I just found out that my Pew Fellowship will also include a 2.5-day training course run by the Centurion Risk Assessment Group. It’s called “Hostile Environments and Emergency First Aid Training,” which is a shortened version of this five-day program.

Among the issues covered: ballistics awareness, how to react to a hostage taking, the pros and cons of wearing personal protective equipment, mines and booby traps, working with helicopters/light aircraft, and my personal favorite, “Controlling bleeds (gunshot/stab/mine blast injuries, etc.)”

Basically, British ex-Marines will yell at me for extended periods of time. Boot camp for budding foreign correspondents. I can’t tell you how thrilled I am.

Comments

30 June | 12:05 | Jake

You're a budding foreign correspondent? Cool!

30 June | 12:37 | LisLei

I am so jealous. Please take detailed notes and save any explicit handouts for our online perusal. And, if you find yourself wearing fatigues at any time, have someone take a picture.

01 July | 14:29 | karen

woe to any terrorist who tries to take you hostage! they'd be begging the pew fellowship to take your ass back in under 24 hours. ;)

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Joshua Benton

Joshua Benton is the director of the Nieman Digital Journalism Project at Harvard University, among other things. Before that, he was a staff writer and columnist for The Dallas Morning News. (More.)