(PatriotWise.com)- Journalists are hoping to be embedded with U.S. troops deployed to Eastern Europe to assist Ukrainian and other European forces in the event of a Russian invasion of Ukraine. Members of the Pentagon press corps wrote to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin requesting to be allowed to film and report where the troops are.
The letter, sent by the Pentagon Press Association, made similar calls to those from the Military Reporters and Editors Association (MREA), which sent a letter to Austin last weekend.
The Pentagon Press Association argued that “the public in a democratic society deserves independent media coverage of their sons and daughters in uniform” and that the only way to provide that is with first-hand and on-the-ground reporting on troop activities taking place in Europe.
“For generations, news organizations have been informing the world about the service of American military members, and we simply want to continue to do that job,” the letter continues.
JUST IN: The Pentagon Press Association is calling on @SecDef Lloyd Austin and @JakeSullivan46, President Biden's national security adviser, to "lift the ban on news coverage of American military members deploying to Europe to reassure NATO allies during the Ukraine crisis" pic.twitter.com/B2hHJjPnhu
— Marcus Weisgerber (@MarcusReports) February 9, 2022
The letter even accused the government of implementing a “coverage ban,” and says that the White House Correspondents Association supports their request.
The Biden administration was encouraged to either enable “timely coverage” of events in Europe or to “obstruct the public’s view of a military mission being paid for with taxpayer dollars.”
During a Tuesday press briefing, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby was asked about the possibility of embedding journalists with troops by a reporter from the Military Times. He responded by saying that the “buck stops with him” and that the department is working out what they consider to be the “appropriate level of media access” in Europe.
