Amping up the training Effort at Hohenfels Training Area from 25 Victor to 46 Sierra

Photo By Pvt. Jordan Humphries | Combat Camera Soldiers practice social distancing during MOS cross-over training March 24, 2020 at Hohenfels Training Area.  

HOHENFELS, BY, GERMANY

03.24.2020

Story by Spc. Audrequez Evans 

Joint Multinational Readiness Center

HOHENFELS, Germany —As protective measures against COVID-19 come more heavily into play, Hohenfels Training Areas combat camera soldiers, also known as the viper’s critter team, takes the opportunity to look toward the future. The Vipers are the combat documentation and video production specialist at Hohenfels and it is their job is to provide high quality visual information in a timely manner for upper echelons of leadership to have a real-world view of training environments and the battlefield.

However, the combat camera military occupational specialty dubbed twenty-five victor has been removed from the signal corps of the army and is being absorbed into public affairs. In the past, the two MOS’s have worked parallel to one another to provide content and push out Army messaging across the board, but with the merger comes big changes to the way the vipers operate and the way they train.

“The training we received yesterday was covering what lead sentences were and how to write them as well as how to properly upload photos to DVIDs and take care of our own accounts and photos," said Pvt. First Class Ravenne Eschbach a combat camera soldier on the field crew. "We expanded on that training today as explored captions and understanding how we write them.”

Taking advantage of opportunity to cross-train at this stage serves as true benefit. Exposing Soldiersto new elements that they are not accustomed to early on such as how impactful a lead sentence can be, why it is used, and the different type serves to propel the vipers far ahead of their peers.

“Both classes are beneficial, because they provide a smooth avenue for all combat cameras on the team before we merge with public affairs,” said Spc. Megan Mooney the photo studio operations leader. “Having a solid foundation of the basics will equip the team with the tools we need to be successful in the coming future.”

The normal responsibilities of a documentation Soldier are soon to shift, normalcy dictates they produce the photos and videos to be used at the leisure of the media. Now however the soldiers will be expected to produce multimedia products to include, print stories, radio news and video stories. Though the specialties of documentation and public affairs seem to run on two different roads, the vipers feel that having a background in visual information has its advantages.

“I think being a documentation specialist originally helps going into the public affairs career field because we an in-depth knowledge of photography and videography,” said Eschbach. “There's definitely a lot that we will still need to learn but having our background will help us better understand and learn easier.”

Some of the soldiers are nervous because these skills don’t come over night, while others express pure excitement.

“The merger is something that is going to change a lot in how I do my job and it’s going to add other aspects and responsibilities," said Eschbach. “I think like many of my coworkers and kind of nervous in a way just getting put into a different position than what I had originally expected but I think it will be an interesting experience."

“I am excited about the merge! I love my job and what I do, so adding on new skill sets along with new opportunities to travel and network are beneficial for myself and the rest of the team,” said Mooney.

Steadily moving along towards the future and continuing to train towards progress, the vipers have not let the recent COVID-19 attack stop them from becoming the new technical experts and assets of the public affairs career field.

*Editors note* This story was written by a combat camera soldier who volunteered to join the Joint Multinational Readiness Center PAO team for initial cross training. This was an excellent opportunity for PAO to also understand the differences between the two MOS's missions.

• Date Taken: 03.24.2020
• Date Posted: 03.26.2020 11:16
• Story ID: 365917
• Location: HOHENFELS, BY, DE