Radio 1 in Afghanistan
Post categories: Radio 1
| 12:15 UK time, Monday, 22 June 2009
The thing that annoys troops in Afghanistan, said the British army NCO between mouthfuls of lamb and roast potatoes, was the way the media reported deaths. "Just a line on breaking news," he said.
He was answering a question which has been on my mind a lot lately. How can we better tell the story of what's happening, day in and day out, in Afghanistan?
We've recently spent 10 days embedded with the UK military, first at Camp Bastion and then at Lashkar Gah. We were on patrol with UK forces and with the newly-arrived American troops in the shape of the formidable US Marines.
Our team was made up of reporter Sima Kotecha and producer/cameraman Pete Emmerson. Their dispatches and video-journalism are on the website in our . We've also, of course, been going through feedback.
Moira from Arbroath was one of those who got in touch:
"I just want to say thank you to people like Ross Kemp and Radio 1, if it wasn't for their coverage on Afghanistan, then I like a lot of other people would still be quite ignorant to what all our armed forces have to endure on a daily basis."
Our team was left in no doubt of the relationship that many young servicemen and women have with the station. "When is Chris Moyles coming out?" was a question many asked us, and many also wanted Simon Cowell. They were keen to demonstrate that what they were doing there was more than fighting the Taliban.
We have a special duty to tell the story in Afghanistan comprehensively and impartially for our audience. Some are involved in the conflict, or have been, or will be. Many others are connected to the services through friends and relatives. Real people, real stories. Here's one.
For 33-year-old Maj Sean Birchall, "doing more than fighting the Taliban" meant building a wall around a local school near the Lashkar Gah base. With a minefield nearby and the Taliban around, he wanted to protect the boys - and the girls who wouldn't have been educated under Taliban rule - from danger.
It was a project that he believed in. He spoke with great enthusiasm to our team, and worried over the price - $10,000. Maj Birchall led his men from 1st Battalion Welsh Guards from the front. He was usually first to dismount from armoured convoys and was keen to talk to the Afghan National Police and to check their welfare.
He looked after our team too and, when off-duty, he was interested in the techniques of radio; the sounds here, the footsteps there, the crickets which you hear in our reports.
On Friday, he was in the second vehicle in a patrol convoy. It was hit by a roadside bomb. Despite prompt attention from the convoy's medic, ; he was four days short of his birthday. Another soldier was badly injured.
His loss is deeply felt by his colleagues in the Welsh Guards, by his wife Joanne and by the rest of his family. He leaves an 18-month-old son, Charlie.
In this case, we could do more on Radio 1 than a line on breaking news. Our bulletins this weekend featured his words and a brief obituary. But because of broadcasting restrictions imposed by the MoD, often with good reason, and because of our own concerns about our staff's health and safety, these are never easy stories to report. As so often, they can be best told first hand.
We've got to keep trying - and sometimes that's just about getting out there.
Rod McKenzie is editor of and 1Xtra News.
Comment number 1.
At 23rd Jun 2009, Steve - Iver wrote:Rod,
As an ex member of our Forces, and having taken part in what was probably our first media-covered war in 1982, I appreciate very much what our men and women are doing in Afghanistan. This is part due to what I remember from my time, and part due to the many TV and Radio shows that have dedicated time to the people involved.
Programs such as Ross Kemp in Afghanistan and Air Force Afghanistan, both of which show the human side, and for that, the humanitarian side, of this conflict, do much to show why it is so necessary to continue this effort and give the people of Afghanistan what they deserve; peace and stability after so many years.
How can Radio1 help? One off 'specials' can be beneficial, such as a live Chris Moyles Breakfast Show week from RAF Kandahar for instance, but they should be in addition to any other effort, ongoing, that the 91Èȱ¬ want to make. Radio1 has a lot in common, age-wise in particular, with the lads and lasses on the ground. Are they listening to Radio1 special shows, or are they listening to Radio1 all the time? What about BFBS? What about a joint venture between Radio1 and BFBS? Radio1 for the guys out there and some BFBS cross-over for us here. People with no forces connection might not know about BFBS in the UK, and it could be so beneficial to educate the home audience too.
The story about Major Birchall is sad, and my condolences to his family. Every needless killing is sad. The fact that Maj Birchall, and his team, did so much for the local community too, is so typical of how I have seen UK Forces conduct themselves at home and in-theatre. We should be proud of our servicemen and servicewomen, but people are not proud of what they don't understand. A BFBS / Radio1 joint venture might help to bring the story home for all to see, daily.
I'm not involved in the forces any longer, but I still listen to BFBS occasionally. I listen to Radio1 and tend to view 91Èȱ¬ News first before anywhere else, and I still get chills down my spine when I hear 'another British serviceman has been killed in Afghanistan'. How do you report such news?
If these conflicts are to be played out in the public domain, the public cannot be spared everything but the glory, but should hear the full story.
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Comment number 2.
At 29th Jun 2009, Steve - Iver wrote:Am I the only one with an opinion on this. Was it even worth my time writing my post at #1? Does no-one else have a sense of pride in our services?
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Comment number 3.
At 13th Jul 2009, Steve - Iver wrote:Rod, I keep coming back to view if any other writers have posted a response, and there is nothing. Disappointed? Very disappointed!!
Not even a 'thanks for your input' from the blog writer himself :-(
You have asked the question, and even though only one person responded, it was still a response - more than I've had for my effort and opinion.
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Comment number 4.
At 13th Jul 2009, Secratariat wrote:SHLA2UK,
I think it'd be a great benefit to the people of this country if they could see what is really happening in Afghanistan, particularly the humanitarian & reconstruction work.
It's so easy to get lost in the fighting and that is just a small part of what is going on over there.
Hopefully if the security situation does improve with the current offensive it may be possible to get more reporters out there.
I am an anti-war, liberal hippy but I think it is important to separate the political from the military, all of the members of the forces I know (including several family members) signed up to keep this country safe and they should not be blamed because of the orders the politicians gave them.
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Comment number 5.
At 14th Jul 2009, Steve - Iver wrote:4. At 7:01pm on 13 Jul 2009, Secratariat wrote:
"...I am an anti-war, liberal hippy..."
Hey Secretariat - how's it going? There's nothing wrong with being an anti-war, liberal hippy - I have very liberal opinions now compared with when I was a younger man, doing my bit for Queen and Country. The point is, I'm a 'stand up for what you believe in' person too, and to take that forward, whatever you feel about aggression, the world has stood up for what it believes in to assist the Afghan people reclaim their lives, culture and land.
Take that how you will, and I'm not blind to the fact that the real cause is to stop the Taliban and stop the terrorist training regime that they bring, but if there is an aside to this, it is the liberalisation of the Afghan people. Hearts and minds - a powerful weapon in diplomatic circles that is now being used on the ground.
You're correct though, the great majority of the people that trundle on through their lives in this and many countries, are not wholly aware of the situation because all they hear is 'another British (substitute your country of choice) serviceman killed in Afghanistan today'. Our troops are out there doing their job, alongside troops of a huge multi-national force, but when all you hear is of death and destruction, it seems that fighting is all that it's about. There is so much more to it than that, and as an ex-forces member myself, and you have family members serving now, we know how important it is to keep moral up which is why it is important that people at home have the full story.
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