2022 Best Combat Camera Competition

Photo By Henry Villarama | U.S. Air Force Tech Sgt. Corban Lundborg and Senior Airman Joseph LeVeille, assigned to 4th Combat Camera Squadron, 315th Airlift Wing, participate in soldier skill lanes while competing in the 2022 Spc. Hilda I. Clayton Best Combat Camera Competition at Fort A.P Hill, Virginia, May 19, 2022. The annual multi-day competition tests the physical, tactical and technical proficiency of visual information and public affairs specialists across the DOD and participating international competitors. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Henry Villarama)  

FORT A.P. HILL, VA, UNITED STATES

05.19.2022

Story by Sgt. Henry Villarama  

55th Signal Company (Combat Camera)   

FORT A.P. HILL, Va. - On July 2, 2013, Spc. Hilda Clayton was involved in a deadly mortar explosion in Jalalabad, Afghanistan while documenting an Afghan military exercise. Her final camera shot captured the explosion that led to her death and claimed the lives of four Afghan soldiers.

Clayton was assigned to the 55th Signal Company (Combat Camera), 114th Signal Battalion, 21st Signal Brigade, Fort Meade, Maryland. She deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, Regional Command-East and Combined Joint Task Force-101. Clayton was tasked as the unit’s combat camera covering the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, “Task Force Long Knife” when she passed.

The 2022 Spc. Hilda I. Clayton Best Combat Camera Competition, now in its ninth year, is hosted annually by the 55th Signal Company (Combat Camera), and honors the life of Clayton. This year’s competition is held at Fort A.P. Hill, Virginia and is scheduled to conclude May 24, 2022.

The event honors the life of Hilda Clayton and is a joint, multi-national event consisting of visual information specialists, public affairs mass communication specialists and combat photographers. Competitors from across the DOD and participating NATO partners are tested on physical, tactical and technical proficiencies.

Every year, service members from around the world travel to compete in remembrance of Clayton and to honor her ultimate sacrifice and contributions to the combat camera career field.
“This competition is truly special for the Department of Defenses’ visual information, public affairs specialists and international combat camera photographers,” said U.S. Army Maj. Octavia Blackwell, the commander of the 55th Signal Company (Combat Camera). “Our earnest hope is that this competition brings honor to the hard work, selfless dedication and sacrifice that service members in these career fields bring to fight, every single day. With the Army’s decision to merge the visual information and public affairs career fields, we look forward to the continued growth of the ‘Best COMCAM’ competition.”

This event, much like many military competitions, is composed of fitness events and soldier tasks, with one major exception; the competitors are required to document each other. They must document the tasks they’re executing and develop powerful, creative and informative visual information products to be submitted before the end of the five-day competition. Final products will be judged and graded by military and civilian personnel from visual information and public affairs career fields.
The Best Combat Camera Competition is a staple competition for DOD visual storytellers. Competitors assess their skills, strengths and weaknesses before the first event begins to ensure they’re ready for the challenge.

Military creatives go by many names: Combat camera, public affairs, visual information specialists and multimedia illustrators often share similar responsibilities but, individually, have very different missions.

This year’s competition includes service members from the U.S. Army and Air Force’s active and reserve components as well as service members of the Israeli Defense Forces Combat Camera Unit.
With continuing concerns over rising COVID-19 infections and on-going unrest in Europe and the Middle East, military storytellers are far-flung and often find themselves supporting multi-faceted training rotations and combat deployments. Amidst the full-throttle of world events, 20 service members answered the call and applied to compete in this year’s competition.

As day one approaches, nine of the ten two-person teams are confirmed to participate in this year’s competition.

Army units represented include 3rd Psychological Operations Battalion (Airborne), 8th Psychological Operations Group (Airborne) and the 22nd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment, 18th Airborne Corps from Fort Bragg, North Carolina; the 982nd Signal Company (Airborne) from Atlanta, Georgia and the 55th Signal Company (Combat Camera) from Fort George G. Meade, Maryland.

The Air Force Reserves are represented by the 4th Combat Camera Squadron from Charleston, South Carolina.

The Israel Defense Forces Combat Camera Unit from Tel Aviv, Israel is a regular participant in the annual event.

With 18 competitors and 21 events, this year’s competition is set to be the largest in the event’s nine-year history.

Events include Hero-WOD, capabilities briefings, day and light land navigation, a swim event, undisclosed distance ruck marches, a tactical lane, sensitive site exploitation and a variety of ranges including pistol challenges, marksmanship qualifications and stress shoots.

It’s undeniable that this is the biggest competition of the event’s nine-year history. The dedication to preparation is shining in the execution. One special highlight is that for some competitors, this competition marks their first trip to the U.S.

“It’s exciting to learn about the culture of the U.S.A., and the Army, and work together,” said Sgt. Lee Hershkovitz of the Israeli Defense Forces Combat Camera Unit. “I’m looking forward to meeting new people, because we are combat photographers and they are combat photographers in another country. It’s very interesting to know what they do because in Israel, in the U.S., it’s not the same thing.”

When asked how she felt about the competition, Hershkovitz responded, “I’m a little bit nervous, but it’s going to be fun and interesting.”

With the first event kicking off early Wednesday morning, this week belongs to our visual communicators.

This competition brings out the very best of military creatives. The competition serves as a melting pot of talent, equipment, technical knowledge and experience. New competitors and veteran-teams alike earn the respect of their services and fellow competitors while establishing long-lasting partnerships across their career fields.

Every year, competitors will push the boundaries and redefine what it means to compete in the annual Spc. Hilda I. Clayton Best Combat Camera Competition.

At the end of the competition, only one two-person team will prevail. Having left it all on the field, the winners will stand proudly with their names etched on the trophy placard that will forever place them among the best military visual storytellers of this generation.

The 55th Signal Company (Combat Camera) holds the proud distinction of being the U.S. Army's only active duty COMCAM unit. Their mission is to provide still and video documentation of Army operations during peacetime, contingencies, and combat. Ready to deploy on a moment's notice, the 55th employs state-of-the-art documentation equipment and is equipped with still and motion cameras, night vision equipment, and editing suites. The unit also has the distinction of an airborne capability requiring the unit to conduct monthly airborne operations to maintain the airborne qualified status of select members of the unit.

For more information about the competition, please visit the 55th Signal Company (Combat Camera) Facebook and Instagram accounts.

• Date Taken: 05.19.2022
• Date Posted: 05.19.2022 17:43
• Story ID: 421115
• Location: FORT A.P. HILL, VA, US