Talk:Paul Smyth

While most of the public relations profession was gearing up for Christmas parties and the holidays, a member of the CIPR was on duty in two of the world’s most dangerous places. In the lead up to Christmas, Paul Smyth MCIPR, a 34-year-old Reserve RAF officer, divided his time in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Smyth, a Squadron Leader with the RAF’s 7644 (VR) Media Operations Squadron, is one a small number of media operations officers who deploy all over the world to deal with the growing media interest in United Kingdom military operations. He started his pre-deployment training in October, putting his public relations work at River PR on hold to travel to the crisis hit areas. Here he discusses his experiences:

I have worked all over the world with all three armed services, including the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, and served in Iraq once before, working with a British Broadcasting Corporation documentary team filming the start of the Iraq war in 2003.

My first port of call this time was Helmand Province in Afghanistan where I escorted national newspaper defence correspondents and radio journalists, from BBC News to see 3 Commando Brigade, Royal Marines.

Providing the media with access to the troops on and off the front line is vital so that people, not just in the UK but across the world, can see what the British Forces are doing and how operations are performed.

This trip was just one of a number of embedded visits during the Christmas period, providing television, national UK press, Sunday broadsheets and tabloids, radio and newswire services with the chance to see the troops. Notorious TV chef Gordon Ramsay even cooked Christmas lunch at Camp Bastion.

It is important for the media to be able to experience life with the troops in order to see first-hand what happens. While out in theatre, I became part of the media ops team working in the press office in the heart of the Province in Lashkar Gar. The press office co-ordinates all the media activity in Afghanistan and provides secure transport, protection, media facilities and stories.

The pace can be pretty quick out on the ground. Within hours of arriving, the BBC were running a series of live interviews across the BBC radio network, from Radio 4’s Today Programme to a host of regional stations.

For the eight days of the trip, I was absorbed into the day-to-day activities of the press office until it was time to take the party back to the UK. I had just 30 hours back at home – just enough time to re-pack my kit – before heading back on duty in Basra, Iraq’s second city. Once in the Multi National Divisional Headquarters at Basra Airport I joined an established team for a month, providing vital media expertise in the lead up to Christmas – one of the busiest periods of the year.

I spent little time at my desk in the headquarters, instead visiting army units across the region. Although I am in the RAF, the press office is a tri-service set-up and works with all the military units. Most of my time in Iraq was spent out with the army.

The aim of this trip was to concentrate on gathering stories and handling media requests for local and regional media while bringing some of the newer members of the press office up to speed with regional media relations.

We train hard for these sorts of jobs in the UK, as it is not just about being able to bring PR skills to the military. Danger is never far away in places like Iraq and that means all media ops reservists have to have military skills too. We carry the same weapons as our regular counterparts, and have to cope with the daily mortar and rocket attacks and the odd burst of AK47 fire just like all the other soldiers.

It isn’t every day that I go out on patrol so is a big amount to think about. But we train hard and when it all goes to plan there is a real sense of achievement. I also spent time with the Long Range Desert Patrol Group in Maysan Province, and outdoors, sheltering from the winter rains which made the conditions far from comfortable.

Iraq is long way from the comforts of my office at River PR. The challenge of working in the field, writing copy, organising pictures, distributing stories etc, takes on a whole new meaning when you are in the middle of the desert, eating rations and living out of a backpack. Add to that the nightmare of communications and a lack of access email, means it is not everyone’s cup of tea. But it has to be one of the most rewarding jobs in the profession.

www.7644sqn.org.uk