ANTHOLOGY AND ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY                                      213

were to receive positive news media coverage.   To the extent possible, we tried
to coincide media visits with.training events. Live fire exercises were especially
popular with photographers and camera crews looking for exciting visuals.
Overnight stays with Marine units were actively sought after by reporters who
wanted a taste of life with Marines in the desert.
   These early reports of Marines in DESERT SHIELD were uniformly posi-
tive, given the tense situation.  By the second week in September both Tom
Brokaw and Dan Rather had broadcast highly favorable segments from Marine
positions in Saudi Arabia for their nightly newscasts.  CBS's Bob Simon had
profiled  7th Marine  Expeditionary    Brigade  commander    MajOen  John  I.
Hopkins.   The public reaction to these accounts was astounding.    We were
showered with "Any Marine" mail from much of America.

                       An Atmosphere of Openness

   LtGen Boomer set the tone for openness by availing himself to reporters
from the first week he was in Saudi Arabia.   Before the deployment ended, he
had subjected himself to more than 40 lengthy interviews with a wide variety of
media.   One of his remarks in a Newsweek interview was later incorporated by
President Bush into his address to the nation on 16 January 1991 following the
commencement of DESERT STORM.            The general's subordinate commanders
followed suit and were frequently quoted in the national and international press.
   After a honeymoon of gushing accounts of Marines in our first month in the
Gulf, we began to sense that some reporters were looking for chinks in the
armor.   Our public affairs escorts reported that the media was beginning to ask
more negative questions. Some Marines were responding with complaints about
the heat, the uncertainty, the slow mail, and the lack of amenities.  As the
novelty of our presence in Saudi Arabia faded, and the threat of immediate
hostilities diminished, these imperfections became news.
   LtGen Boomer, in a message to his senior commanders on 11 September,
described his pride in "the esprit, determination, and patriotism that have been
demonstrated by the young warriors" featured in news media reports.    As he
went on:

                 As our stay here lengthens I anticipate the news
            media interest will continue. I encourage commanders to
            accommodate members of the press corps in coordina-
            tion with the public affairs office. . . . Your Marines
            and Sailors should be encouraged to discuss their day4o-
            day duties, routine tasks, and living conditions. In many
            cases these news media reports are our only link with
            friends, relatives, and supporters back home.
               As your Marines are briefed prior to hosting news
            media, remind them that the shortage of amenities that
            may inconvenience them are a direct result of a rapid
            deployment into a potentially hostile zone that required