Michael Yon

[Satch]

For those of you who do not know, Michael is a freelance journalist embedded with troops in Afghanistan. His dispatches are excellent and show the stark realities of life on the ground. Along with many others I have been helping fund his efforts, if only on a modest scale.

Today his embed was cancelled by the Ministry of Defence. Why?

Because it appears somebody senior had never heard of Google Maps.

Bad Medicine


His pictures are astounding especially as many are taken in what the human eye would consider near total darkness. These are pretty stunning:

The Kopp-Etchells Effect

 

[Sp!ke]

I wonder what equipment he is using to be able to get those shots.

As you say, amazing...

 

[bluevenetian]

Because it appears somebody senior had never heard of Google Maps.


does that mean his embed was cancelled becos he showed positions on google map?

 

[Satch]

Because it appears somebody senior had never heard of Google Maps.


does that mean his embed was cancelled becos he showed positions on google map?

Maybe but since we operate from static bases it is not exactly much of a secret, is it?

Having read the article again possible that somebody objected to the write up on the A10 downlink but once again this is hardly news nor a big secret.

Air-Attack.com News :: Lockheed Adds Video Down Link Capability to Sniper Pod

Anyway Michael has gone straight into the waiting arms of the US Army who entirely understand what a big following he has.

 

[para alpha]

It's a bit disconcerting that this has happened. But No one really knows why it was pulled. See the guys on the ground like nothing more that having the press/documentary crews follow them around. It shows the people back home the difficult job the soldiers have been asked to do. But, It the baby sitting the said news/documentary crew is a night mare. One or two guys (usually NCO's) in a patrol are charged with looking after the crew. It's bad enough when you come under fire while on a patrol with trained people, but when you also have to look after extra 3 people who have no military training and have no weapons to help control incoming fire, It's not fun...

 

[Satch]

I wonder what equipment he is using to be able to get those shots.

As you say, amazing...

Canon EOS 5D Mark II with a 50mm f1.2 lens

 

[Satch]

It's a bit disconcerting that this has happened. But No one really knows why it was pulled. See the guys on the ground like nothing more that having the press/documentary crews follow them around. It shows the people back home the difficult job the soldiers have been asked to do. But, It the baby sitting the said news/documentary crew is a night mare. One or two guys (usually NCO's) in a patrol are charged with looking after the crew. It's bad enough when you come under fire while on a patrol with trained people, but when you also have to look after extra 3 people who have no military training and have no weapons to help control incoming fire, It's not fun...

Agreed but Michael works as a solo photo journo. Just him.

He served in the Special Forces in the 1980's and was one of the youngest soldiers to pass Green Beret selection

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Yon

 

[Sp!ke]

Thanks Satch.. not cheap though at not far short of £1500 for the lens.

I'll settle for the F1.8 variant

 

[Howard]

That site is amazing , i know what i'm doing for the rest of my night shift ...

Cheers Satch .

Will he keep producing updates now that he is under the wing of the US military ?

 

[Satch]

That site is amazing , i know what i'm doing for the rest of my night shift ...

Cheers Satch .

Will he keep producing updates now that he is under the wing of the US military ?

Yes. But he is always short of funds. Ever seen references to him or any of his pics. in the mainstream press? No, they in large part blank him for having the balls to get dust on his boots full time and do it properly.

That is why people, including serving & ex military, contribute what they can to help him out.

What he is doing really is important: spin free reportage, for good or ill.

 

[para alpha]

Agreed but Michael works as a solo photo journo. Just him.

He served in the Special Forces in the 1980's and was one of the youngest soldiers to pass Green Beret selection

Michael Yon - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Thanks for that! He still wouldn't be able to hold a weapon if it got a bit tasty!

 

[Satch]

Another dispatch and possibly the one that got him turfed out by the MoD.

Now: tell us once again there is no shortage of helicopters (since this was written we have lost two more Chinooks: one hit by ground fire and another badly damaged due to very a hard landing. Both could not be recovered and were then blown up to avoid kit falling into enemy hands)

"We need more helicopters. Enemy control of the terrain is so complete in the area between Sangin and Kajaki that when my embed was to switch from FOB Jackson to FOB Inkerman—only seven kilometers (about four miles) away—we could not walk or drive from Jackson to Inkerman. Routes are deemed too dangerous. Helicopter lift was required.

The helicopter shortage is causing crippling delays in troop movements. It’s common to see a soldier waiting ten days for a simple flight. When my embed was to move the four miles from Jackson to Inkerman, a scheduled helicopter picked me up at Jackson and flew probably eighty miles to places like Lashkar Gah, and finally set down at Camp Bastion. The helicopter journey from Jackson began on 12 August and ended at Inkerman on the 17th. About five days was spent—along with many thousands of dollars in helicopter time—to travel four miles.

Even Generals can have difficulty scheduling flights. Interestingly, when I talk with the folks who reserve helicopter space, they say the Generals are generally easy-going about the lack of a seat, but that Colonels often become irate."


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