AP World

Bringing Lessons Home

By Ann Bertini

APTN newsman Rick Gentilo grabbed his Centurion handbook the morning of Sept. 11, when he was told to go to New York to help cover the World Trade Center attacks.

"I thought back to my training, thanked God and the AP, and packed accordingly," Gentilo said. "The training changed how I prepare for the routine assignment as well as the most horrible."

Protective earplugs, bandages, a flashlight, boots, rain gear, and emergency food are among the items Gentilo now packs for any last minute out-of-town assignment. The idea behind Centurion's "pre-departure checklist" is that reporters cannot always anticipate the type of situation or climate they will be facing.

AP reporters who have attended the course say they view every new situation through the filter of Centurion's lessons. One of those lessons is being aware of how quickly a situation can change and escalate into danger.

In November free-lance photographer Marco di Lauro was shot in the back while covering northern alliance forces near Kabul, Afghanistan. The plate in di Lauro's flak vest stopped the bullet. He was back on assignment the next day.

"Things may look calm and if it's hot outside you might have a tendency to say 'I don't need to wear this today'" said Jerusalem newsman Greg Myre, who took the standard five-day course in February and another mini-course created for Jerusalem staffers when violence erupted there last fall.

Myre has covered several wars, but said he had little experience with first aid before taking the course. He said he learned that opening a breathing passage for the wounded was a priority, something that in a moment of crisis one might not think to do.

Newswoman Jamie Tarabay, also based in Jerusalem, covers conflict in the West Bank. She said the training increased her awareness of potential dangers and it has made her more cautious.

"You stop and wait after an explosion to see if there is another one," Tarabay said. "You may lose a witness or a description, but that's one of the things you learn in the training. Your life is not worth a quote."

Twenty-two AP staffers from around the world attended a Centurion course in London the week before the World Trade Center attacks, including New York photographer Bebeto Matthews. Matthews was visiting the London bureau on Sept. 11 and said he worried about his colleagues.

He said the seminar on post-traumatic stress helped prepare him mentally and emotionally for the work he did on his return to New York and that while he was initially resistant to the idea of training, he's now an avid supporter.

"Your sense of awareness is greatly increased. You walk away from the training knowing that at any moment a situation can just change 360 degrees," he said. "It's definitely a workshop for every single editorial person in the news business. I can't imagine a better thing for the company to do."