Note: This article is part of a series. Read part one here. 

A reporter in combat

“Holy shit, that was a big one!”

The shockwave washed over us. ISIS had set out IEDs all along the road leading from Kirkuk out into the desert. A piece of shrapnel whizzed into the bushes off to my right-hand side. By this point, it was late in the day and we had moved with the Peshmerga deep into what had been ISIS territory just minutes earlier. Now IEDs were going off in front of us and on both of our flanks. Command detonation wires ran up both sides of the road. Just another day in paradise.

Remember, as a reporter, you want to be near the shit, but not actually in the shit. Let the locals fight their war while you stay 50 meters behind the leading edge of their troop formation. Stay behind cover and concealment as best you can. Cover is a hard barrier between you and enemy forces that will stop bullets from penetrating, such as an armored vehicle or earthen wall. Concealment will hide or screen you from the enemy, but will not stop a bullet. This would include vegetation or unarmored vehicles.

reportingfromIraq
Back to Iraq. This time I was near the shit, but not in it.

Stay the hell out of the way of local soldiers or militia fighters. They have a job to do and your job is to report on them doing their job, not create a burden on them with your presence. Don’t for one moment assume that anyone on the battlefield is going to respect your press credentials. Human beings are targets on the battlefield, and if you get inside the enemy’s crosshairs, you are probably going to get zapped.

When heading into an active combat zone, take your medical kit with you. There are tons of different individual first aid kits on the market today, but at a minimum you need a few tourniquets, KERLIX gauze, and an Israeli bandage. Important note: In some parts of the world, you may want to refer to the Israeli bandage by another name. Run your IFAK through your belt so it is on your hip at all times and located where you or your partners can get to it quickly in an emergency.

Record combat footage, conduct interviews, ask people what is going on, but know when you are pushing your luck. After a morning offensive outside Kirkuk, I was walking around a recently liberated ISIS village when a Peshmerga officer said I should head back up the hill to their security perimeter. They had intercepted some commo that ISIS suicide bombers were on their way. After avoiding IED blasts all morning, I felt it prudent to take his advice.

Carrying a gun

A member of Kurdistan’s Asayish, the secret police, was conducting a body search of my person as he was taking me inside a hotel where the German Bundesver were staying. He didn’t find anything and was moving on to the next person.