Behind the lens: Combat camera in Afghanistan

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Christine Jones
  • 22nd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AFNS) --  Seconds can feel like hours: pulse racing, heart pounding, hands shaking uncontrollably, as all around lives are changed forever in the blink of an eye.

But in that blink, time doesn't stop. Life is still happening around you and it is your mission to photograph every part of what is happening in that moment. Even after an explosion.

As a combat cameraman, that is the job. As a member of the 4th Combat Camera Squadron it's my mission.

Images and video by 4th Combat Camera Airmen have been viewable worldwide in publications and media outlets since our arrival here in October. As the end of the deployment nears, the eight Airmen who volunteered with me to deploy to Afghanistan and capture a critical time in history reflected on their experiences. This is what the person behind the camera goes through to "get the shot."

The team was attached to 5/2 Stryker Brigade Combat Team from Fort Lewis, Wash., and they lived together with Soldiers at forward operating bases and combat outposts throughout southern Afghanistan for the deployment.

For Tech. Sgt. Rudy Castro, a videographer, the lens acts as a buffer when the world seems out of focus.

"It's easy to separate yourself from the trauma behind the lens of the camera, but if you pull your camera away for a second, you realize the severity of what's going on," Sergeant Castro said . "At that point, you just have to get back behind your camera."

For another team member, Tech. Sgt. Francisco Govea, a photographer attached to 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment and the 8th Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment, the work he did made things real for him and the American public.

"If there is not a photo of a humanitarian mission, then it didn't happen. The photos are proof for the Americans that the humanitarian missions take place," Sergeant Govea said.

Combat camera teams went out on missions with Army infantry Soldiers, on both mounted and dismounted patrols throughout their six-month deployment. It didn't take long for these visual imagery specialists to understand that every time out could be a life or death situation.

"The first mission was a real wake-up call," said Master Sgt. Juan Valdes, a videographer attached to 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment and the 8th Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment. "As I looked at my teammate, I emphasized words I learned at Combat Skills Training; 'Watch where you step and keep your situational awareness up.' As moments grew closer to gunfire, I realized this wasn't a movie, this was real life, people were dying and it was my job to document."

But it wasn't all about combat for the Airmen living with Soldiers.

"I was out there on the ground with the infantrymen seeing what they do on a daily basis," said Staff Sgt. Dayton Mitchell, a photographer.

The teams covered all aspects of daily life for servicemembers in Afghanistan. Joint patrols with the Afghan National Army and Afghan National Police, humanitarian missions, meetings with village elders, small-arms combat with insurgents, improvised explosive device detonations and documentation of the aftermath of suicide bombers were just some of the moments captured by the lenses of combat cameramen.

During Operation Moshtarak in Marjah, both Sergeant Castro and Tech. Sgt. Efren Lopez were attached to 4th Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment. They stayed with the unit for almost a month, without showers, sleeping outside on the ground, and living as a Soldier lives in combat. They both ended up capturing imagery during firefights with the enemy.

"We went over a wall and went into a ditch, bullets were flying overhead. I took cover and I took pictures of the Army as they were engaging the enemy," Sergeant Lopez said. "To document combat was both exciting and a little bit scary. It goes through your mind when you're in a combat environment that I might get shot or an IED could go off next to me."

Knowing when to put down the camera and pick up a weapon is an important moment when a combat cameraman must react. On Feb. 13, Sergeant Castro engaged the enemy during a firefight he was in, helping Soldiers to suppress enemy fire.

"The feeling of getting to be part of the first 4th Combat Camera team to go into Afghanistan is a great feeling. I wanted to earn the name combat cameraman, and I think we all did," he said. "This was an eye opening and life-changing experience for me."