Iraq through the television lens

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Meredyth LEWIS in Iraq

DUTY: Tins of baked beans, anti-bacterial toilet roll and Tetley tea bags aren't your usual 'leaving work' gift.

In fact if most people received such items, they'd probably realise very quickly that perhaps their colleagues couldn't wait to see the back of them, well, that might be true but I like to think that my work mates have hit the nail on the head, as Tetley is hard to come by in the desert. But before you make any assumptions - no, I haven't defected to Al-Jazeera.

I joined the TA in 2001 as a bleary eyed student, wanting to travel and earn a bit of extra cash to get me through University. I would never have thought nearly six years later - December 2006, I'd be mobilised to go to Iraq as a Combat Camera Team Leader.

As one of the planning editors at Five, the day is packed with finding out tomorrow's news. No, we're not an elite team of psychics - although that's a potential recruitment idea - but a team that seeks out future stories.

This can span anything from talking to government departments to find out what and when reports are due out, calling courts for case and ruling listings, chasing up newspaper leads and spotting potential news items.

We then forward plan our coverage which in an ideal world, gives us a correspondent and crew in the right place at the right time twinned with a seamlessly pre-prepared news item full of guests, case studies, facts and top-notch graphics.

The day that I got the thumbs up to go on tour, (after many lengthy discussions with my unit), I was sat at my desk in the office, ahead of our morning meeting desperately filtering through the planning emails, press releases and media alerts trying against the clock to put a skeleton outline of the next days stories together.

To freeze frame all of that to tell your boss you're most likely heading off to Iraq for three months is not a typical day.

James (our Head of Newsgathering) took it surprisingly well. In fact, so well that to get him to address me as anything other than Lieutenant Lewis or stop him jokingly throwing up a salute every now and again over the past month has been a struggle.

Since that day in December, life has more or less been back to normal, the only difference being that i've had a couple of weeks off here and there to make sure I'm prepared to go and that all of my documents/military training and skills are up to date. And then there's the slight hurdle of the medical.

As a committed doctor evader, I may over the years have let my vaccinations slip; to be honest the last one I had was probably a polio flavoured sugar cube. When I arrived for my check up and explained this to the nurse, the reality of what I was about to endure dawned on me.

'Horse treats' as they're more commonly referred to haven't been used to innoculate people since the late 80's apparently . . . a couple of hours later and seven injections heavier I left the surgery; satisfied that I could offer my bare flesh up to a lethal mosquito for a feast, but unsure whether I'd ever be able to swat a fly again.

So, now that I've handed over at work and had my last day for a while, all that remains to do is pack. For the past few weeks all of my 'issue' kit has sat patiently in a corner waiting to be tagged and labelled.

It's not a particularly hard task, I've just put it off knowing that it's the final item on my 'to do' list.

Afterall, it's not like packing for a holiday where you lay out particular outfits and make sure you've got the right flip flops to match. In my case i've got a daily decision to make between beige and brown or brown and beige.

Nervous - of course, it would be unnatural if I wasn't. But the words of my CO resound - always aim to explore above and beyond the comfort zones you set yourself.

Excited - definitely; the job's the very reason I stuck with the TA through all those muddy and cold winter weekends - above all it'll be a privelege to film with the service men and women who continue to do this country proud on operations.

A farewell to Five for now, but i'll be back to chase case studies and attempt to stay ahead of the game in no time at all.

One month on ...

A month has flown by, the only indication of time passing seems to be the transition from rain and hail storms to a dry, breezy heat; before I know it, the three month tour of duty in Iraq will be over and another team will head out to take up the helm as the summer scorches.

The Combat Camera Team is a three person team - which comprises myself, Corporal Benson on stills and Corporal Tilly on ENG (Electronic News Gathering) camera.

Usually Corporal Benson is the Red Arrows RAF photographer and Corporal Tilly has just finished a short tour in Afghanistan as a still photographer. Our role is to gather footage from Op Telic 9 documenting the work of MNF (Multinational Forces) and Iraqi Army for use by the media both here and at home.

We're in the privileged position of getting to the heart of the action whether that be behind strike teams on night operations or into local schools under renovation as part of the SINBAD project.

The highlight so far has been seeing how the forces of each nation come together at all levels to make an operation work. Right from 19 Light Brigades Commander, Brigadier Evans and the Iraqi Army's 10 Division Commander Brigadier Akeel to the Iraqi soldiers and our own troops - the sense of togetherness pervades.

Last week we spent a couple of days in Al Qurnah as the Iraqi Army, supported by Danish and British troops conducted a search operation to seek out suspected weapon smugglers. It's a very rural area in the north of the province with vast plains of dusty desert separating the villages.

We flew by Lynx helicopter in the early hours setting down to join a combined Iraqi and 3rd Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland (formerly The Black Watch) call sign before starting the daylight search.

The Iraqi soldiers were very much leading the way, a testament to the training provided by MNF troops.

They searched the houses using a 'soft knock' approach which ensures that relations between the troops and the locals stay as amicable as possible. Houses were searched one by one and any suspect items removed for further investigation.

After the operation we accompanied the soldiers as they set up VCP's (Vehicle Check Points). I call them vehicles, but I'm not sure if they'd ever pass a UK MOT.

Most of the vehicles chugged up to the VCP's in clouds of dust, laiden with as much livestock and people as possible. Once a thorough search was conducted (for illegal weapons etc) and documents checked, the wagons were cranked up again and went on their way.

We've also spent a lot of time in Basra City North where 2 Rifles are based at the Palace (a former residence of Saddam's brother, Uday). The Rifles (formerly 2nd Battalion The Royal Green Jackets) have been there since November.

It's quite a small base in the heart of the city, comprising various buildings which passed their best.

If you ignore the cracks of occasional gunfire, you can imagine what the Palace once looked like; murals adorn the outer walls and the high ceilings show intricate hand painted mosaic designs - they're now peeking out between shower and toilet blocks, dental practises and a multitude of military vehicles including Warrior, Bulldog and Snatch.

We did a couple of interviews with some of the Riflemen as part of our 'Rifles Formation' coverage (On the February 01 four regiments came together to form The Rifles Regiment as part of the Future Army Structure) and were shown around their living quarters.

It looks like a dorm back in the UK (apart from the sandbags stacked up against the windows) with lads mag posters up, national flags (soldiers from South Africa and Fiji serve in The Rifles) and photographs of loved ones.

The quarters are small, but rather than causing tensions to rise, the sense of camaraderie amongst the young men is high. They look after each other and help each other out, a true 'band of brothers' bound by the daily challenges they face.

I can only talk from the patrols and operations that we've been out on with them but on those occasions when we've come under SAF (Small Arms Fire), RPG (Rocket Propelled Grenades) and Mortar fire the soldiers have dealt with it as they're trained to do, with professionalism and skill.

While we take cover whether that's in the back of a bulldog or on the ground and try to get footage, the soldiers are constantly assessing the situation, sending reports over the radio and reacting.

It continues to amaze me that for six months, these men face these threats but consistently remain upbeat and driven to complete the task they've been set - to ensure Basra is stable enough for a handover to Provisional Iraqi Control.