Bob Martin has spent more time as an embedded journalist during military conflicts throughout the world than the majority of his counterparts.
Martin, a photographer, reporter and helicopter pilot for KRQE-TV, told stories of his 26 years of experience to a class of aspiring journalists Thursday.
"I wanted to give them a taste of what it's like out there in the world and help them see the tremendous effect their work can have on our society and the world," Martin said.
Martin's first combat assignment was in Nicaragua in 1985. KRQE and its parent network, CBS, paid his expenses for the trip.
The conflict, between the ruling communist party and U.S.- supported guerillas, was the only time during his career he had to pick up a weapon.
"The village we were reporting in was bombed and there were dead people everywhere," Martin said. "Our scout said the soldiers were headed toward the village with the intention of preventing our coverage of the situation from making it back to the U.S."
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He said he didn't have to use the weapon, and he is very aware the situation could happen again.
"As a journalist you have to prepare yourself to go into some very volatile situations," Martin said. "Oftentimes there is no law or justice to rely on."
Martin, a Roswell native who graduated from Eastern New Mexico University, also went to Afghanistan in 1987 to document the Russian invasion of the country.
In 1991 he accompanied the 500,000 U.S. troops during the Persian Gulf War.
"I spent as much quality time with the soldiers as possible to personalize the whole situation," he said. "It was our job to not only report the news but to show the emotions being felt and the perspective on life there."
In 2001, he went to Afghanistan following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks - before the U.S. military action against the Taliban.
Martin, the only Albuquerque reporter in Afghanistan, said he spent days at a time in trenches close to positions U.S. planes were bombing.
"I came to know those soldiers, some as young as 14, and it allowed me, through my reporting, to show the human side of the conflict," Martin said.
He produced numerous documentaries on civilian life, showing the impact years of civil war had on the country's people.
He said he has seen several people who he was close to die, including eight journalists in Afghanistan who were executed after their convoy was overrun.
"Journalism is a tremendously rewarding field, but there are times when you have to put your life on the line to report the truth," Martin said.
Martin spent more than four months embedded with U.S. forces invading Iraq this year.
While there, he documented the story of an Albuquerque man who piloted an attack helicopter and several New Mexican women who were serving on the front lines.
"I wanted people to see the documentaries and say 'Whoa, there is a connection with New Mexico and this war,'" Martin said.
