Defense Dept. Establishes Ground Rules for Reporters Covering U.S. Forces in the Middle East 3/8/2002
The Coalition Forces Land Component Command, or "C-Flak" as it is being called, has embraced a policy of opening the door to the media that is being organized by the U.S. Dept. of Defense. The policy of officially embedding civilian journalists with military units as they deploy for an invasion of Iraq, and, if it should follow, accompany them to war, is being institutionalized in the campaign on an unprecedented scale.
DOD first assigned about 500 media representatives to join specific units deployed in the region for long periods of time. The number has since increased and is well above 600. There were a handful of embeds in Afghanistan, and only pool reporters and "wildcatters" unauthorized wanderers traveling alone through the war zone during the last Persian Gulf war. Wildcatters and "unilaterals," who are registered but unassigned reporters, are still poised to take their chances on their own in this engagement, should it occur. But the bulk of the media will be embedded with units throughout the services. In Viet Nam there were a few embeds, but more common was the practice of dropping in with units for brief stints. One must go back to World War II to find large numbers of journalists assigned to units in the field, and even then the number is small by comparison to the current program.