They're in the Army Now: Not really. Most 'embedded' journalists are fish out of water.

Central Iraq

The embedding effort in the current war is like nothing I've ever seen before. No corporation, no educational institution, no other government agency has ever invited me and other reporters into their war councils, let me read their secret memos, given me unfettered 24-hour access to their workplaces and workers. It's a tremendously brave gamble on the part of our Defense Department.

In many ways, the gamble has paid off. Being shot at inevitably gives reporters fresh respect for soldiers, and the sheer physical and mental stamina required of military men and women -- even of their highest leaders -- during wartime has been an eye-opener for many in the media. And, meanwhile, the American public has gotten some reasonably good, very immediate coverage of this war. Indeed, I can tell you that military leaders themselves are reading and watching the reports from embedded journalists, and quite often learning something for the first time.

Of course, embedding doesn't always work out. Fox's Geraldo Rivera tried to embed with the other half-dozen of us who are reporting with the 82nd Airborne Division. He was turned down, but the 101st Airborne accepted him. Within a few days Rivera broadcast live several of the unit's combat destinations -- which, of course, can get people killed.

The other open breach of the basic ground rules for embedded media also took place in the 101st. Shortly after the fragging incident that killed two U.S. soldiers, a television crew reported some of the victims' names before their kin had been notified, despite a direct request not to do so. They were sent home.

Alas, I must report that there are hordes of lightweight reporters here (the highly visible TV correspondents are among the worst). Many came to the war not knowing a howitzer from a ham sandwich. I'm truly astonished at how little homework most reporters did before leaving home -- not even learning the very basics, such as military rank structures. I've observed some laughably wrong and foolish reporting that, had it concerned a stock-trading floor or a lobby in Washington, would have been instantly recognized as incompetent. In today's media, though, few people know or care enough about the military to recognize journalistic malpractice.

Some media outlets made wise and careful choices as to whom they sent to Iraq. CNN, for instance, embedded a correspondent with an Army mechanized unit who is himself a Marine reservist. His shop knowledge enabled him to hit the ground running, and he enjoyed some instant credibility with both his military informants and viewers back home.