| Training a Combat Photographer
This posting may end up being long, or even come in "installments" due to length. I've been giving thought to this subject ever since we began this little "enterprise".
I was inducted into the US Army on 14 Feb, 1966, thus everything that you read here will relate to the training we received at that time. I'm sure a lot has changed since then, but photo school was very different.
Everyone going into the Army at that time underwent "Basic Combat Training" prior to going to any kind of specialty training. My Basic was at Fort Bliss, Texas. Basic in the Army and Marine Corps at that time was pretty similar. You were taught all the fundamental skills of a soldier: marching, military courtesy, etc. The primary part of basic though was to learn the fundamental skills of an Infantry Rifleman. How to shoot, acquire targets, hand to hand combat, and all the rest.
Following that I was sent to Fort Monmouth, New Jersey where the Army Signal School was located. All of the photographers (still and mopic), photo lab technicians, etc. were sent there. They each had their own specialized course of instruction. The still photogs and lab techs were both cross-trained in the other's specialty, although the cross training was like an abbreviated version of the other skill.
All of the Army specialty schools begin on the assumption that you don't know anything about the subject. IF, on the other hand, you do have knowledge of the subject .... FORGET IT! There is, after all, The right way, the wrong way, and the ARMY way.
The still photography course lasted about 3 months if I recall and included members of the Marine Corps. The Corps didn't have a photo school at the time, so they went through the same training we did. In fact my platoon consisted of about 70% Marine Corps personell.
Our training emphasized the basics! We learned how a camera and lens works (and why). This involved a pretty good understanding of the physics involved in lenses and their construction as well as how the physics of light are involved.
We were issued a full kit that consisted of a 4 x 5 Speed Graphic camera. This kit included all the film holders, flash unit (flash bulbs...no electronic flash) and of course, the camera itself.
If you've never used this type of camera, it's a learning experience in itself! NOTHING is automatic! Focusing is done manually through a focusing finder, then the picture is composed in a view finder. Film is loaded (one film holder at a time). The shutter speed, aperture setting is done manually and the sutter is cocked manually. Learning to shoot pictures from action shots to still life on this kind of system will force one the think about every single exposure beforehand. On the other hand, we would soon become proficient enough that using the camera was pretty much instinctive.
The actual training involved reading assignments for the next day's class. We'd then go into a classroom and that instruction involved explanation and demonstration of techniques that we'd previously read about in our books. There would then be a brief period for questions and discussion. The classroom portion was followed by drawing an issue of film (usually 10-20 exposures) and then we'd go out (on our own) and take shots required for the assignment. This practical application assignment was generally very specific in the type of shot and conditions under which it was to be shot. We'd usually be given a couple of hours to shoot, then return to the classroom. At that point all the film was collected and rushed over to the lab for processing and printing. The instructors would then critique each students shots and grade them. All of this was done every day (sometimes twice a day) with a different assignment each time.
This method of instruction was pretty thorough in that you got almost immediate feedback on what had been taught earlier in the day. At the end of each week, we'd have a review of that week's training and a practical application test of those concepts. Those end of week exams (both written & practical) were pretty high stress situations for us. They had a very heavy hammer that was held over our heads back then. There was a war going on as well as an ever increasing draft for that war. We were told over and over ..."You think this is a game! We ain't playing grab ass on the corner here. **** up or try to play mind games with us and we'll ship your happy ass to Fort Polk, Louisianna and put you're butt in the Infantry and send you directly to Vietnam!" Even though most of us had requested and enlisted for photo school, that threat was not taken lightly by any of us. I think we had a couple of guys who had been drafted and by luck of the draw, were sent to photo school
Hell, we were all so "young and dumb", it never occurred to us that the U.S. Army was gearing up and training photographers for what would become (and still remains) The Most Photographed War in American history! There wasn't single one of us then who even thought we'd end up in Vietnam as Combat Photographers. Most of us laughed and joked about going to Hawaii, or Germany, or Paris to take pictures of visiting dignitaries or something. The final irony was that 3 classes of about 40 each were sent to Nam'.
Grades were everything in that school and everyone in all the various schools studied very hard. As it turned out, the photo school sent virtually everyone of us there. We had two guys who got assignments as photographers at the US Embassy. One went to Paris and the other went (I think to the Phillipines). The irony is that both of them almost failed the course. In fact, they both would have failed had some of us not helped (coached) them on their final shooting assingment so they would get a high enough score to pass the course.
I'm going to conclude this installment as it's getting rather long and I don't want to bore ya'll to death. I'll get another installment ready in a few days.
Thanks for all the kind words about this thread, it's been a challenge for me, but it's also forced me to reflect on some things that impacted my life in a very real way.
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Originally posted by hillerby 
) when we went on orienteering exercises and what have you and at our summer camp at Ft. Sill I always carried four, five when I could get away with it. a PITA when your down in the muck though...
Post #1 by hillerby
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