More details will be announced about this special assignment.
(SALEM, Ore.) - Salem-News.com reporter Tim King will go to Baghdad, Iraq in March to cover the war and report specifically on the progress and mission of the Oregon National Guard forces deployed there.
Tim spent two months covering the war in Afghanistan over the winter of 2006/07, embedded with the Oregon Guard in the Army's 41st Brigade Combat Team. This time Tim will go to Iraq where hundreds of Oregon soldiers are stationed over the course of a year long deployment.
Tim will file video reports as he did in Afghanistan and those reports will be seen here on Salem-News.com. We are not sure at this point if we are going to partner with television stations in the Northwest. Portland's FOX station carried Tim's reports from Afghanistan but they say they are not interested in the Iraq coverage. Much is still up in the air as would be expected.
According to tentative plans, Tim will spend time with a number of soldiers in the combat theater and the assignment will be roughly four weeks in length. He plans to cover the activities of an Oregon Guard C-23 Sherpa cargo plane squadron, infantry security forces that patrol the ground around Baghdad, and also a Combat Engineer group. There is also a plan to send Tim to the Kirkuk region to cover a number of soldiers with the Army's 10th Mountain Division if possible.
Why Iraq? Tim says reporters don't always have the ability to select the locations of their assignments, much like the soldiers already on the ground there, the point is covering the mission of these soldiers and politics will not be part of the agenda, he says.
"I'm really excited about seeing this place and gaining a closer understanding of what is going on there and where the future is going to lead this unpopular mission. I know though, that the Oregon Guard soldiers are making life better for people when and how they can, and at all costs that has to be recognized. These soldiers did not start this conflict, but they did follow their sense of duty in serving there. That is enough for me."
More details will be announced about this special trip to Iraq that will take place in the coming weeks.
It is important to note that the general climate in television news is inspiring our desire to send a reporter into harm's way. The broadcasters have turned their backs on Iraq and they are ignoring it. This is not acceptable and ignoring a military conflict will not make it go away, it is a total disservice to the people of our state who serve in uniform. It creates a more ignorant nation.
Tim says he is completely disappointed at the lack of interest both Oregon and national broadcasters have in covering Oregonians, he hopes a few phone calls will be placed by people who are also bothered by this lack of desire to report on our nation's single biggest dilemma.
"I guess this all supports new media and the entire Internet news concept, it shows that our direction is correct as is our thinking; that the traditional things people expect in news aren't coming from the same places they used to."
He says two Oregon radio stations will carry his reports, and other Internet groups are showing interest. So even if it doesn't make the Portland news, at least residents can visit this site to get the latest. But don't write the Portland news market off completely yet, there are stations that have not yet been contacted, so that door remains open.
Tim will be traveling to Iraq with Evergreen Aviation out of McMinnville, Oregon. This group agreed to authorize transportation into Kuwait for Tim and it is one of the few options for gaining access to Iraq. Salem-News.com is grateful to Evergreen for giving us a green light on travel plans. At this point departure is tentatively scheduled for early March.
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