Something that never ceases to amaze me is the level of photographic talent shown by our military combat photographers, particularly those serving or who have recently served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Besides giving us a first hand, front line look at what our fighting men and women do and see, some of their work has to be be described as fine art.
During two tours in Iraq, one of the best was Staff Sergeant Russell Lee Klika (he goes by “Klika” - gotta love that name). In 2004, he accompanied the 278th Regimental Combat Team of the Tennessee Army National Guard, serving as a member of the public affairs staff. In 2006, he returned, this time with the 133rd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment of the Tennessee Army National Guard. During that second tour he worked with the 101st Airborne’s 3rd Division Rakkasans, a unit in which his 21-year-old son, Zachary, now serves. He occasionally sent photos of what he saw and I posted them on my old AFP website and later reposted them here.
Klika believes military photographers should not only document wars and battles, but also preserve and humanize historical events. So in capturing images in war-torn regions, he endured the same hardships and experienced the same risks as the warriors he photographed.
“The units that go outside the wire are not obligated to take me with them,” he explains. “These guys go looking for, and find, trouble on a daily basis. I have to earn their trust and prove myself, because they have to give up a seat to take me along…”
When his service ended in February, Klika became a contract employee for the National Guard in Smyma, Tennessee, where he supervises civilian photographers assigned to the National Guard. Since his return, he’s won numerous awards for his work and, along with eight other combat photographers, is part of the current (through July 5) “Eye of the Storm” exhibition at the Reform Gallery in West Hollywood, California, supporting the Wounded Warrior Project.
I’ve seen some of Klika’s “civilian” work since his return and it reflects the same journalistic style he exhibited in Iraq. Few of his images are posed - rather, he waits for them to happen, a style I try hard to emulate. He knows when to pull the trigger and his recent images reflect that same keen eye and intuition. But his combat images, at least for me, set him heads above many of his contemporaries.
This is a Patriot’s Journey post. You may also enjoy visiting the other journeyers: Drumwaster, Larry at The Bastage, the folks at The Line Is Here and Shortbus from The Edge of Reason…