Words at war: Reflections of a marine public affairs officer in the Persian Gulf

Abstract

This article covers my personal experiences in dealing with the media and the military during my stay in Saudi Arabia from August 17, 1990 to April 9, 1991. The first four months I was assigned to the Joint Information Bureau (JIB) in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. The remaining time I was assigned to I Marine Expeditionary Force (MEF). This will not be a comprehensive review nor an academic article. Instead, this will cover some of the pertinent issues which had to be addressed by the military and the media; a look at some insights into how the two institutions operated during the build-up and the war; and a presentation of incidents involving media-military relationships. When addressing the issue of news media coverage of military operations (i.e., combat) the ultimate goal for all parties should be not to allow personalities to dominate over principles. And the underlying principle should be that the American people must be kept informed of how their soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines are doing. That is the bottom line upon which I believe the military and media agree. The disagreement is over how this will be accomplished within security and safety restraints. Yet so greedy are the people at large for war news, that it is doubtful whether any army commander can exclude all reporters, without bringing down on himself a clamor that may imperil his own safety. Time and moderation must bring a just solution to this modern difficulty.1