Five Years in Iraq
March 19, 2008 | Military Life, World Events
On March 19, 2003, I was inside the first B-52 that would launch, carrying the first cruise missiles that would be fired on Iraq — the opening shots. I crawled into the flight deck, which has two levels, while it was parked and taxied with it to the end of the runway. It stopped, I shook every member of the crew’s hands, got quotes from each one, ran about 500 yards from the jet and it launched. After another five hours, I delivered three 700-word stories and 250 photos to our news service, which got released worldwide. It culminated a 33-hour stretch being awake the entire time. Two other reporters covering other beats worked with me. As a reporter, I’ve never done better journalism. As someone supervising and, really, working alongside two fantastic noncommissioned officers, I’ve never been prouder. In my little niche of military execution, the work has never gone smoother.
