OTTAWA DAILY TIMES: Season on the Sea

NORTH ARABIAN GULF - It’s been referred to as “the most dangerous work-space in the world.” Below the surface of this steel beast are 5,700 people living in a virtual city at sea. It holds about 80 aircraft ranging from planes to helicopters, 500,000 pounds of jet fuel, receives 3,000 pounds of mail daily, and travels the seas of the world at speeds more than 30 knots. Welcome on board the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln.

We’re underway on this U.S. Navy Nimitz Class Aircraft Carrier during a Western Pacific Deployment, which the crew calls a “WestPac.” The Lincoln heads up an eight-ship battle group that’s deployed to the region for about six months. They’re in the Arabian Gulf in support of Operation Southern Watch, the coalition effort to patrol Iraq’s southern no-fly zone.

Any fighter pilot on board will tell you it’s not the safest job in the world.

“You never get used to being fired at,” says Lieutenant Junior Grade Steve Dean, who flies the Navy and Marine Corps’ new F/A 18-E Super Hornet fighter jet. This is the first combat deployment for the new Super Hornet, which saw action over Iraq for the first time November 6th.

Attacks on coalition aircraft over Iraq are becoming routine as Saddam Hussein continues to defy United Nations resolutions prohibiting any attack on coalition aircraft in the no-fly zones. The United States considers these attacks, aimed at fighter pilots like Dean, a material breach of United Nations resolutions. “But all that really doesn’t matter to us,” he says. “We know what we have to do and we get it done.”

Getting it done isn’t a job he handles alone. With a crew bigger than many towns in LaSalle County, each and every sailor has a vital role in making sure Iraq plays by the rules, and the aircrews return to the carrier safely.

On the flight deck, we get to observe “launch” and “recovery” – Navy slang for take-offs and landings. Less than 20 feet from the planes as they take off, and close enough to feel the intense heat of the afterburners of the jet engines, we get to see up close why they call the flight deck of an aircraft carrier the most dangerous work-space in the world.

Planes are prepared for take-off by a number of crews ranging from life support technicians and mechanics to the crash and salvage team, which is ready for any mishap on the flight deck. The planes take off from the deck of Lincoln within seconds of each other. It’s the same hectic place during carrier landings. Sometimes the planes don’t quite make it to hook the arresting line on the surface of the ship, and they get a wave-off, which means they have to make another pass back to the carrier to get the landing right.

It seems amazing, given the hectic pace of operations on the flight deck, that there haven’t been any major accidents during this deployment. All the pilots have safely returned to the Lincoln after combat missions over Iraq.

“But I’m sure Saddam would love to get his hands on a coalition pilot,” says LTJG Dean, who attributes the success of his squadron’s mission to “risk management.”

HOME AWAY FROM HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS

Life aboard the ship during the holiday season is somewhat festive. Throughout the passageways are Christmas decorations that turn an otherwise dull looking steel corridor into a blur of red and green Christmas tree lights.

At the end of one of these hallways is one of the busiest places on the ship during Thanksgiving and Christmas – the mailroom. They’re in a combat environment, so sailors on board the Lincoln are entitled to send free letters back to the United States. In addition to the hundreds of packages bringing in fruitcakes and Christmas presents, outgoing mail makes for a busy day for Chief Petty Officer Rich Vargas.

“We get about 3000 pounds of mail per day during the holiday season,” he says, as mail clerks bring in even more packages to his already crowded post office. And it’s only the beginning of December.

On a typical day at sea, the crew of USS Abraham Lincoln eats about 20,000 meals a day. They consume about 13,000 sodas, 660 gallons of milk, 1700 pounds of fresh vegetables and fruit and about 180 dozen eggs. They wash about 5,550 pounds of laundry each day and cut about 250 heads of hair.

And that’s a typical day.

“We joked about the line during Thanksgiving,” says Petty Officer First Class Keith Jones, a public affairs specialist on board the Lincoln.

“We said the line was so long you could have read a Tom Clancy novel.”

There’s no need to read Clancy’s book “Carrier” in that line, though. It’s the adventure they live every day in the Arabian Gulf.

OTTAWA DAILY TIMES: Season in the Sand

KUWAIT CITY - Less than 50 miles from the border with Iraq, in a desert filled with choking dust, the U.S. military has dug in, ready for war.

Dotted throughout the northwest part of Kuwait are several remote camps filled with thousands of U.S. troops. The soldiers here call these camps “kabals,” an Arabic word that means fortress.

Most of the troops in these kabals are in the Army, deployed from the United States for six months at a time as part of a 1991 defense agreement with the Emirate of Kuwait. Even though American forces have been in this tiny Middle Eastern country for more than a decade, the threat of war in Iraq is shedding new light on their mission here.

Our two-week news gathering effort to the Persian Gulf starts here in Kuwait. We’re talking with and documenting the lives of these deployed soldiers on what could become the front line in a war with Iraq’s Saddam Hussein. We’re also trying to get a feel for what it’s like to live under these conditions thousands of miles away from home during the holiday season.

Last Thanksgiving, they were in basic training, or at home with friends and family, or back at their home base. This year, they’re staring down a defiant Saddam Hussein just as weapons inspectors arrive in Baghdad to begin the job of searching for biological, chemical, and nuclear weapons.

War is not far from anyone’s mind here. One U.S Army public affairs officer, Captain Darryl Wright, reminds us that President Bush hasn’t yet made a decision about whether or not to strike. Even so, the training in the desert keeps these soldiers prepared for battle, on any front.

We land in Kuwait City just three days after a Kuwaiti policeman shot and wounded two American soldiers. Protection of the soldiers in this country has taken on renewed importance with the threat of global terrorism, and we drive from the city to the desert camps in a convoy to make sure we get to our destination without interference.

The trip out to the camps quickly turns from a cruise on the highway to an adventure in the desert. Paved roads end about halfway to the camps and the rest of the trip is on the open desert. Our U.S. Army Public Affairs escorts use Global Positioning Systems (GPS) to lead us through the sandy, desolate terrain. Our drive is not without incident. Attempting to scale a dune, our four-wheel drive Hyundai Galloper gets stuck in the sand. It takes creative thinking and some resourcefulness by the soldiers accompanying us to get us back on the “road” again. First we try digging around the tires, but in the end, we use flak vests as ramps to get up and out.

We spend our first day interviewing soldiers from Fort Stewart, Georgia participating in a live-fire exercise at the Udairi bombing range less than 25 miles from the border with Iraq. The exercise involves mobile Paladin Howitzers, Apache helicopters, and “fast-movers” (U.S. Air Force jet fighter / bombers). Talking with the soldiers during the exercise, we get a feel for how they see the world events happening around them. One soldier indicates he hears more from his wife back home about what’s happening in the world than he does in the desert, and that he’s prepared for anything that comes his way.

It’s a common feeling among the soldiers out here. The following day, at Camp Pennsylvania, we talk with Sgt. 1st Class Eric Olson. He’s an M1A1 Abrams tank commander with Alpha Company, First Brigade, 64th Armor Regiment. His platoon recently returned from a field exercise to get ready for Thanksgiving. He served as a tank driver during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, and the last time he saw Kuwait, 12 years ago, the country’s oil fields were on fire.

“I was curious to see what it would be like,” he says as he takes a puff on a cigarette. He has fond memories of the Gulf War, and remembers how grateful the Kuwaitis were to the U.S. soldiers for helping liberate their country.

We get to take a ride in a few of the tanks in his platoon. What sets it apart from other platoons are the words stenciled on the tube of each tank turret. The four tanks in his platoon bear the names of the planes hijacked on September 11th, 2001.

“We though it would be a great way to show some patriotism,” says Olson. Tradition dictates that words stenciled on the tubes have to start with the letter “A” because the platoon is from Alpha Company, but Olson’s commanding officers thought it was a great way to build morale among the troops. They gave the OK for the names of United Airlines Flights 93 and 175 to join American Airlines Flight 77 and 11 on the platoon’s tanks.

Like many soldiers in the field, Olson sees no difference between the War on Terrorism and a potential war with Iraq. When the hammer falls, Olsen says he wants his tank platoon to lead the charge “north.”

As journalists, covering these soldiers takes us away from home for part of the holiday season, too, but it’s not the same stress and hardship these soldiers face for months at a time. We fly in and armed escorts take us to the action, but after a few days we leave for the relative safety of a world that’s familiar to us.

Unlike us, soldiers get through a long deployment by learning how to take their minds off the distance between them and their families. Some say it’s not hard to keep focused here -- the uncertainty of war and constant training in the deserts of Kuwait does that for them.

OTTAWA DAILY TIMES: GOOOOOOD MORNING BAGRAM!

RHEIN MAIN AIR BASE, GERMANY - His antics are legendary on the interview circuit, and most talk show hosts admit that you never know what to expect when you sit down with Robin Williams.

“Your name’s Kane…. Where’s Able?”

Even though I’ve heard that joke my whole life, I still chuckled since it came from the man known for his roles in “Good Morning Vietnam” and “Mrs. Doubtfire.”

I sat down with Robin Williams in the only interview granted to any media organization regarding his recent United Services Organization (USO) tour to Turkey, Uzbekistan, and Afghanistan.

“There’s so much dust there, even Lawrence of Arabia’s going – NO!”

He spent a week in the region, cheering up soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines serving in Operation Enduring Freedom. We caught up with him on his way back to the U.S. during a brief rest stop in Germany. He talked about life with the troops on the front lines of the war on terrorism.

“There’s some big guys in the service. Some of them came up to me and said.. Gimme a kiss… and I said you’ve been here too long!”

Williams carries on the USO tradition made famous by Bob Hope in World War 2, Korea, and Vietnam. He joins Drew Carey, Jay Leno, Joan Jett, and the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders on a growing list of performers making the rounds in Central Asia.

“I tried to sing “Danke Shein” but it just didn’t work out,” says Williams, joking about the song made famous by another USO performer… Wayne Newton.

There’s something about Williams that makes you crack up laughing almost every time he opens his mouth.

“Before I went to Afghanistan, I watched those Defense Department briefings, and Rumsfeld (Secretary of Defense) kept saying… “We don’t know when… We don’t know how… but sometime, somewhere, something bad is going to happen.”

He can be funny, irreverent, silly, and sometimes downright serious.

“There are amazing people… men and women, all ages, all nationalities doing extraordinary things, and they deserve to have someone come over and say “You Rock.. you’re the best.”

For Robin Williams, Afghanistan isn’t really a war zone. It’s just a remote venue with a great stage for standup comedy.

“It’s great to see people smiling and laughing, and that’s what it’s all about… a good laugh in a big way.”

ELECTRONIC MEDIA ONLINE: Stations Share Lessons Learned from 9/11

Stations share lessons learned from 9/11
By JENNIE L. PHIPPS
Special to Electronic Media

For stations coast to coast part of the aftermath of Sept. 11 has been to figure out how to change their news coverage to better serve viewers. For some that has meant increasing their international news coverage, while for others it has meant increasing efforts to cover local ethnic communities.

These stations, all winners of the Radio-Television News Directors Association Edward R. Murrow awards for their Sept. 11 coverage, continue to evaluate and learn from the experience. Here are some of the things they identify as critical to successfully reporting a news event of this magnitude.

It's a small world, and viewers expect stations to cover it all.

"Before 9/11, we were hyper-local, but we've added more national and international, because when terrorists strike America, world events become events with local significance," said Keith Connors, executive news director of WCNC-TV, the NBC affiliate in Charlotte, N.C. The station's reward has been steadily increased ratings in virtually every daypart, with May the best book in the station's history.

Viewers really do want hard-hitting, sophisticated coverage, not sensationalism.

"The events of 9/11 have proven that people are looking for depth, perspective and context instead of flashy and sensational," said Forrest Carr, news director of WFLA-TV, the NBC affiliate in Tampa, Fla.

Mr. Carr said that conviction was driven home for him while he was visiting Northern Europe and heard coverage there of a Tampa-based organization that was suspected of raising money to support terrorism. The station had been covering the story, which was complex and not easy to report. But when it turned up on a newscast thousands of miles away, Mr. Carr knew that in covering that story thoroughly, his station was doing the right thing.

Reporting on diverse corners of the market makes for good television and doesn't have to be costly.

WOWK-TV, the CBS affiliate in Charleston, W.Va., has won dozens of awards and enthusiastic viewer praise for getting to know the local Pakistani community and for sending a reporter to Pakistan. The reporter, Kane Farabaugh -- who while in Pakistan stayed with relatives of Charleston-area residents -- brought a perspective on terrorism and the U.S. role in the Middle East that probably couldn't be gleaned as effectively any other way, said WOWK News Director Dennis Fisher.

Mr. Fisher said the whole effort cost less than $5,000 because of the enthusiastic hospitality the families offered Mr. Farabaugh. Mr. Farabaugh carried a $2,500 video camera -- good enough to do the job, but not so expensive that losing it would have been a disaster.

"I can't point to a ratings increase, but I do feel that it was the right thing to do -- that's why we did it," Mr. Fisher said.

Some of the most successful coverage by local stations explained how the story affected people outside of New York City and Washington. In Green Bay, Wis., the stories that won awards and viewer praise weren't those about people on the East Coast, even if they had close Green Bay ties. The winning stories focused on farmers, mill workers, parents and students viewing the tragedy from afar.

Said Tom McCarey, news director at ABC affiliate, WBAY-TV, "We consciously stayed away from national -- we wanted to be hyper-local. We saw it as a big part of our job to be continuously reassuring that life is going on, and we know people appreciated that."

Having a plan for breaking news is essential. "People were horrified [on Sept. 11], and it was very hard for them to work, but we had a breaking news plan, and that's what allowed us to do what we did," said Katherine Green, VP and news director for WTTG-TV, the Fox affiliate in Washington.

WTTG remained on the air with uninterrupted local coverage, 24 hours a day, from Tuesday, Sept. 11, through the following Saturday -- a grueling achievement. Under the station's breaking news plan everyone was assigned a job.

It included such details as who would answer phones and who would communicate with the control room. One person per shift monitored the feeds and relayed what was available. Another person logged tape so it was apparent what was available and where to find it. The station's general manager took responsibility for making sure that people had water, and the sales department fielded calls from the general public.

"You just have to get ahead of the curve," Ms. Green said. "Somewhere in the course of the year you have to pull out a plan and say, 'What are we going to do if the worst thing in the world happens?'"

Hire well and routinely delegate responsibility and trust.

"Our success was due to our extraordinary reporters and anchors," said Diane Doctor, VP and news director at WNBC-TV in New York City. "We have great storytellers with terrific sources and an unrivaled depth of knowledge of their communities. A story like this is when an investment in people really pays off."

John Tracy, news director for KTUU-TV, the NBC affiliate in Anchorage, Alaska, said the importance of delegating responsibility was driven home to him last September. He was traveling to the Radio-Television News Directors Association convention in Nashville on the morning of Sept. 11 and he had no hope of flying home to direct coverage. Not only did his staff show up without prodding -- at 6 a.m. Anchorage time -- but they put out an award-winning report that encompassed the national issues and the shutdown of the Port of Anchorage and the threatened evacuation of the city because a Korean airliner was accidentally sending out a hijack code. "I didn't have to worry," Mr. Tracy said, "They did a terrific job without me."

Groupwide resources count for a lot too.

NBC affiliates in particular credit their group's news organization for providing leadership and resources so that every station -- no matter the size of its market -- could do a respectable job.

In New York City, "About a dozen reporters came here from our sister stations," said Ms. Doctor. "That enabled us to replenish our own people and gave us the depths of ranks that is so important in a story like this that goes on and on."

The Arrival in Afghanistan

BAGRAM AIR BASE, AFGHANISTAN – - They say things don'’t change much here. Life at Bagram is a routine for some five thousand U.S. Forces. Specialist Jason Allgood, a broadcaster from Fort Lewis, Washington, says “It’'s a lot like that movie Groundhog Day with Bill Murray,” referring to the comedy about how people live the same day over and over again.

Even though July 4th is a special occasion for millions of Americans, it'’s just another day on the front line of America’'s "War on Terrorism." Sure, there'’s a five kilometer “Fun Run”, a barbeque at the chow hall, and a re-enlistment ceremony at the base flagpole. But for most soldiers counting down the days in their deployment, it’s just another “x” on the calendar.

We’'re here at Bagram to talk with soldiers about what it’s like to be “at the tip of the spear” in Operation Enduring Freedom on America’'s most patriotic holiday. In the days leading up to July 4th, we spoke with dozens of soldiers, all with a unique story to tell, inspired by patriotism and called to service.

Master Sergeant Lawrence Taylor, an air traffic controller in the National Guard, was called to active duty in February. He was directing air traffic from the control tower at the San Jose International Airport on September 11th. "“Last 4th of July I was on a houseboat near my hometown,”" he says between answering radio transmissions at Bagram’'s air tower. Taylor says the most intense time during his deployment was during Operation Anaconda in March, but any day at Bagram is a busy one. The air base is the busiest flightline in Operation Enduring Freedom. Most of the Special Forces and other units fighting pockets of resistance in Afghanistan, take off from Bagram. “"After September 11th, I knew it was a matter of time before we got called up, but never in a million years did I think I would be in Afghanistan.”"

Army Captain Timothy Beninado is a Military Policeman by trade, but at Bagram, he'’s a Public Affairs Officer, in charge of running the base newspaper “"Freedom Watch.”" After receiving word his unit was deploying from Fort Lewis, Washington, he had two weeks to get ready, and prepare his wife. “"She’'s almost six months pregnant… she’s due in October,”" he says, swallowing a lump in his throat. "“She’s my best friend, and this is our first child, so it’s tough. I would much rather be home for the 4th of July.”" His deployment won’t be over by the time his wife is scheduled to give birth, but he’'s hoping he’'ll have the chance to take emergency leave to be with her. Until then, he takes his mind off the distance between them by working with his soldiers to put out a special Friday edition of “"Freedom Watch.”"

In the middle of a choking sandstorm, we make our way to the middle of the flightline, to a heavily guarded and remote radar tower helping control the skies over Bagram Air Base. Inside a dimly lit room with radar screens and radios, we find Air Force Staff Sergeant Steve Hutcherson, an Air National Guardsman from St. Joseph Missouri. His unit was called to action in December, and Hutcherson has been watching the radar scopes in Operation Enduring Freedom for almost six months. "“It was cold and snowing when I left, and it’s going to be cold and snowing when I get back.. so that makes it kind of tough.”" He started his mission in Jacobabad, Pakistan. There he remembers watching on TV a press conference with Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, telling the media that there were no military forces in Pakistan. “"So I guess we weren’t there,"” he says with a grin. His unit packed up the gear and moved to Afghanistan in March, where they miraculously set up shop at Bagram in less than 36 hours. He wonders about his wife and three boys back home. "“I think my brother’s coming down to St. Joe, so he’'ll take them out for a good time.”"

It’s amazing what you can remember and why. I remember the 4th of July in Ottawa, Illinois, watching the fireworks at Ottawa High School, eating some ice cream at Tones Cones on Main Street. As we asked the same questions to these soldiers over and over again, I tried to remember what I did last 4th of July. Truth is, I can'’t remember. I think I was probably working as a reporter in West Virginia, probably covering a parade or celebration. Something that really doesn’'t stick out in my mind. There’s no reason for it to, because July 4th is a day off, a time for barbeques and fireworks. It’s a holiday that we sometimes take for granted. Not these guys. They’ll remember where they were on July 4th, 2002. Bagram Air Base Afghanistan, the “tip of the spear” helping represent, preserve, and defend the values and patriotism we celebrate on America’s day of Independence.

Winning the Hearts and Minds of the Afghan People

KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – The kids on the side of the street come up to you and speak the three phrases of English that they know well.

“"Hello Mister!"” one shouts from his rickety bicycle

“"How are you?!”" another says as he gives me the thumbs up sign.

Another kid selling black market CD’s makes a simple request “"Water!"”

The elders sit back and watch them, breaking in every now and then to keep them in line by shouting “"Burru!"” which means, simply, go away.

The streets are bustling in Kabul. The shops along Chicken Street, a popular shopping area in town, are filled with goods ranging from ancient muskets to the famous Afghan carpet.

It seems like a typical scene out of a movie about the Middle East, complete with busy bazaars and bustling activity. Burquas (traditional Afghan shroud) and beards pass us as we make our way through the masses. But there’s a new element in the Kabuls scenery.

On this day, a stationery store just off Chicken Street is filled with customers looking for school supplies. They’re not wearing the traditional burqua or shalwar kameez (traditional male Afghan outfit), they’re outfitted with helmets, bulletproof vests, and M-16’s.

They’re members of the 345th Psychological Operations Company out of Dallas, Texas. Most are reservists called to active duty in Operation Enduring Freedom, and they are some of the few soldiers the people of Kabul come in contact with.

They’re not just in Kabul. The guys at PSYOPS are everywhere in Afghanistan, fighting an age-old battle not unfamiliar to the United States -- winning the hearts and minds of the people.

Operation Enduring Freedom isn’t a war just being fought on the battlefield. There’ is more to it than finding Osama Bin Laden or Mullah Mohammed Omar. The U.S. military wants the Afghans to also know that there’ is more to their stay here than bombs and bullets.

During the Vietnam War, U.S. troops engaged local villagers throughout the country to encourage them to turn in Vietcong guerillas or hostile forces in return for peace, stability, and development. Ultimately, that mission in Vietnam failed. Here in Afghanistan, it’s a different story.

Major Patrick Flanagan is an officer with the U.S. Army’s 345th PSYOPS Company. He’'s the one in charge of purchasing the goods at the stationery store.

“"Look at this - you’'ve even got designer staplers!”" he says to the Afghan merchant, who understands and speaks near fluent English.

Flanagan’'s mission is to buy schools supplies from local merchants, and then donate them to a local Afghan school outside Bagram Air Base, some thirty miles to the north.

The illiteracy rate in Afghanistan is staggering. Some estimates put it at 64 percent. That means two out of every three Afghans can'’t read. For the last several years under Taliban rule, women were not allowed in the schools that did exist. UNICEF estimates the illiteracy rate among women to be above 85 percent. By helping the Afghans educate themselves, soldiers like Flanagan are helping reverse years of poor education.

Granted, school supplies are only a small step in the education process, but the benefits of donating the goods goes a long way. Soldiers like Flanagan who participate in these humanitarian missions hope it puts the U.S. Forces in Afghanistan in a positive light.

Flanagan looks over the supplies, most of them new and imported from countries like Germany, and barters with the merchant.

“"Tell him we’re buying a lot here, so give us a good price,"” he says to his translator.

The shopping lasts a half hour, and at the end of the exchange, Flanagan shells out close to $700. As I videotape the exchange, the merchant gives me and my colleagues, as well as the other soldiers standing by, cold soft drinks. It’s a welcome relief in the sweltering midday heat.

It’s interesting to watch diplomacy in action. Even though they are foot soldiers of the U.S. Army, these PSYOP guys are also ambassadors for the United States. Dozens of people approach the soldiers standing watch by the Humvees, and carry on a conversation. Most of the Afghans that talk with the soldiers speak English. It’'s pretty mush just small talk, some of it involving the Afghan views of the Taliban, or their support for the U.S. military in Afghanistan. Major Flanagan tells us any conversation with the locals is a good one. “"They feed off any information.”"

Just as the sun reaches it’s highest point in the Kabul afternoon, we wrap up the shopping trip. The friendly transaction complete, the goods are packed up and the Afghan locals filter out. We board the Humvees and head out of the Afghan capital city. The next stop on Flanagan’'s goodwill mission -– outside Bagram Air Base, where the supplies he just picked up will go to students at several area schools. Many of the students that will get the pens, pencils, and papers, are just as eager to learn as other Afghans are to talk with the Americans that now dot the Afghan landscape.

4th on the Front - Afghanistan

BAGRAM AIR BASE, AFGHANISTAN - The first thing you notice when you step outside the tent in the morning is the sun. It's hot. Very hot. Bagram Air Base is also one of the dustiest places on the planet. But somehow each and every day thousands of soldiers survive the heat and the dirt (I'm hesitant to call it "sand") on one of the front lines of Operation Enduring Freedom.

Both the pace and quality of life is picking up here in this former Soviet stronghold just north of Afghanistan's capital Kabul. It's now occupied by allied forces from more than ten different countries. While British forces are getting ready to pull out, more U.S. troops are deploying in. Each night, U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemasters filled with equipment and soldiers make their way to Bagram's pockmarked runway.

We made our way into Afghanistan from Germany with reserve troops just activated from Pittsburgh. They're part of the 329th Combat Support Hospital going into Bagram to help set up the Army's new field hospital. It's the first deployment for most of these soldiers, and many hide the tension and uncertainty by playing video games or sleeping on the flight in.

We land at night, in complete blackness, the only light on the runway coming from the moon. This helps keep the incoming aircraft out of the sights of pro-Taliban or Al Qaeda resistance in the area.

The first stop for most soldiers once they leave the plane is the welcome center. Inside an air conditioned tent, one of the few on base, a soldier gives us a nutshell briefing on the do's and don'ts in Afghanistan.

"Avoid the media" the sergeant tells us, "and make sure you take your malaria pills."

The briefing is also filled with the mission goals here in Afghanistan. "This is a combat zone. plain and simple" the sergeant warns us. A power-point presentation explains that the mission of the CJTF, or Combined Joint Task Force, in Operation Enduring Freedom is to eliminate the terrorist threat.

Walking around Bagram a day later, it's hard to identify the terrorist threat. It seems to be far away from the base. The only explosions you hear are from the Explosive Ordinance Disposal teams blowing up captured weapons and bombs on the outskirts of the base.

Afghan locals are contracted by the U.S. Army to help rebuild the base and work along the roads. They seem to be a friendly people, most asking us to stop and take a picture or pass along a cigarette. Not far from the workers, a U.S. Army soldier keeps watch, making sure none of them stray from their work areas.

My initial impression of Afghanistan is a simple one. There's just enough here to get by, and that goes for both the Afghans that live off base and the soldiers that deploy here.

Things for the soldiers are getting better. Instead of packaged meals, hot chow is served twice a day at the Dining Facility. Workers there say they feed up to 110 mouths a minute. It's one of those quirky facts here that's bound to increase as more troops make the trip here to the Dust Bowl called Bagram Air Base.

SAJA Announces 2002 Journalism Award Winners

NEW YORK, June 5 /PRNewswire/ -- SAJA, the South Asian Journalists
Association (http://www.saja.org), will honor the winners of the 2002 SAJA Journalism Awards contest at its eighth annual dinner on Saturday, June 15, at Columbia University in New York. These annual awards recognize excellence in reporting about South Asia, as well as outstanding reporting by South Asian journalists and students in the U.S. and Canada. The Awards ceremony is part of the SAJA international convention, which takes place June 14-16 and is expected to draw 600 journalists and guests from the
U.S., Canada, Europe and South Asia.
The awards will be presented at Columbia by Steve Coll, managing editor of The Washington Post, who will deliver the keynote address that evening.
In addition, Coll, a former South Asia bureau chief of the Post, will receive the SAJA Journalism Leader Award in recognition of his extraordinary contributions to the field of journalism. He will receive the award from Jyoti Thottam, SAJA President and a business reporter at Time magazine.
"I am delighted to present this year's Leader Award to Steve Coll," Thottam said of the Pulitzer Prize-winning former reporter. "His engaging, unusually perceptive portraits of South Asia are already well known to readers of the Post and of his book, 'On The Grand Trunk Road.' It's an honor for me to also recognize his commitment as an editor to providing thoughtful, original coverage of the Subcontinent."
SAJA will also pay tribute to the memory of slain reporter Daniel Pearl, who, as Mumbai bureau chief of The Wall Street Journal, was a regular participant in SAJA's cyber activities. The first Daniel Pearl Award for outstanding print reporting on South Asia by a U.S. journalist will be presented that night in the presence of his family, friends and Journal colleagues. The inaugural winner is Mohamad Bazzi, a reporter for Newsday
(Long Island, N.Y.) for his insightful reporting which, the judges said, "echoes the spirit and high standards of Pearl's work." In addition, a collection of Pearl's writings, "At Home in the World" (Simon & Schuster) will be publicly launched by the book's editor, Helene Cooper of the Journal's Washington bureau and will be available for purchase. Proceeds from the sales will go to the Daniel Pearl Foundation (http://www.danielpearlfoundation.org), the mission of which is to promote "cross-cultural understanding through journalism, music and innovative communications."
According to Nina Mehta, chair of the SAJA awards committee, the SAJA Awards are important "since they recognize outstanding media coverage of a vital but often under-covered region -- the Indian subcontinent -- and also because they honor creative work by journalists covering South Asians in North America as well as outstanding reporting by South Asians."
This year's contest received more than 250 entries from more than 100 media outlets for work executed in 2001. The entries reflected the higher visibility of South Asians in the United States and the increased attention paid to the subcontinent, in large part because of the aftermath of Sept. 11, the royal killings in Nepal and the earthquake in Gujarat, India. Sreenath Sreenivasan, administrator of the awards and a professor
at the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism, added, "The wide range of media outlets that sent in entries shows the strong interest in upholding standards in foreign coverage and in reporting by minority journalists."
Below is a list of winners of this year's awards. Web versions of articles and photographs will be available online at the SAJA site in August 2002.
The awards will be presented on Saturday, June 15, at 6:30 p.m. at a gala awards ceremony at the Roone Arledge Auditorium at Columbia's Lerner Hall as part of the three-day SAJA Convention (http://www.saja.org/convention). Twenty-five professional development workshops, panels and discussions will be held that weekend. The plenary session on Saturday morning will feature a panel of senior US journalists talking about newsroom decision
making: Peter Bhatia, executive editor, The Oregonian & president-designate (2003-4) of the American Society of Newspaper Editors; Nisid Hajari, Asia editor, Newsweek; and Jeannie Park, executive editor, People. The opening reception on Friday evening will feature remarks by Sebastian Junger, freelance journalist and author of The Perfect Storm and Fire.
The convention and dinner are open to the public. All are welcome. Visit http://www.saja.org for details, including ticket information.
Contact saja@columbia.edu or 212-854-5979 for more information about SAJA or the awards. Please contact Indira Somani, convention chair, for information about the convention.

SAJA JOURNALISM AWARDS 2002
(winners for work executed in calendar year 2001)

Each person/team below will receive a certificate at the SAJA Annual Dinner on Saturday, June 15, 2002, at Columbia University. The student winners will receive an additional cash prize.

SAJA Journalism Leader Award
(SAJA's highest honor)
To Steve Coll of The Washington Post for his many contributions to foreign reporting as a reporter, author and editor, and for his leadership at the Post. (See bio at http://www.saja.org/coll.html)

CATEGORIES FOR US/CANADIAN MEDIA OUTLETS
I. The Daniel Pearl Award for Outstanding story on South Asia Print
1. Mohamad Bazzi, Newsday for Pakistan & Afghanistan coverage. A gripping series of reports from Pakistan about topics ranging from gunsmiths whose sales were hurt by the weapons crackdown, to the use of the Internet by Afghan refugees to keep in touch with families, to key news developments in the war in Afghanistan. This will be the first annual Daniel Pearl Award and it goes, in the opinion of the judges, to a reporter whose journalism echoes the spirit and high standards of Pearl's work. Coincidentally, Bazzi, who is based in NYC, traveled to Pakistan to cover the investigation of Pearl's kidnapping earlier this year.
2. Amitava Kumar, Transition for "Splitting the Difference." A detailed account of the shared animosity that binds together India and Pakistan, reported primarily from the border.
3. (tie) Ahmed Rashid, The Nation for "Pakistan, the Taliban and the U.S." A look at the connections between Pakistan and Afghanistan and how they affect American policy.
3. (tie) Lisa Tsering, India-West for "Helping Bhuj Rebuild Itself." How small, local non-governmental organizations are causing big changes after the 2001 Gujarat earthquake.

II. Outstanding story on South Asia
Broadcast (TV/radio)
1. Kane Richard Farabaugh, WOWK-TV, Charleston, W.V. for "Inside Pakistan: America at War." The work of an American reporter who spent two weeks in Pakistan during the October 2001 air strikes in Afghanistan and shot, produced and reported a network-quality program for a local station.
2. Marc Dorian, Cynthia McFadden, Christina Romano, ABCNews 20/20 Downtown for "Girls for Sale." An undercover look at prostitution in Bombay's slums.
3. Fred de Sam Lazaro & Kevin McAndrews, PBS Newshour with Jim Lehrer for "AIDS in India." How AIDS is spread in India by a combination of a brisk sex trade and a tradition of public silence.

III. Outstanding story on South Asia
New Media
1. Leela Jacinto, ABCNews.com for "Bias Fallout." How one Sikh American learned a harsh lesson in identity politics after 9/11.
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/us/DailyNews/sikh011030_hair.html
2. Preston Mendenhall, MSNBC.com for "In Pakistan, A Grand Illusion." A look at Pakistan's intelligence agencies.
http://www.msnbc.com/news.636796.asp
3.CNN.com staff for "Nepal's Royal Killings." Report on the massacre of the royal family in Kathmandu
http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2001/nepal//

IV. Outstanding editorial/op-ed on South Asia
All media
1. Timothy O'Leary, Dallas Morning News for "Pakistan's Choice," an unsigned editorial. A Sept. 19 call for Pakistan to support the U.S.; it clearly made the case for the course the Pakistani government would eventually take.
2. Mansoor Ijaz, Los Angeles Times for "The India-Pakistan Conflict Lies Threatening in the Wings." A prescient December 2001 article about how Indo-Pak tensions would affect the war in Afghanistan.
3. Michael Moran, MSNBC.com for "Airlift of Evil." A commentary that asks why the US let Pakistan pull "volunteers" out of Kunduz.
http://www.msnbc.com/news/664935.asp

Special Recognition Award -- Tunku Varadarajan of The Wall Street Journal for a year's worth of his consistently engaging and controversial opinion pieces about South Asia (and other global topics) in the newspaper and on its sister site, OpinionJournal.com.
http://opinionjournal.com/columnists/tvaradarajan/archive/

V. Outstanding story on South Asians in North America
All media
1. Viji Sundaram, India-West for "Where's the Beef? It's in Your Fries." A national exclusive about McDonald's use of beef extract in its french fries and how Hindu consumers sued the fast-food giant.
2. Daniel Brook, Philadelphia City Paper for "We Had Dreams." A look at how teachers from India hired to fill gaps in Philadelphia schools learned hard lessons about America.
3. (tie) Rekha Basu, South Florida Sun-Sentinel for "A Birth, A Death Change A Woman's Life." A profile of Sudipta Chowdhury, a Bangladeshi woman whose husband died in the World Trade Center two days before she gave birth.
http://www.saja.org/basubangla.html
3. (tie) John Bathke, News 12 New Jersey for "Immigration Us." A look at how South Asian immigrants are changing the town of Iselin, N.J.
Special Recognition Award -- India Abroad/Rediff. com staff for its powerful reporting and analysis (in words and photos) of Sept. 11 and its aftermath: the attacks, the victims and the hate crimes.

VI. Outstanding photo about South Asia or South Asians in North America Single photo or series
1. Peter Tobia, The Philadelphia Inquirer for "Caught in the Struggle and Strife." A series of photos that accurately captured the mood in Pakistan in the weeks after Sept. 11.
2. The Denver Post staff for Afghanistan and Pakistan photos. The works of several photographers who documented various aspects of the aftermath of Sept. 11 and the war on terror.
3. Edward A. Ornelas, San Antonio Express-News for "Pakistan's Other War: Kashmir." A Web photo essay about life in Kashmir.

VII. Special Project on South Asia or South Asians in North America
All Media
1. Dow Jones Newswires staff for "Decade of India's Economic Reforms." A hard-hitting package of 11 stories that highlighted the promise and frustration found in Indian financial markets, politics and daily life as the economic reform process evolves.
2. Associated Press staff for "Afghan Agony." A four-part package by AP foreign correspondents providing insights into a region that U.S. readers knew little about.
3. (tie) Trikone Magazine staff for "Queer Muslims: De-closeted." A special issue that examined what the editors call a "triple jeopardy" in the United States: being gay, South Asian and Muslim.
3. (tie) Satinder Bindra, CNN for "Afghanistan: The War Against Terror." Series of reports from Afghanistan in October and November 2001.

CATEGORIES FOR SOUTH ASIAN JOURNALISTS IN THE UNITED STATES OR CANADA
VIII. Outstanding story on any subject
Print
1. Sudarsan Raghavan and Sumana Chatterjee, Knight Ridder Newspapers for
"A Taste of Slavery." A major expose of the chocolate industry and its
connections to modern-day slavery in Africa.
http://www.saja.org/chocolate.html
2. Sanjay Bhatt, The Palm Beach Post for an anthrax series. Local stories
with national impact chronicling the first set of anthrax attacks and
deaths in October 2001.
3. Shankar Vedantam, The Washington Post for "Fear on the 86th Floor." A
compelling reconstruction of the panic and terror in the office of a World
Trade Center executive.

Special Recognition Award -- Fareed Zakaria, Newsweek for "The Politics of
Rage: Why They Hate Us," his widely quoted October 2001 cover story that
explained to American readers the need for reform in the Arab world.
http://www.msnbc.com/news/639057.asp

IX. Outstanding story on any subject
Broadcast (TV/radio)
1. Madhulika Sikka, ABC News Nightline for "Encore: The Eve Cassidy
Story." A profile of a singer who died in obscurity five years ago, but
whose work is now getting attention.
2.Fred de Sam Lazaro, PBS Religion & Ethics Newsweekly for "Sex
Selection." A report on how the gender selection of babies is conducted in
certain parts of India
3. Gita Amar, Radio 3AK Melbourne, Australia for breaking news coverage of
9/11. A collection of live breaking news reports on Sept. 11 and 12, 2001.

X. Outstanding story on any subject
New Media
1. Roy Wadia, CNN for "Brazil: A Special Series." First-hand reports from
several Brazilian cities tackling issues such as the environment, AIDS,
poverty and politics
http://www.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/americas/08/14/brazil.AIDS/index.html
2. Sandeep Junnarkar, CNET News.com for "A Bitter Pill." A three-part
series on the lack of progress in the online medical industry.
http://news.com.com/2102-1017-827717.html
3 (tie) Rafat Ali, Inside.com for "Now You Can Buy the Entire Internet."
An analysis of how pop-up ads and other intrusive features are dominating
online advertising.
http://www.inside.com/product/Product.asp?pf_id={D00CDD87-9944-4263-81FA-
52372568AFE3}
3. (tie) Leela Jacinto, ABCNews.com for "So Far From Home." A profile of
Zohra Daoud, the first (and only) Miss Afghanistan, who now lives in
Malibu.
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/world/DailyNews/afghan011205_beauty.html

CATEGORIES FOR STUDENTS OF SOUTH ASIAN ORIGIN IN US OR CANADA
XI. Outstanding student story on any subject
All media
The student winners receive a certificate, plus a cash award as indicated
below.
1. Abhi Raghunathan, Princeton University for "Thanks for Coming: Now Go."
A New York Times report on Indian software engineers in New Jersey stuck
in limbo after the dot-com bust. ($500.00)
2. Shilpi Gupta, University of California, Berkeley for "The Bondage of
Debt." A photo essay about bonded laborers in Tamil Nadu, India. ($300.00)
3. Renuka Rayasam, Columbia University for "Locked Up: Kids in Juvenile
Detention." A look at trends in how minors are treated by the criminal
justice system ($200.00)


Notes from the judges:
* This year, we have 11 categories -- with a first, second and third prize
winner in each (except where indicated).
All winners will receive a certificate at SAJA's gala awards ceremony on
Saturday, June 15 (student winners will received a cash award). In some
cases, the judges chose to name Special Recognition Awards for
distinguished work that did not quite fit into current categories or in
order to honor a body of work.
* The awards were judged by a team of senior journalists drawn from
newsrooms around New York City and faculty from the Columbia Graduate
School of Journalism.
* Visit the SAJA Awards Archive to see names of past winners.

ABOUT SAJA (http://www.saja.org)
SAJA, the South Asian Journalists Association, was founded in March 1994
as a networking group for journalists of South Asian origin in New York
City. It has grown into a national group of more than 800 journalists
working for leading publications, broadcast networks and online outlets in
various cities in the US and Canada.
The organization is best known for its Web-based SAJA Stylebook for
Covering South Asia and the South Asian Diaspora
(http://www.saja.org/stylebook) and its tips and resources for journalists
covering South Asia or South Asians living in North America
(http://www.saja.org/tips.html).
The New York flagship chapter hosts monthly meetings in Manhattan with
distinguished guest speakers, as well as various career-oriented panels.
SAJA has chapters in Washington, D.C., San Francisco Bay Area, Chicago,
Atlanta, Boston, Houston, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Toronto).
Details of SAJA's activities and resources for journalists is available at
http://www.saja.org.

Please direct all questions about the SAJA Awards to Sreenath Sreenivasan, administrator of the SAJA Awards and co-founder of the association: 212-854-5979; saja@columbia.edu; http://www.saja.org. Please contact Indira Somani, convention chair, for information about the convention.

Berlin is a Fortress - President Bush Visit to Germany

"Berlin is a Fortress"

Stepping out the door of my hotel places you less than 100 yards away from where the Berlin Wall once stood. In fact, my hotel would have been in Communist East Berlin, but times have changed here in the new captial of Germany, and the Cold War along with the Berlin Wall are a distant memory... almost.

You can't help but get an eerie feeling as you continue down Fredrichstrasse, the road that leads away from my hotel. There are no cars in sight. Stores are closed, restaurant patios usually filled and bustling with late-night diners now mysteriously silent.

The Polizei (German Police) are everywhere. There are roughly 10,000 of them patrolling the streets of Berlin. Some German newspapers specualte that there have never been more police in this city at one time. They say that "Berlin is a Fortress".. almost a police state.

Add another six hundred American security people, more than one thousand members of the press, and what you've got is state visit by the leader of the free world.

Hundreds of Berliners lined the streets to welcome George W. Bush to Berlin. Air Force One carrying the President and Secretary of State Colin Powell touched down at Templehof airport just after 8 pm Central European Time Wednesday evening.

It's the first visit by a US President to Berlin since it became Germany'captial after moving from Bonn in 1999. It's also less than nine months since the September 11th attacks, and Berlin is the first stop on President Bush's European tour to rally support in expanding the War on Terrorism.

Expanding the war on terrorism could include another desert battle with Iraq, a fact the German people are well aware of, and many adamantly against.

Just a few hours before the President landed, I had a chance to get out and mingle with hundreds of demonstrators gathered in the center of Berlin. They're the reason for the beefed up security around town. In fact they're the only signs of life in an otherwise deserted metropolis.

Here, the wave of post-September 11th pro-American patriotism is washed away by the scathing images of George Bush holding a hunting rifle and being labled as a war monger. These protestors, along with a number of ordinary German people, feel they have no place in a war with Iraq. They also feel left out of international diplomacy and complain that the United States too often acts on it's own in matters of war and diplomacy.

But the issue of Iraq draws strong criticism from the German people. Just 13 years ago, cracks in the Berlin Wall led to the reunification of East and West Germany and an end to more than four decades of cold war tensions. No one here is eager to get involved in another standoff with another enemy, and feel that the United States is unfairly pressuring them into a conflict with Iraq.

Thursday afternoon, President Bush enters the former Reichstag, symbol of Nazi Germany, now called the "Bundestag" There he'll address the German parliament and the German people. He's going to plead his case for expanding the war on terrorism, and calling on a Cold War ally to join the fight.

Upon landing, President Bush passed up the chance to talk more about his speech, and offered the spotlight to Secretary Powell.

Colin Powell, former Chariman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during the Gulf War, also served several tours as a military officer in Germany during the Cold War. He answered a reporters questions about Iraq and weapons of mass destruction.

"We are in constant discussion with our German friends about these nations that are pursuing these kinds of weapons and Iraq certainly is one of these foremost advocates of getting this kind of capability and they're working on it. And for that reason it is important for us to stay in close communication with the Germans as to what we might be required to do."

The President's European tour includes a stop in Russia later in the week. In St. Petersburg, the President will sign an historic nuclear arms reduction agreement that further symbolizes peace in the post cold war era.

It's a peace that many Germans lived without for decades, and won't easily trade for a war with Iraq.

AFN Destinations Berg Schlossberg and Italy 996

Destinations Debuts on AFN-TV

DESTINATIONS DEBUTS ON AFN TV

Destinations, a new program on AFN Europe Television, made its debut Thursday March 28th at 6:30 PM Central European Time. The weekly, 23-minute program covers a wide range of subjects, from host nation activities to lifestyle segments. AFN Europe News Director Gary Bautell says "on any given week, Destinations will explore anything from a German wine fest to laundry services available in Afghanistan."

Destinations is designed to reach the majority of the AFN audience, men and women in their late-20's and early-30's, with stories and features that run the entire spectrum. "From interesting places to visit, service members involved in their local host nation or military communities, to people with unusual hobbies, free-time diversions or European food specialties and traditions, it's all possible on Destinations." Bautell emphasizes that audience feedback is essential. "Tell us what you think about the program, the stories, and let us know your ideas for future reports."

AFN Europe Commander Army Lieutenant Colonel Michael Edrington feels Destinations is a "program that's long been needed by the audience in Europe. Americans stationed across the theater have interesting stories to tell, exciting hobbies, and unusual stories to share." Edrington points out that "recent audience surveys indicate service members and families want to know about places to visit and things to see, not just in military communities, but across the continent. Destinations will hopefully fill this information gap" on AFN Television.

Taking you to new destinations. Destinations. Coming to AFN Europe Television Thursday March 28th at 6:30 PM CET.

http://www.eucom.mil/english/FullStory.asp?art=149

OTTAWA DAILY TIMES: Supporting Operation Anaconda

Earlier in the week, the bodies of seven U.S. soldiers killed in heavy fighting in Eastern Afghanistan landed at Ramstein Air Base in Germany. It’s the last stop before they reached U.S. soil

Now, the second wave of casualties is here in Germany. This time, the wounded. Nine coalition soldiers injured in Operation Anaconda landed on the Ramstein flight-line just after 10 p-m Wednesday night.

Shielding their faces from both the media and the cold and rainy weather, medical specialists quickly loaded the wounded on to waiting ambulances. Since most of the wounded soldiers belong to special operations forces, the last thing they want is publicity, so blankets were placed over their faces.

Among the ten patients on board the medical relief flight is a civilian journliast, Toronto Star reporter Kathleen Kenna. She was attacked by Al-Queda and Taliban forces over the weekend while covering Operation Anaconda.

This special medevac mission is a joint effort with the 75th Airlift Squadron and the 86th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron, both based at Ramstein. Their mercy mission takes flight on board a transformed Air Force C-9 aircraft, dubbed the Nightingale.

Routine flights on board the C-9 include transporting patients with long-term or serious illnesses. Bringing troops back from the front lines of war is a job that all the specialists, right up to the pilots of the aircraft, train for, but don’t often get to carry out. That’s why this mission takes on a special sense of duty in America’s War on Terrorism.

“This is why I’m in uniform,” says Air Force Captain Chuck Wheeler, a flight nurse on board the Nightingale.

“I played the game on the civilian side, I’ve played the game on the military side, and I’m back again so I can do things like this right here… to take care of people that wear the uniform and go out there and protect you and me and they make sure that I’m safe at night.”

It’s that sort of personal connection that makes the job hit home to the crew on the Nightingale.

“When they get hurt, I wanna have the education, ability, and opportunity to go get these guys,” says Captain Wheeler, fighting back fatigue after just completing the flight.

“I want to show them that I can take care of these guys.”

The crew on board the Nightingale brought the wounded to Germany from a staging area at Injirlick Air Base in Turkey. They’re brought to Turkey to be stabilized, and prepared for transport.

The next stop after the flight-line at Ramstein is the Landstuhl Regional Medical Facility not far from the air base. There, they’ll receive advanced medical attention and spend time recovering from wounds sustained in combat.

With the fighting still underway in Eastern in Afghanistan, these medevac crews remain on alert, in the event there’s more casualties in a battle the Defense Department says “will continue as long as the Taliban don’t surrender, or until they’re all dead.”

Kane Farabaugh is a 1995 graduate of Ottawa Township High School. He is currently working as a television news anchor and reporter for the American Forces Network Europe in Frankfurt Germany. He’s covered the crash of United Airlines Flight 93 on September 11th, reported from Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan during Allied attacks last fall, and has filed reports from all over the world during different assignments with several local ABC and CBS affiliates as well as the United States Air Force.

President George W. Bush visits Charleston, West Virginia and the 130th ...

President George W. Bush visits Charleston, West Virginia and the 130th ...