Combat Photographer

The history books are brimming with iconic war photographs. For instance, a photo of the flag raisers at Iwo Jima at the end of World War II. A picture of U.S. helicopters swarming the countryside from the Vietnam War. And an image of a green sky that’s alive with fire during the American bombing of Baghdad during the first Iraq war.

Photos like these are famous not only for their technique, but also for their potent emotion, which reflects both the content of the image and the content of the war.

A Combat Photographer is the person behind the lens, entrusted to capture on photo the individual moments and pervasive spirit of American military operations. Typically a member of the military — although they might also be employed by a news organization — Combat Photographers are part Historian, part Photojournalist, tasked with documenting the actions of the U.S. military for the government and the public.

Armed with digital cameras, you — a Combat Photographer — are dispatched to military zones around the world, where you photograph the people and moments you deem most newsworthy: for example, patrols, raids, and firefights; humanitarian missions; or even life at barracks, camps, and prisons. You might tag along with infantry one day, military police another day, and medics the next. Always, however, your goal is telling Soldiers ’ stories of success, struggle, and sacrifice.

Although you spend some days photographing routine events, ceremonies, and publicity stunts, you spend others jumping out of airplanes, riding in tanks, and otherwise witnessing history, which is why many of your peers say they have the best job in the military!