Marine Journalist Proves Self in Changing Environment
(March 2, 2009) | 
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Marine Corps Cpl. Kimberly Crawford, a combat
correspondent stationed at Camp Lejuene, N.C., edits video with
assistance from Air Force Staff Sgt. Jeff St. Sauveur at Bagram
Airfield, Afghanistan, Feb. 14, 2009. |
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BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan, Feb. 24, 2009 –
It's not unusual for servicemembers to find themselves in new jobs
during deployments. But what sets each one apart is how they handle
those transitions. Those who work
with Marine Corps Cpl. Kimberly Crawford say she is an example of
how to make the most of changing situations – and impress those
around her.
“Not many people can walk into a job and hit the ground running, and
do what she has done,” said Air Force Staff Sgt. Jeff St. Sauveur,
an American Forces Network producer who works with Crawford here.
“She takes everything you throw at her and makes it awesome.”
When Crawford arrived in Afghanistan five months ago, she discovered
that a Marine Corps combat correspondent is a multitasking career.
After reporting to the American Forces Network detachment here, the
print journalist from Camp Lejeune, N.C., discovered that the skills she knew
were not the only skills she would need. |
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Crawford said the job description cited a need for a combat
correspondent, which she took to mean a print journalist. But about a week
before she got here, she said, she realized the need was for a broadcaster.
“They almost pulled me off the deployment,” Crawford said. “But the Marine
Corps' chief of public affairs said that I had been training for this, so I got
to deploy here.” Just as any other servicemember would be expected to do, the
24-year-old Oswego, N.Y. native quickly learned to adapt to her new
surroundings.
Crawford demonstrated her commitment to becoming a solid broadcaster while
covering her first solo project, the Super Bowl telecast at Bagram. That one
story, according to Air Force Tech. Sgt. Deidre Hines, AFN Afghanistan's station
manager, was seen by millions of viewers worldwide and demonstrated how far
Crawford had come as a broadcast journalist.
“She's shown drastic improvement from what she was doing when she first
started,” St. Sauveur said.
When Crawford became a Marine, she wasn't interested in being a broadcaster.
“I avoided broadcasting when I was at the Defense Information School,” Crawford
said. “I didn't think I would like it, [and] didn't see the artistic view. But
[then] I saw that the video camera wasn't much different from a still camera.”
Crawford not only had to learn how to use a video camera and broadcast-editing
equipment, she also had to lose her accent, something she describes as a cross
between southern and upstate New York.
Crawford remains humble despite the praise she has been given by her co-workers.
“They have all helped me out. They were nice and patient and made it fun to
learn,” she said.
“We count on her, depend on her and we know she will get the job done,” Air
Force Senior Airman Thomas Kennedy, another producer who works with Crawford,
said. “It's been remarkable working with her.” | |
Article and photo by Army Spc. Matthew Thompson
5th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment
Special to American Forces Press Service
Copyright 2009
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