Combat Camera Unit. © Laurence Chen

“When U.S. Special Forces carry out missions around the world, they sometimes bring along Combat Camera units. These exist in all branches of the military, capturing both video and stills to document operations from beginning to end.” Laurence Chen, Pop Photo.

Nikon D700 equipped with a Nightstalker II. © Laurence Chen

I didn’t know the Combat Camera units existed until I ran across Chen’s interesting article on “Life as a US Military Photographer“ Pop Photo’s website. These units were trained in both video and still photography for at least four months after their combat training classes. These warriors were ready for action in any kind of weather and environment. “Unlike embedded photojournalists, who are independent and unarmed even when traveling with and documenting military personnel, Navy Combat Camera servicemen and women can integrate with elite special-forces units,” Chen reported.