44th Chemical goes under the spotlight

Photo By Giancarlo Casem | Maj. Mary Constantino, right, Third Army/USARCENT media relations officer, asks Spc. Jordan Aldridge, left in white, 44th Chemical Company, a question during his unit's media relations training class at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, Oct. 16. The question was an example of what a reporter may ask of him when his unit redeploys to Fort Bliss, Texas.  

KUWAIT

10.28.2007

Story by Sgt. Giancarlo Casem 

50th Public Affairs Detachment

You step through the terminal doors, amidst the sea of people and bright lights, you see your family. You rush over to them, but a reporter cuts you off instead.

"What were you doing in Iraq? Where were you stationed? How do you feel about 15-month deployments? How do you feel about being home?"

Questions such as these are asked of Soldiers by media personnel, while deployed or redeployed. In order to properly train Soldiers how to cope with media, Third Army/U.S. Army Central's public affairs office provides training for redeploying Soldiers.

"The purpose of the training is to inform Soldiers on the importance of engaging the media and to provide techniques on how to deal with media that they may run in to or who may be embedded in their units," said Maj. Mary Constantino, Third Army/USARCENT media relations officer.

One of the subjects covered in the training is the importance of how a Soldier's response may affect the Army as a whole, she said.

"When you get home and someone asks you questions, you say the first thing that pops into your head without thinking," said Spc. Jordan Aldridge, a supply specialist with the 44th Chemical Company. "You have to remember that you are still in uniform and you are held in high regards."

Aldridge, a Chesterfield, Va., native, said the training was valuable especially since his unit will be redeploying back to Fort Bliss, Texas.

The public affairs office provides media relations training to units who request it.

"Third Army PAO will provide the media training to any unit assigned, new or not, attached to the command at the unit's request," Constantino said. "There is no requirement on how often we provide it; we'll come out and train units whenever they request it."

Constantino told the Soldiers of the 44th to be prepared for media personnel as soon as they stepped off the plane. She reminded the Soldiers to remain calm when they are asked for an interview, and if they did not feel comfortable being interviewed, they could deny a journalist's request.

Another topic discussed was the impact of the news media and the importance of the role that Soldiers play.

"This training helped remind us not to let the media control the interview," said Spc. Deanna Reskalla, a chemical operations specialist with the 44th Chemical Company, originally from Greenville, S.C. "However, we know that the media is a good tool."

Constantino said the media is one of the best ways to tell the Soldier's story and stressed the importance of media engagement skills.

"Soldiers must be able to engage the media in order for the world to stay informed on what the U.S. Army is doing and for the U.S. service members' stories to be told," she said.
"You have done great and wonderful things here," Constantino told the class. "You should tell it."

During the class, some Soldiers were selected to participate in some "hands on" media training. The Soldiers were asked a variety questions ranging from topics such as their mission in Kuwait to political questions.

The Soldiers were coached to stay within topics that were inside their area of responsibility. They were also coached on what to say to reporters if they felt uncomfortable with the interview.

Aldridge and Reskalla both agreed that the training was important and they both learned a lot from it. Reskalla said she looks forward to finally coming home after being away for so long.

However, things have changed a lot in her hometown. These changes could be stressful for some Soldiers returning home. The media training could help alleviate some of the added stress of dealing with media, Reskalla said.

"It's going to be different when we go back," Reskalla said. "It's good real-world training, it's good to be confident about some things."

• Date Taken: 10.28.2007
• Date Posted: 10.28.2007 10:16
• Story ID: 13385
• Location: KW