Fort Benning teaching survival skills to journalists

COLUMBUS - Bart Jones knows how to cover the city streets of New York as a reporter for Newsday. But he came to Fort Benning in Columbus to learn something more basic than getting the story first - getting out alive. <br> <br> Jones and 60 other journalists from around the country are at Fort Benning this week to learn basic survival skills in combat zones. Soldiers aren&#39;t the only ones dodging bullets in a war, and the military has set up workshops for reporters to help them safely cover a possible war with Iraq. <br> <br> The Newsday reporter said his objective was pretty basic. He wants to learn ``how to survive.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> ``I know next to nothing about military matters, so this is all new to me,&#39;&#39; said Jones, who sported a black U.S. Army cap with his jeans and hiking boots, as did many of his fellow reporters. <br> <br> Their dawn-til-dusk schedule includes training in first aid, land navigation, mine awareness, direct and indirect gunfire, getting on and off a helicopter and protection against nuclear, biological and chemical attacks. <br> <br> They will also learn something about military culture with lessons on the organization of the infantry, rank, equipment and insignia. The training will come in handy if there&#39;s a real war and reporters have to gather facts in the heat of battle. <br> <br> ``When you get down to it, it&#39;s so we can interact more effectively on the field,&#39;&#39; said Lt. Col. Ed Loomis, executive officer for the Army Public Affairs Center at Fort Meade in Maryland. <br> <br> Nationwide more than 400 journalists are signed up for the courses. The training is voluntary and not required of potential war correspondents. <br> <br> The group&#39;s day began at 6:30 Monday morning. After breakfast with the soldiers and a course introduction, reporters spent most of the morning and early afternoon learning first aid in a wooded area used for basic training. Soldiers sprawled on the ground, playing the roles of the casualties, complete with fake blood and injuries. <br> <br> One of the actors was Staff Sgt. Jochen Krekeler, dressed in camouflage, the left side of his neck covered in red from a superficial injury caused by shrapnel or perhaps the graze of a gunshot. It was his first encounter with the media. <br> <br> His evaluation of their performance so far? ``I think they&#39;re doing pretty good.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> As for the relationship between the people who fight the wars and those who write about them, Krekeler said, ``They have a job to do. So do we. That&#39;s the way I look at it.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> He admitted, though, that watching CNN&#39;s coverage of conflicts leaves him wondering why a civilian would volunteer for a combat assignment. <br> <br> ``I don&#39;t understand why you would want to put yourself in a life-threatening situation,&#39;&#39; he said. ``Just to get the Pulitzer?&#39;&#39;