Our team of young journalists spent two weeks on land and aboard various ships turning out print stories and television news packages. We edited in the field and sent footage back to the University of Westminster via satellite.   The team at the University put them into a bulletin that was sent, on DVD, to NATO commanders at Northwood in London and to the commanders in the field in Denmark.  

NATO forces were training to be ready for the threats of the modern world, from live sea mines lost during conflicts past to jet skiers with explosives.   Our coverage added another component that they will face in any real modern conflict, that of intensive media coverage.   Our presence allayed some of the suspicions on both sides of the relationship between media and military, and probably exacerbated some others.  

As young journalists, we walked away with a wealth of practical experience in covering a dynamic, challenging, and ever-changing environment, away from the niceties of the University newsroom.  

I acted as a television producer and reporter on the trip, and wrote a few print pieces for the newspaper.   I also produced a 13-minute current affairs documentary about the relationship between the media and the military before and during the trip.  

In October of '05, I was invited back, and spent more than two weeks off the coast of Sardinia.   I was embedded on board the USS Mt. Whiteney.   Because of the season, there was no University participation this time, which meant that any television that we would do would have to come from the field exclusively.  

Due to some miscommunication, our equipment, and our ability to communicate with the teams based on land and other ships, was limited.   Using a borrowed computer with an NTSC camera (which had to have all its footage converted to PAL) with only iMovies for software, and with only occasional footage coming from the other teams, I produced three consecutive bulletins for the NATO officers commanding the exercise, and participated in the production of a fourth.    

The adaptability, creativity, and ingenuity of our team, plus a certain determination, made for a very successful trip despite the technical limitations that we faced.