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IN THE FRAME
BY CPL Andrew Hetherington
Edition 1171, July 26, 2007 |
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FOCUSED: PO Mark Rankin, a US Navy combat cameraman and journalist, composes a photograph during the exercise.
Picture: Cpl Andrew Hetherington |
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EXERCISE Talisman Saber 07 was not only covered by Army, 1 Joint Public Affairs Unit and the civilian media.
The US also sent its navy combat camera teams, augmented by Air Force personnel, to report on the exercise.
CPO Bart Bauer Detachment, Chief of the US Navy Combat Camera Crew Pacific, said his team had six months of planning in the lead up to the exercise.
“Myself, the OIC and our CO had correspondence with the exercise coordinators here in Australia to get plans and policies set, so we could come out, hit the ground and be ready to go,” he said.
“We have here nine Navy, two Marine and seven Air Force personnel, which are a mixture of photographers, video camera people and journalists.”
CPO Bauer said his teams used the exercise to gain experience working with their ADF counterparts.
“We are also here to check our gear, get more practice, more training for when we have to go to where bullets are flying,” he said. “The more situations and locations we can operate out of the better for us.”
PO Mark Rankin, a US Navy combat cameraman and journalist from Combat Camera Group based in San Diego, said the US Navy had two combat camera units.
“One is based on the west coast and the other is based on the east coast of the US. They are both very elite,” he said.
“The units’ house the best photographers in the Navy. Numbers in the units vary from 20 to 40 photographers. We deploy around the world and currently have people in Bahrain, Iraq, the Horn of Africa and Korea.”
Originally a journalist working for the US Navy and Stars and Stripes, PO Rankin said he began his career in photography after an unusual on-the-job event while working as a journalist in South America.
“I was working in a remote village in Honduras with a photographer,” he said.
“The village contained mainly dark-skinned people and because I am African-American and the photographer was Caucasian, the village queen mother would only let me in.”
“We needed the story, so the photographer set the camera up, handed it to me and said ‘go shoot’. I came back with some great photos and we won a military award for the story and the picture.”
PO 2nd Class Sandra Palumbo, who also works with PO Rankin, said to become a combat camera group photographer in the US Navy took a lot of training other photographers did not usually do.
“We do survival evade resistance and escape training, desert survival training and we also train on the M16 rifle and 9mm pistol,” she said.
“We also have to be in tip-top shape and we do PT five times a week.”
All of the photographers and journalists enjoyed their time working on Talisman Saber and PO Rankin said he appreciated how the US and ADF forces worked together.
“The way we do things is very similar. We work well together and as far as getting the job done as allies, we also know what we need from each other,” he said.
“Working with different journalists and photographers on this exercise has given me a new perspective on how compatible we are and it makes me respect the military and Australia that much more.”
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