After less than two months in Afghanistan, Staff Sgt. Shane Hamann already stands out as the DVIDS Journalist of the Month for February.
Hamann, who is deployed with the 102nd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment, has covered the... read more
After less than two months in Afghanistan, Staff Sgt. Shane Hamann already stands out as the DVIDS Journalist of the Month for February. <br /> <br />
Hamann, who is deployed with the 102nd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment, has covered the progress in Spin Boldak, Afghanistan, as well as the environment troops encounter on missions. He is a native of Clinton, Miss. <br /> <br />
Users on DVIDS have viewed Hamann's images nearly 7,000 times and have downloaded them more than 800 times during the month. He also has outpaced other journalists in the number of media placements for February. Some of his most popular images have appeared on FOX News, TIME, Albany Tribune and Military.com. <br /> <br />
Hamann jump-started the month with timely images of U.S. soldiers watching the Super Bowl at Forward Operation Base Spin Boldak. Later in the month, his image gallery, “Soldiers conduct security during AUP operation,” caught the attention of traditional media and social media with its rugged terrain and gloomy aura cast by the weather. Another popular image gallery is titled "Soldiers assist AUP at checkpoint." <br /> <br />
"Hamann has an eye for catching the extraordinary in the ordinary. He can take a snapshot from time and charge it with raw emotion," said Staff Sgt. Tynes, print section noncommissioned officer in charge for 102nd MPAD. <br /> <br />
News articles accompany Hamann's images, adding more background information about the progress around FOB Spin Boldak. For example, one news article details why an Afghan policewoman is hosting a women's radio show. Another article covers a district meeting where key leaders come together "for the first time in order to promote cooperation and share problems and successes." <br /> <br />
Hamann also covers the work of international troops in image gallery "Albanian army Special Operations Forces visit Afghan leaders." <br /> <br />
Looking ahead into the following month, high-ranking media outlets continued to pick up Hamann's images. <br /> <br />
"I've known for some time that he was a good photographer, but he has really impressed me this deployment," said Tynes. "We've only been in theater for two months so I can't wait to see what he does in the months ahead." <br /> <br />
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