Is There A Difference Between A Combat Photographer and a Combat Correspondent?

“The brave ones were shooting the enemy. The crazy ones were shooting film."
- Norman Hatch USMC WWII Combat Photographer

Many people often confuse the two fields involving photography, believing that the jobs are interchangeable. This couldn’t be further from the truth. The difference between the two in the Marine Corps is probably bigger than you would think.

Combat Correspondent is a term exclusive to the Marine Corps. The Combat Correspondent program was started in World War II because of the lack of news coming out of the war zone. It was felt that the Marine Corps’ success in the war weren’t being reported accurately to the American people. It was a problem that needed to be fixed immediately.

A Marine with Company B, 1st Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 7, walks up what used to be stairs in a recently bombed building Nov. 24 in Fallujah, Iraq, during Operation Al Fajr.

There was no time to train Marines to be writers, so instead they did the opposite. Writers with no less than five years experience were recruited and trained to be Marines. No corners were cut, or slack given. Lieutenant General Thomas A. Holcomb, Commandant of the United States Marine Corps, 1942, said “the Marine Corps is sacrificing none of its high standards, and combat correspondents must meet all physical requirements for regular Marines.”

Newspaper photographers were also recruited at the same time. The two were usually assigned together, one to write stories, one to take pictures.

Lance Cpl. Jacob L. Hassell, 19, a rifleman from Summerville, S.C., with Company B, 1st Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 7, takes a moment to sit down Nov. 10 after intense fighting in Fallujah, Iraq, during Operation Al Fajr.

As the years passed, the two fields became increasingly demanding. News writers were given more responsibilities, facilitating all communication flow between the Marine Corps and the general public. Along with writing, editing, and publishing materials, they were in charge of special events, media relations, radio and television broadcast, magazine production, and their own photography.

A Christmas tree made out of spare metal is proudly displayed outside Combat Service Support Battalion 7, 1st Force Service Support Group headquarters. The tree was carefully constructed by 23-year-old, Poughkeepsie, NY, native Lance Cpl. Tara C. Taylor.

Likewise, photographers were given a much larger workload. They participated in investigations, research, documentation of events, and poster printing, all with their primary duty of operational and intelligence imagery.

Lance Cpl. Xavier Forester (left), 23, a assaultman from Tampa, FL, with Company B, 1st Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 7, loads rockets onto a HMMWV Nov. 24 with Lance Cpl. Jacob L. Hassell, 19, a rifleman from Summerville, SC.

As a result, two separate Military Occupational Specialties (MOS) were created: Public Affairs (Combat Correspondents) and Visual Information (Combat Photographers). Both attend the Defense Information School at Fort Meade, Maryland for an intensive three-month course in their respective field.

Marines of Company B, 1st Battalion 8th Marines, Regimental Combat Team 7, hunker down behind a building in the city of Fallujah, Iraq, to take cover from an enemy sniper across the street during Operation Al Fajr.

The differences lie in their mission, because after all, everything that’s done in the military is for a specific mission.

Using a mirror at the entry control point in Al Asad, Iraq, Newnan, Ga., native Cpl. Joshua P. Chabot, 22, LAAD gunner, 4th Low-Altitude Air Defense Battalion, Security Battalion, Marine Wing Support Group 37, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, inspects a vehicle.

As a Combat Correspondent, my mission is to tell the Marine Corps story. Everything I do is news or feature news related. That is my mission, so the photos I take have to correspond to the story I’m writing or perhaps even tell the story standing alone.

Gunnery Sgt. Ryan P. Shane (center), platoon gunnery sergeant from Company B, 1st Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 7, and another member of 1/8 pull a fatally wounded Marine to safety while under fire Nov. 9 in Fallujah, Iraq.

When Combat Correspondents go out on a photo shoot, they need to get all the different kinds of photos that tell the story: horizontal, vertical, unique angles, long, medium, extreme close-up. Their photos need to show action, emotion and be alive. In a word, they need to "pop."

Marines with Company B, 1st Battalion 8th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 7, try to lure an enemy sniper into giving away his position by using a helmet to draw fire in Fallujah, Iraq, during Operation Al Fajr.

When I am on the job in the field, I have to rely on myself. I’m constantly looking for the right angle, the right position, the right lighting, the right candid moment and all the right qualities to take a picture that tells the story.

Days before assaulting Fallujah, Marines with 1st Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, partake in a card game at Camp Fallujah, Iraq, Nov. 3, 2004.

This is not a requirement for Combat Photographers as they primarily photograph events for documental and historical purposes. They may go on a photo shoot that has little or no news qualities. Some of their photos tend to lack action, emotion, and some of the necessary traits that qualify a “stand-alone-photo” (a photo that needs no explanation or story).

An Iraqi Construction Apprentice Program student receives a graduation certificate from Cmdr. John Prien (far right), commanding officer, Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 14, for completing phase one of the ICAP course at Al Asad, Iraq, Aug. 23.

Please don’t get me wrong. Many Combat Photographers are extremely talented. But it’s like trying to tell a story with a photo of a mountain by Ansel Adams. Beautiful, amazing, and obviously taken by a talented photographer, but it’s just a photo of a mountain not DOING anything. It’s not photojournalism or good story telling.

Sgt. Micheal R. Ramirez (right), 26, a squad leader from Hondo, Texas, with Company B, 1st Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 7, points out an objective Nov. 23 in Fallujah, Iraq, to Platoon Commander 2nd Lt. Steven G. Berch, 24.

I’ve worked side-by-side with the Combat Photographers and we’ll come back with entirely different photos. Many times I can’t use theirs at all. The reason being, Combat Photographers are not trained to take the kind of pictures Correspondents need to tell the story.

Securing a bandage on a leg injury, 28-year-old Seattle, Wash., native Hospital Corpsman Lucas Jushinski, Corpsman, Company B, 1st Battalion 8th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 7, administers aid to a wounded detainee in Fallujah, Iraq.

Recently, in Fallujah, dozens of Combat Correspondents and Combat Photographers alike went into the city with the Marine and Army infantry battalions. Each one was required to do everything the grunts did. All of them did an amazing job of photographing the historical event, and they both deserve credit for their hard work.

The Quick Reaction Force is one of the many new responsibilities assigned to the reserve unit since assuming control of air base security in August. Marines pictured: Lance Cpl. Scott A. Ward (left) and Lance Cpl. Chris D. Dzubay.

Between the two jobs, one is not better than the other; they are just different. Those interested in journalism should consider being a Combat Correspondent. Whereas those only interested in photography and aren’t strong writers should stick with Combat Photography. Regardless of the path one may go down, they are both rewarding military careers for those interested in photography.

Iraqi children gather around a truck, reaching in the air for candy and goods tossed to them by Lance Cpl. Michael L. McMillin, main battle tank technician, Civil Affairs Team 1, Detachment 2, 4th Civil Affair Group, 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit.