a video surfaced online showing Marines appearing to urinate on dead Taliban fighters and photographs were published by the Los Angeles Times showing U.S. soldiers posing with dead insurgents.
The U.S. military has long prohibited the photographing or filming of detainees or human casualties. U.S. Central Command General Order 1B outlines ethical requirements for deployed service members. Commanders in Helmand have taken it a step further to underscore the need to make smart choices, Gurganus said.
“It’s not the camera,” the general said. “It’s the person behind the camera. You know, ‘I have a dead Taliban over here. Man, wouldn’t that be cool to have a picture to show my friends, but I’m going to be smart enough not to take that picture.’ That’s what I’m after.”
What it means
U.S. troops carry digital point-and-shoot cameras on most patrols, using them to collect evidence and intelligence that can be turned over to their commands later. That is still required, but the crackdown has resulted in Marines taking fewer keepsake photographs and video to share with friends and family members, several infantrymen told embedded Marine Corps Times journalists in April.
Lt. Col. David Bradney, commander of 1st Battalion, 7th Marines, out of Twentynine Palms, Calif., said the primary reason for the new restrictions is to maintain operational security. In particular, there’s no reason rank-and-file troops should be outside the wire with unauthorized helmet-mounted cameras, he said. The practice has become common, leading to dozens of web videos depicting combat footage.
“It is amazing what ends up on YouTube and flying through email and onto the Internet,” said Bradney, whose unit deployed to volatile Sangin district this spring.
CENTCOM’s general order is clear about what should not be photographed or filmed, said Lt. Col. Stewart Upton, a spokesman for Gurganus. However, the general also “has provided his commander’s intent that he expects leaders to hold themselves and their Marines to the highest of standards,” Upton said.
“Undisciplined conduct, especially here, threatens to overshadow all our good work and sacrifice, as well as have an impact on the overall mission,” Upton said.
Army Maj. Paul Haverstick, spokesman for the 1st Infantry Division in RC-East, and Army Lt. Col. Dave Connolly, spokesman for the 82nd Airborne Division in RC-South, said their guidance for troops on photography is outlined in their unit’s General Order No. 1.
Though the orders differ slightly — it’s explicitly forbidden to photograph NATO aircraft at Bagram, for instance — both ban the videotaping and photographing of improvised explosive devices and the damage caused by them, casualties, detainees and anything else deemed to compromise OPSEC.
Like the CENTCOM order, neither Army order explicitly restricts recreational photos taken outside the wire.
There also is no directive from Marine Gen. John Allen, the top commander in Afghanistan, that specifically bans cameras, said Army Lt. Col. Jimmie Cummings, a spokesman for the International Security Assistance Force in Kabul. However, individual commanders are authorized to establish additional policies that are more restrictive, he said.
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