Game On!!!

We had a great first day of reporting.

Lots of action.

But it was also long: from 8am to 11pm.

No internet at the work place, no blogging.

Sorry!

I will try to catch up as soon as I can!

gabi

"Stick Together and Follow Command"

The day started with a very important tip from an experienced officer sitting beside me at breakfast: when you are out there stick together and follow command. He was answering my questions about the exercise and how to stay out of trouble. He also said that this is elite training and that every day out there is the soldiers worst day. "Everyday is like Monday," he reinforced.

Another very exciting part of the day was the helicopter safety briefing. We didn't get a chance to ride in one, but definately learned a lot about these machines. The briefing was very clarifying and fun at the same time. We learned what to do in case of a crash and it sounds like panic here is your worst enemy. The most important advice is take a breath and think about what you should do. But I love the Flight Engineer's humor. In the very end he said: " if you see me running, get your jam in your pocket because you  are all toast." I guess we have to go back to the first advice of the day: follow command, especially if things go wrong!.

These photos show our group learning about helicopters safety. This is mandatory in case we have to go in a Griffin (Canadian Army Helicopter).

In the afternoon we said goodbye to half of our group (4 people). They got in a helicopter and headed to somewhere in the middle of the desert where they were embedded with Canadian troops. They will be there for four days and on Friday will be the time for us, the remaining four, to do the same. Until then, we will play Afghan media.

The rest of us went for a ride into the "box", where the exercise takes place. Actually it will start tonight, so we could not do any stories yet. Tomorrow will be the day that we will go out there, something will happen- possibly a suicide bomb, or a road side bomb, or insurgent fighting - and we will have to report for the Afghan media, while our embedded colleagues will send tapes - with the help of drivers- to be edited for the Canadian Newscast.

In the "box", we visited a couple of villages where part of the exercise will take place. I have never been in Afghanistan, but from what I have seeing on TV and other reports, the Americans are doing here a very good job replicating the atmosphere of that part of the world. This was confirmed by one of the actors who is actually from Afghanistan. Anna  left her country during the Soviet occupation and she now lives in the US. She comes here because it is a job for her, but she also takes the opportunity to teach soldiers a bit about her country and her culture. "People see fighting on TV and they think that's all, but we actually have a very rich culture," explains Anna. 

Well, now we are in the game! This is the stage and all the actors will take position tonight for the big training. This will be the last chance for the soldiers here - both Canadians and Americans- to maybe get it wrong, fix it and learn from it in order to get it right in the real world. 

One More Sleep!

It's Sunday and last day of orientation. Tomorrow the real stuff starts.

We had another day of shooting, talking in front of the camera, and having our work being analyzed by our instructors. Pretty fun and sometimes difficult too!
We are all very excited to get out there tomorrow. We are four teams of a girl and a boy each. My partner is this cool guy named Chris, who coincidentally lives in Parkdale, Toronto. I would be happy working with anyone in the group, and I am sure Chris and I will have a blast together.

At first we will play the role of local Afghan media, and we should be embedded with the Canadians troops for four days next week, as Canadian media. We will all have the chance to do both: independent or embedded media.

If you don't know what embedded means, here is an explanation FROM WIKIPEDIA:

Embedded journalism refers to news reporters being attached to military units involved in armed conflicts. While the term could be applied to many historical interactions between journalists and military personnel, it first came to be used in the media coverage of the 2003 invasion of Iraq. The United States military responded to pressure from the country's news media who were disappointed by the level of access granted during the 1991 Gulf War and in the 2001 U.S. invasion of Afghanistan.

At the start of the war in March 2003, as many as 775 reporters and photographers were traveling as embedded journalists. These reporters signed contracts with the military that limited what they were allowed to report on.

The base was still pretty empty today. But here are some pictures of my day, walking around here in Fort Irwin's US National Training Centre.

A Joshua Tree

FROM WIKIPEDIA:

The name Joshua tree was given by a group of Mormon settlers who crossed the Mojave Desert in the mid-19th century. The tree's unique shape reminded them of a Biblical story in which Joshua reaches his hands up to the sky in prayer.  Ranchers and miners who were contemporary with the Mormon immigrants also took advantage of the Joshua tree, using the trunks and branches as fencing and for fuel for ore-processing steam engines. It is also called Izote de desierto. It was first formally described in the botanical literature as Yucca brevifolia by George Engelmann in 1871 as part of the Geological Exploration of the Fortieth Parallel.

The desert mountains remind us of the mountains of Afghanistan.

It took a while, but the sun came out and we were greeted by a beautiful blue sky with few clouds.

Our cute colleague Jill getting all prepared to be embbeded with the troops during the exercise.

Our instructor's helmet.

Col Juneau talking about the exercise during an interview for Radio Canada International.

A lonely soldier reading a book early in the morning.

A hot dog stand embraces the patriotic spirit.

Fun Live Hits day!

We are getting ready for the exercise. Today we practice live hits for TV and it was awesome. We all got a scenario written in a piece of paper and had only 10 minutes to prepare our live hit in front of the camera and in front of all the people. But because we were suppose to be in Afghanistan, things could happen during the hit, like a bomb drop or an artillery attack. In the end, our instructor and CBC reporter Paul Hunter was giving us feedback on our hits. It was a great experience, but we were a bit nervous as well. In the end we were told that we all did a good job!

 
The photos here show some of my collegues during the exercise and Paul Hunter giving us a lesson on the real thing. When the real exercise starts, we will do fake stories for both local (Afghan) media and Canadian media. Today we also got our ID cards and I picked my Afghan name: Fatima Halem. In my head, she is a strong Afghan woman, whose father is a very influent and well-known man in the region. She was educated in Pakistan and although most of people think she got the job as a Kabul TV reporter because of her father's influence, she is a very talented and hard working woman. NOTE: THIS IS FICTION, ALL FROM MY IMAGINATION!


Our day ended in Starbucks, of course, checking our e-mails and chatting. But just before that we enjoyed a nice BBQ with some troops.

Weather conditions for the day: rainning cats and dogs!!!

Orientation day!

If you are reading this blog looking for some crazy excitement, come back on Monday. Our exercise doesn't start until then, and I am not even sure if I will have time to blog. I heard once the "real stuff" starts, we will get pretty busy. But it doesn't mean we are just sitting around, doing nothing. Our day started at 6am - the time when most of the people wake up around here - and after breakfast, we began a day of orientation in a classroom that ended after 8pm, with a very interesting safety briefing, about this place and the dangers that we might encounter when we are out there training. Nothing too serious, but it was good to remind us to not be stupid around here and to be careful.

PHOTOS: (On the top)
Our day starting in the Training Centre. Beautiful sunrise!


This next photo shows the kind of food we had: bagel sandwich with cold meat and cheese for lunch. Some people preferred to eat in one of the restaurants around, but you have to pay for it. Dinner was amazing, though: steak! And for breakfast we had the traditional bacon and eggs, with toast, beans and potatoes.


The last photos are from our quarters, outside and inside. There is my room, with a very comfortable bed.





        



















I feel a bit overwhelmed with all the military terms, rules and other information. For someone who's never done anything like this, it can be a bit too much. But it is amazing how quickly you learn things, and in a couple of more days I will be talking like them, I hope!




There is not too much time to take photos or access a computer, but here are some images of life at the Training Centre.

Finally at Fort Irwin!

It's been a long day, but finally we got at the National Training Centre at Fort Irwin. We are all exausted and very soon I have to rush back to my barracks because the lights will shut off sometime after 9pm. This place is so big that I won't be surprise if I have trouble going back. Right now I am using the internet at the Starbucks in the base.

Anyway, it's been a great day. I've met my colleagues as well as a couple of my instructors and it seems like this is a great group.

The trip over here was amazing, with a windown seat, overlooking the rockies! Check these photos out. I got to San Francisco and then Vegas where a military van was waiting for us. Well, after travelling for almost 19 hours - from the moment I got up this morning- I think I should have a rest.

Today we just learned about our beds and washrooms around. Tomorrow we will have a more complete orientation. But it's all new and exciting for me. Even being in a coffee shop surrounded by soldiers in uniform, looks pretty surreal for me. I guess I will get used to it very soon, especially because everyone has been really nice to us.

My bunk bed is waiting for me. Good night!

New adventure: Journalism in Conflict Zones course

What's new?
I am heading to a US Military Base in the California desert called the National Training Centre to attend the Journalism in Conflict Zones course offered by Athabasca University.

What????
Ok, this is a course that will happen from February 3 to 23. The idea is to be a media presence while Canadian troops are training to go to Afghanistan in the spring. But no, I am NOT going to a war zone, I am just taking the opportunity to learn more about the military and peharps have some fun!

How did I get involved?
A friend invited me and I thought: why not? It's not like I have a job or kids, or fear of new adventures. So, my backpack has been prepared for a while now.

How is it organized?
The Journalism in Conflict Zones course is a partnership between the Canadian Military and Athabasca University. The group is formed by 10 journalists and the CBC’s Paul Hunter and Mike Vernon will be the instructors. And my friend JJ will be the newsroom producer. I feel very lucky! Can't wait to work with these people!

How is it going to work?
I was told that we will have a few days of orientation, that can be a bit boring. But then we will have 2 weeks of intensive training, including being embedded with Canadian troops while they exercise in the desert. I will be expected to file one TV story a day for the course, but I am also allowed to produce pieces for the real Canadian media from there. So far, I've arranged to produce stories for the Brazilian show of Radio Canada International.
Canada Direto - RCI's Brazilian Show

How realistic is the training?
I would imagine that it is just like in Afghanistan or Iraq.  Bombs will be blowing up and people will be getting hurt during the exercises. But it is all fake (I hope so! haha). If you watch this CNN story, you can certainly see how real this training is. Fort Irwin is considered the most realistic war training facility in the world. It is known as the “Hollywood for the soldiers.”
CNN story about the National Training Centre, in Fort Irwin:

How do I feel about all that?
I feel very happy to be part of such a small group and do something completetly different. But really, I feel like it is a great opportunity to learn more about something that I've never paid too much attention: the military. I grew up in Brazil, with no war or conflict stories, and although I had a couple of uncles at high levels in the military, I was too busy thinking about  and producing other stories. It was here, after Canada joined the NATO forces in Afghanistan in 2001 that I started to be more interested in this reality. I am very curious to see how I feel after this experience is over. Stay tuned!