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Necessary limits

Some media question a recent change to embed ground rules in Iraq. The requirement states that images of wounded service members “will not be released without the service member’s prior written consent.” This requirement applies only if there is identifiable information in the image, like a face or a name tag, or the soldier’s name is in the photo caption.

The Air Force Times June 25 editorial [“Photo rules hide the truth”] stated that the “practical impact” of the rule “bars photos of the wounded.” That is factually inaccurate.

The editorial goes on to say that previous ground rules placed “modest limits” on the press that were acceptable and would prevent families from learning of “the death or wounding” of their loved ones on TV or in the papers.

The previous ground rules stated that upon notification of next of kin or after 72 hours had passed, whichever occurred first, the media could then use the images and information.

Here in Iraq, the issue is that many wounded soldiers choose to pre-empt the normal notification of their family. For their own personal reasons, they do not want their family or others back home to know of their injury. The issues here are those of soldier choice and privacy.

The problem is the old rules did not work. They did not bar publishers from distributing photos of recognizable wounded troops when the families were still not notified.

So, when a soldier chooses not to tell his family about being wounded, the time limit should not apply and the photo should not be released without the soldier’s consent. The ground rule was clarified to reflect reality on the ground.

Some images of wounded are compelling and show the harsh realities of combat. In fact, we want the public to be aware of what the soldiers go through while deployed and in combat. However, there are limitations.

Should the media be allowed to use a picture identifying a wounded soldier when the soldier does not wish to be identified? By our policy, the answer is no.

The current ground rule does not restrict the media from releasing photos of wounded soldiers who either are not identifiable or have given consent.

Writers and photographers have been given almost unlimited access and complete support to cover combat operations and to release information to a worldwide audience either live or in near real time.

Embedded journalists are provided transportation, security, food, water and medical care if needed, but most importantly, first-hand access to the events occurring around them — unfettered except for a few ground rules.

The ground rules provide limitations in three major areas. First is to not release information about future operations, classified information or, in our terms, basic operational security requirements. Second, journalists cannot release the names of those killed until they are released on the Defense Department’s Web site. Third, soldiers give written permission to use their identifiable image when wounded.

These restrictions do not inhibit the media’s ability to tell the story.

In practice, there has been no limitation of coverage. A newspaper photographer conducting extensive coverage of the war and abiding by the ground rules told me in June that soldiers rarely say no to the use of their image.

So this requirement of full disclosure of coverage can actually provide more access. If a photographer is upfront with the soldiers in advance and they agree, there is no limitation on using the photos if a soldier is wounded.

The writer is an Army colonel and the public affairs officer for Army Gen. David Petraeus, the senior U.S. commander in Iraq.