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Sending the ‘right’ signals

The following was written by Spc. Curt Cashour of the military’s “Desert Voice” on the “Voices of Soldiers” Truth Tour that took place from July 7th - 17th. Cashour is based at Camp Arifjan in Kuwait.

Sending the ‘right’ signals By Spc. Curt Cashour Coalition Forces Land Component Command Public Affairs Office

There’s an old saying among those in the media that states, “If it bleeds it leads.”

There’s a reason the motto has stuck: it’s the truth.

Take Iraq for example. Day after day, stories of car bombings and suicide attacks take prominence over the many good news stories happening in the war-torn country.

With this in mind, a group of radio talk show hosts took to U.S. military bases in Kuwait and Iraq to let service members tell the other side of the story.

With stops at Camps Victory and Prosperity in Iraq, and Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, the “Voices of Soldiers Tour” featured five conservative-minded talk show hosts, each of whom conducted live broadcasts full of stories from the frontlines told by service members themselves. The trip was sponsored by Move America Forward, a not-for-profit political advocacy group that supports both the war on terror and the men and women of the military.

Using a three-tiered approach consisting of talk radio, Internet and grass roots efforts, Move America Forward works to publicize the good news stories coming out of Iraq that are often overlooked by mainstream press outlets, said co-chairman Howard Kaloogian, a former member of the California House of Representatives who founded the organization in March of last year to offset the steady stream of bad press the U.S. military was receiving in the wake of the Abu Ghraib scandal.

“We’ve all worked in politics and media, so countering established media is something we can do,” said Siobhan Guiney, former executive director of Move America Forward.

“The goal of the [Voices of Soldiers] trip is to make sure that the mainstream media does not get away with turning Iraq into Vietnam,” said Melanie Morgan, co-founder of Move America Forward and host of the “Lee Rodgers and Melanie Morgan Show,” a talk program on KSFO AM in San Francisco.

Keeping the American public abreast of all the positive developments in Iraq is important, because if the national discussion turns to abandoning Iraq, the progress we have made there will be lost, Morgan said.

Throughout the weeklong trip, on-air personalities ate in military dining facilities, lived in tents and accompanied troops patrolling the streets of Iraq. At each stop, the hosts broadcast live programs back to the United States, often reuniting troops with their family members while on the air.

Portions of the broadcasts were carried on various talk radio programs throughout the United States, giving listeners from across the nation the chance to call and speak directly with service members.

The group’s final stop was at Camp Arifjan’s Zone 6 Community Center. Troops huddled around Morgan and Washington D.C.-based host Michael Graham as they beamed their programs back to the United States by telephone.

Maj. Jane Nealy of the 461st Personnel Services Battalion, a Reserve unit that’s deployed to Arifjan, waited with anticipation for her on-air interview with Morgan. When she’s not deployed, Nealy listens to Morgan nearly every morning as she navigates traffic on her way to work, she said.

“It’s good to see that there are media personalities that are interested in what Soldiers have to say and not just getting sensational photos for the T.V.,” Nealy said.

Although he normally prefers romantic songs to talk radio, Senior Airman Thomas Truong also said he was excited to talk about his deployment experience on “The Michael Graham Show.” Truong immigrated to the United States from Vietnam in1989.

The trip was plagued by bad weather and technical difficulties, but all of the hardships were worth it. The broadcasts went a long way toward educating ordinary citizens about the lives of service members serving in the war on terror, said Sgt. Alexander Gago of U.S. Central Command Public Affairs, who added that the trip also opened the eyes of the talk show hosts.

“I had them hiking into tents, up roads and through dust storms. They’ve had to go through some physical and mental challenges that have made them better people,” he said.

“I’ve never worn a Kevlar vest in 120 degree heat before. You have to experience it to understand it,” Kaloogian said.

http://www.moveamericaforward.org/index.php/DailyFile/sending_the_right_signals/
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Tony in Boulder, Colorado