I made the choice to set up an interview between a trusted journalist and a special operations guy whose identity should not be known publicly.
Let’s back up, first: I work with pros, both in the military and media.
Novice special operations guys react wildly to the media. We all know the type: the special operations guy you can pick out of the crowd because he wears all standard-issue special operations clothes; he’s active of social media and a ham for family photos, but awkwardly runs the other direction when he sees the media. This guy cites classification, 15-year-old SOCOM PAG and a host of other reasons for not talking to the media. Talking about these novice dudes, a special operations command sergeant major once told me, “These guys act like they’re Johnny Secret but they’d be the first one on TV if they won the lottery.”
Novice media guy wants to know all the secrets. He can’t wait to get his pair of 5-11 pants issued so he can now “go into the shit” with special operations and be the first to report it to the world.
Don’t send me novices. How about the pros?
Back to last week: I hosted a pro special operator and a pro media guy for a quick interview and drive around. Here’s how the relationship started and will live on for years:
Pro Special Operator: “Hey, my name is ____. Nice to meet you. I’m going to be in special operations for years and can’t create a public profile but I’d love to keep in touch with you as we can work together in the future. More important, context about my unique mission is hard to come by, and I want to make sure you get your story right.”
Pro Journalist: “Good to meet you. I want to understand as much as I can about this story and I have no interest in exposing your identity. Just be clear with me what I can write about. Same goes though, let’s have a long-term relationship.”
Photo by Tech. Sgt. Gregory Brook
