Photographers capture bomb damage in Iraq

  • Published
  • By Capt. Roger Burdette
  • Combined Weapons Effectiveness Assessment Team Public Affairs
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AFPN) --  Master Sgt. Michael Best has taken photographs for 28 years. The past 20 years, he has made his living taking photos for the Air Force.

But on a sunny, sultry day in mid-June in Iraq’s capital city, he is looking for more than just photos. He is looking for snipers.

“I’m sure the force-protection guys have that in mind, but we all have to be vigilant,” Best said.

As he spoke, his eyes -- hidden behind tinted goggles designed to protect him from the sun and blowing sand -- scanned high-rise buildings easily within rifle range. A black professional-grade digital camera hung around his neck, and a black 9 mm pistol was strapped to his side.

Best, from Charleston Air Force Base, S.C., is a combat-camera photographer traveling with the Combined Weapons Effectiveness Assessment Team. The team of nearly 100 experts from the United States, United Kingdom and Australia began traveling in Iraq in early June. In the next several weeks, the team is scheduled to visit up to 500 impact points where bombs dropped during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

The team is led by U.S. Central Air Forces and will report its findings to U.S. Central Command this fall.

Best is one of three combat-camera photographers traveling with the team. The other two are Master Sgt. Carla Kippes, also from Charleston AFB, and Tech. Sgt. Chris Stone, from Langley AFB, Va.

Best looked for snipers as he stood at the Iraqi Ministry of Defense complex in Baghdad -- the Iraqi equivalent of the Pentagon. Coalition forces targeted buildings in the complex during OIF to undermine Saddam Hussein’s regime and disrupt its ability to direct its military. The team visited the complex to assess whether the air component achieved its desired effects.

As experts in weapons, targeting, structural engineering and other disciplines collected data at the site, Best captured digital images of the damage, weapons fragments and other sights of interest to the team. Its findings, along with the photographers’ images, will be used to assess the performance and to improve weapons and tactics in the future, according to team officials.

“(Combat-camera photographer’s) primary mission is to capture images wherever U.S. forces are in the world,” Best said. “We record for history and for our leadership what our forces actually do.”

Regarding the team specifically, Best said he and his colleagues are capturing images to help “tell the air component story from OIF.” The end product of this assignment will be visual images that “show whether or not the weapons worked as designed for their intended targets,” he said.

Best recently took photos of several facilities including a bridge across the Tigris River, a radio relay communications station in downtown Baghdad, an intelligence headquarters, a Baath Party stronghold and surface-to-air missile launchers in farmers’ fields.

This is “probably one of the coolest assignments I’ve ever had,” Best said.

“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience to be part of this team and see the people of Iraq,” he said. “I have a place in my heart for the Iraqi people. I feel sorry for them for what they’ve gone through.”

Best toured one of Saddam Hussein’s presidential palaces. Despite looting and recent neglect, evidence of opulence in the palace was obvious. One room had marble floors and a blue wooden chair graced with intricate carved designs and yellow, floral-print upholstery.

“There’s no telling how much money was spent on these palaces,” he said, “yet there are people out there barely scratching out a living.”

Best has also watched children run barefoot across cement blocks and other debris strewn across the ground and in buildings at the defense complex. The bomb-damaged buildings have become their playground. After the bombings, local families moved into the buildings -- despite the broken windows and shattered roofs.

The curious children were attracted to Best and his camera.

“Mister,” they yelled, and made gestures indicating that they wanted him to photograph them. After taking pictures of damage created by coalition weapons, Best snapped several photos of the children. Afterward, the children gathered around Best as he showed them the pictures on his camera’s photo review screen.

“This trip is allowing me to see firsthand how a dictator can ruin things for his own people, even though he claims he loves them,” Best said. “He’s only out for himself and for his (political) party. This trip has been very eye-opening.”