On Patrol

Many combat journalists have been embedded with various units throughout the 10-year war in Afghanistan.  Their work has appeared on the TV news, in newspapers and magazines, and online.  But few have reported the combat soldier’s war experience with such raw honesty as portrayed by British documentarian Tim Hetherington and American journalist Sebastian Junger in the award-winning film Restrepo, Hetherington’s book Infidel, and Junger’s War.

Tim Hetherington talks about his experience of being embedded for nearly a year, how Restrepo tells the story of Battle Company, 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment of the 173rd Airborne Brigade, in Afghanistan’s most deadly Korengal Valley, and his new photo book, Infidel.

Tim Hetherington in the Korengal Valley of Afghanistan. Courtesy photo.

How would you describe yourself?

I’m a documentarian.  I use different forms of media and images to reach different audiences.  I’m interested in communicating to as wide an audience as I can using images across different formats. Restrepo is a totally unbiased, non-political look at the life of soldiers in combat.  We [with Junger] hoped to challenge people to think differently – to put a human face on the war, to get a sense of brotherhood these men have, and have empathy for these men.  In the film and in our books, we show the war, warts and all.

Why did you choose the Army’s Battle Company, 2nd Platoon?

It was Sebastian’s idea. He loves these guys. He’s been to Afghanistan before and wanted to follow a platoon through their deployment from beginning to end.

What did you learn from the men of 2nd Platoon?

There is no intolerance with them. There were no Democrats, no Republicans, no racists, no prejudice toward gays or straights. Just good soldiers and bad soldiers. You’re either a good soldier or a bad soldier. Everything else wasn’t important.

How would you describe the time you spent with 2nd Platoon?

The members of 2nd Platoon "get to know one-another." Courtesy photo.

Being with the men was a profound experience for me. To be welcomed into the unit, to become part of the brotherhood they shared was very profound. I learned that’s really the heart of the war-machine brotherhood.

Your book Infidel is an honest pictorial journal of these men. Of all the hundreds of images you have, how did you choose the ones in the book?

It’s all about the men.  I didn’t want to pretend this was a book about the war in Afghanistan. It was a conscious decision. My book comments on the experience of the soldier. Its brotherhood. The flow of pictures is to introduce you to the Korengal Valley first and then to see the men in an intimate way…. To get to know them and how they lived. Then you see them in combat in the traditional combat style. [The photos are then] followed by [the soldiers’] commentary.

Finally, you see them as young men, sleeping. I like the way the book confounds your expectations.

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Tim Hetherington will be at the Corcoran Gallery in Washington, D.C. on November 11, 2010, to talk about his new book, Infidel, featuring photos from the book and Restrepo.

Restrepo will air on National Geographic Channel, on November 29 at 9 p.m. EST.

To learn more about Tim Hetherington, please visit: www.TimHetherington.com

Related:

This is War by Sebastian Junger

A Commander’s Perspective by Major Daniel Kearney

In A Paratrooper’s Words By Sergeant Misha Pemble-Belkin