Journalism students train for covering real war

ATHENS - Samira Jafari has spent the past two weeks in the Mojave Desert, sitting through sandstorms and sleeping with rattlesnakes coiled outside her tent. <br> <br> She hasn&#39;t joined the military nor is she a contestant on ``Survivor.&#39;&#39; Instead, the University of Georgia senior is an aspiring Middle East war correspondent working in a pseudo Afghanistan setting at the Army&#39;s National Training Center. <br> <br> ``It&#39;s not actually a war, but they take it so seriously,&#39;&#39; said Jafari, a journalism major. ``It&#39;s not just doing jumping jacks. There&#39;s live fire.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Jafari and Graham Garrison, another Georgia journalism senior, are the first two civilian reporters allowed to get hands-on wartime experience with the U.S. Army at the training center in Fort Irwin, Calif. <br> <br> Since their arrival in early May, the two have witnessed staged combat in the Mojave Desert and interviewed Army commanders about defeat. Garrison has even been hit by a mock grenade. <br> <br> ``I got blowed up, as they say,&#39;&#39; the 22-year-old said of the attack. ``It felt pretty real.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Garrison, a former reporter for The Red & Black student newspaper, said he was inspired to sign up for the three-week program after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. <br> <br> The students learn that ``a war zone is a place of confusion and deception,&#39;&#39; said their professor, Conrad Fink, a former war correspondent for the Associated Press. <br> <br> Jafari, former editor of The Red & Black, said talking with the rank-and-file officers has been very insightful. <br> <br> ``Sit in a sandstorm with a guy for two hours and you&#39;re going to get to know the guy,&#39;&#39; the 21-year-old said. ``Sometimes you have to put away the pen and paper.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> The program, which is sponsored by a school institute for newspaper management, has taught them other important lessons as well: <br> <br> Indigenous forces almost always win during training exercises because they know the terrain the best. <br> <br> And while war might be hell, according to Garrison, ``it&#39;s more like, hurry up and wait.&#39;&#39;