It's a Small World, It's a small Army

So, I've been listening to Journey lately. Well, not a whole lot, it's really just one song, but you have to admit that the intro to "Don't Stop Believin" is pretty badass. I'm not really a Journey fan, nor am I a classic rock fan, but I just like that one song. When I was in Iraq, Sean would play Journey's "Wheels in the Sky" constantly because he knew that just a hint of the chorus would get it lodged in my brain for the rest of the day. Sometimes he would just hum the chorus. Jerk. 

I mentioned before that I had just gotten back from spending a year in Iraq. I guess I should also mention that it was an all expenses paid trip courtesy of the U.S. Army, since I am, in fact, currently serving in said branch of the armed forces. I am a photojournalist in the Army and my job as such is to document and tell the stories of other Soldiers. It's a small career field within the Army. I've been told it's the smallest, though I'm not sure if that's true or not, though it wouldn't surprise me. So, if you've been around for a few years you start to get to know other people within the career field as well as folks from the other services that do the same sort of thing.  Even knowing just how small a career field it is, it still always amazes when I see examples of that. 

I just returned from spending two weeks at a leadership school for those in the photojournalist career field (or broadcast journalist, different jobs, but they fall under the same overall umbrella). I attended the course with a person who I had long admired his work and knew his name long before I ever met him in person. I first met him just before going to Iraq. As we met and shook hand I said "Hi, I'm Jon Soucy." And his response was "Yes, I know the name." And then he went on to say many good things about my work.  While I was in Iraq we in the section I was a part of simply referred to him as my arch-nemesis, simply because he's a really strong shooter and we're equally matched when it comes to talent and ability. So when I would see his images show up different places I would shake my fist and shout his name in mock frustration. While it was somewhat of a joke amoungst us, in many ways it was a good thing as it forced me to keep shooting, shooting more, and expanding my visual storytelling abilities. Though, what I didn't know while overseas was that he kept seeing my work other places and doing the same thing. It was somewhat humbling when he told me that. And to make things even odder, not only were we at this school together, but we were assigned as roommates. It turned out to be a good thing, I think, as it was really good talking with someone who is just as into storytelling and documentary photography. I don't really get that in the normal day-to-day where I am currently stationed. 

Adding on to the small career-field thing, the other interesting thing while at the school was looking at the various plaques on the walls that listed out those who had been Distinguished Honor Graduates, high PT score achievers, and who had won the leadership awards and just seeing how many of those were people that I know or had met at some point. And, while my arch-nemesis was the only person in the class I knew prior to class, there were others in the class who knew some of the same people I had known, or worked with, or went through some sort of training with or folks I taught (I was once an instructor at the school that all those in the military as photojournalists, broadcasters, graphic designers, writers etc. go to learn those skills. I taught the photo portions of various courses, but the main course I taught was the intermediate photojournalist course.) And, while at the course I ran into a few other people who were there for other courses who came up to me an introduced themselves saying they've seen my work etc. Like I said, it's a small career field. It is on the civilian side as well, but even more on the military side. I think I like it that way.