Visual Information Service members compete for 'Best Combat Camera' | Halek Hossain

 

FORT A.P HILL, Va - The Hilda I. Clayton Best Combat Camera Competition, now in its ninth year, is an event hosted annually by the 55th Signal Company (Combat Camera) to challenge combat camera personnel and honor Clayton's life. This year's competition was held at Fort AP Hill and concluded on May 24, 2022.

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

Clayton was involved in a deadly mortar explosion while documenting an Afghan military exercise in Jalalabad, Afghanistan. His last camera shot captures the explosion that led to his death and claimed the lives of four Afghan soldiers.

The competition is a joint, multi-national event featuring visual information specialists, public affairs communications specialists and combat photographers. Competitors and participating multinational partners across the DOD are tested on physical, tactical and technical capabilities.

This competition is truly special for Department of Defense visual information, public affairs specialists and international combat camera photographers," said US Army Maj. Octavia Blackwell, 55th Signal Company commander (combat camera). “It is our sincere hope that this pageant honors the hard work, selfless dedication and sacrifice that service members in this career field bring to combat every single day. With the Army's decision to merge the visual information and public affairs career fields, we look forward to continued growth of the 'Best ComCam' competition."

Like other military competitions, this event consists of fitness trials and military tasks, with one major exception - competitors must enlist each other. They must develop strong, creative and informative visual information products that must be submitted before the end of the five-day competition. The final products are then judged and graded by military and civilian personnel from the visual information and public affairs career fields. The Best Combat Camera Contest is a premier competition for DOD visual storytellers. Competitors assess their skills, strengths and weaknesses before the first event to ensure they are ready for the challenge.

With the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing unrest in Eastern Europe, military storytellers are far-flung and often find themselves supporting multidisciplinary training rotations and deployments. Amid this surge of operations, 20 service members answered the call and applied to compete in the 2022 Best Combat Camera competition.

This year's competition includes service members from the active and reserve components of the U.S. Army, the reserve component of the U.S. Air Force, and the Combat Camera Unit of the Israel Defense Forces.

Army units represented include: 3rd Psychological Operations Battalion (Airborne), 8th Psychological Operations Group (Airborne) from Fort Bragg, North Carolina

22nd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment, 18th Airborne Corps from Fort Bragg, North Carolina

982nd Signal Company (Airborne) from Atlanta, Georgia

55th Signal Company (Combat Camera) from Fort George G. Meade, Maryland

The Air Force Reserve was represented by the 4th Combat Camera Squadron, 315th Airlift Wing from Charleston, South Carolina.

The Israel Defense Forces were represented by the Combat Camera Unit of Tel Aviv, Israel – regular participants in the annual event.

With 18 competitors and 21 events, this year's competition was in its history.

The events included a day hero workout, capability briefing, day and light land navigation, a swimming event, ruck march of undisclosed distance, a tactical lane, sensitive site exploitation and various ranges including pistol challenge, marksmanship qualification and stress shoot.

For some competitors, traveling for this event marked their first trip to the United States. "It's exciting to learn about the U.S.A. and Army culture and work together," said Sgt. Lee Hershkowitz of the Israel Defense Forces Combat Camera Unit. "I'm looking forward to meeting new people, because we're war photographers and they're war photographers in other countries. It's very interesting to know what they do because in Israel, in the United States, it's not the same thing."

Asked how she felt about the competition, Hershkowitz replied, "I'm a little nervous, but it's going to be fun and interesting."

This competition brings out the best in military creatives. The competition acts as a melting pot of talent, equipment, technical knowledge and experience. New contestants and veteran-teams earn the respect of their fellow contestants while establishing lasting partnerships in their careers. Tech of the 4th Combat Camera Squadron of the 315th Airlift Wing. Sergeant Corban Lundborg and Senior Airman Joseph Leville, 2022, earned first place in Spc. Hilda I. Clayton Best Combat Camera Contest Their victory marks the first year a team from the Air Force Reserves has won the event. "It was a fun competition this year and it was good training," said Lundborg. “There were a lot of great teams. It's really about meeting everyone in this career field, building relationships and getting better at our jobs."

It was a privilege to compete with such talented professionals and an honor to tell my father's story," Leville said. A project submitted by the winning team was a video about how Leville's father, who lost his life while serving in the army, inspired him to join the army.

As one of the more senior competitors, I love the training opportunities that come with this competition," added Lundborg. "The week is not about beating other teams, but about putting your best foot forward and helping others along the way. We are all able to learn from each other and give back to the community.”

The 55th Signal Company (Combat Camera) holds the distinction of being the only active duty COMCAM unit in the US Army. They aim to provide still and video documentation of army operations in peacetime, threat situations and wartime. Ready to deploy at 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 an airborne capability specification that requires the unit to conduct monthly airborne operations to maintain the airworthy status of selected members of the unit.