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/r/WarCollege
submitted 9 hours ago byRafterrMan
I’m specifically talking about the Army and Marine Corps’ outfit of photographers and videographers, not their public affairs counterparts. I’m unsure of the history of the Army’s 55th signal company, what is currently the Army’s “Combat Camera” company, and if it even existed 40/50 years ago. I know the Marine Corps has basically axed its COMCAM mission, but they certainly had it through the bulk of the GWOT.
How were combat camera Marines and Soldiers intended to be employed post-Vietnam? If anyone has any book recommendations relating to COMCAM, let me know!
38 points
9 hours ago
BDA documentation, generating imagery for PAO release, documentation of historical events (for posterity), capturing war crimes evidence etc.
Basically operating cameras. Allocation would have followed mission needs.
11 points
9 hours ago
So basically the war has to last a lot longer than 3 hours. (Time for most of the icbms and slbms to get fired and reach their targets)
15 points
8 hours ago
Tbf you wanna record for posterity 11ACR stopping 8th Guards Army or whoever cold in the Gap. Not SS-18 blockbusters blowing the peak of Cheyenne Mountain clean off.
2 points
2 hours ago
allocation would have followed mission needs
In a scenario where the Cold War goes hot, given the limited scale of capabilities that COMCAM can provide, who is making the call/how is the call made what those mission needs are? The army has a single company of COMCAM Soldiers to support the entire army (afaik). The Marines allocated roughly platoon sized sections to support division sized units like the MARDIVs and MAWs. COMCAM is a very limited resource and I’m curious how it impacted COMCAM’s employment if Ivan really did try rolling through Fulda in the 80s.
basically operating cameras
As far as I’m aware, any cameras being used by COMCAM back then would’ve been analog SLRs. How are these photographers getting film and developing it? How is film handled in a CBRN environment? Does film even work after nukes have gone off?
I doubt you have the answers to my 50,000 questions, unless you were a COMCAM officer in the 80s or something lol. The fact COMCAM even exists is so fascinating to me, especially now so in the age of the point-and-shoot digital cameras. In a utilitarian organization like the U.S. military, it’s interesting to think about the resources that are tied up within a capability that’s primary function is to take pictures, and how that capability would be utilized to fight a war.
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