I'm of the opinion that we in the military need to embrace the media, invite them to stay with you and your soldiers, and let them see it all, the good and the bad. Nothing upsets me more when officers set a standard of either "no comment" or "I hate the media". This quickly filters down to the troops who then possess the same disdain for reporters. I find that an open and honest policy to media members benefits both them and us. Should there be some rules for the media to protect OPSEC and the safety of our soldiers? Abosolutely. Is it necessary to hand hold media around your JSS/FOB/COB? I say no. Let them go out and talk to the soldiers. The soldiers, even if they complain, gripe, etc about the war/equipment/food/extensions are still putting an American face on the war and sending a message back to the folks at home: WE ARE HERE. DO NOT FORGET US.

All troops need to have a basic knowledge of how to work with the media and how to interact with them. We'll never get our message out or our side of the story to the American people back home without them. Officer especially need to practice dealing with the media, just like we train for combat operations. I personally have a great deal of respect for Max Boot, have met him several times and was interviewed by him about my time in Iraq. I think his article hits the nail on the head. We continue to lose the information battle as both a military and the government. Embracing reporters who actually leave the green zone to be out with the troops needs to be one of the first (and easiest) steps to winning back some of the important informational high ground.