Salem-News.com's Tim King Leaves for Iraq

War correspondent Tim King is joining Oregon troops to bring their stories to the world.

(PORTLAND, Ore.) - Salem-News.com is pleased to announce that Tim's international news mission has begun. Our chief reporter Tim King has departed Oregon for a five-week assignment in Iraq where he will be embedded with Oregon National Guard soldiers arriving there for a year-long combat tour.

Joined for a proper send off at the Portland airport by Q Madp and some of his PGR friends, Tim bid us all farewell as he walked down the terminal heavy-laden with camera equipment and more and into a new phase of Salem-News.com war reports.

We at Salem-News.com are very proud of Tim, and his motivation to join the troops at this time of continuing unrest. It is the second time Tim has covered the Oregon Guard forces at war; in November 2006 Tim reported from the war in Afghanistan for a two-month period covering a wide array of stories there.

While the country is experiencing a severe lack of reporting from the war zones, this coverage will bring a fresh perspective to the events taking place there.

Tim will be with the 641st Aviation Group with the Oregon Guard, being deployed to work in the aviation sector in roles that are vital to aircraft operations at Balad, Iraq. They will be supplying surveillance, air traffic control and more aviation related necessities. For many soldiers, it will be their third or even fourth tour of duty.

These Oregon Guard soldiers were officially mobilized last week with a ceremony in full attendance by friends, family and high ranking officials.

This mission has been much anticipated for several months, and he is well prepared to get down to business. Many journalists and mainstream media groups in the U.S. have opted out of their responsibility to bring the whole story to the American public, while Salem-News.com has risen to the occasion.

We believe it is our job, as journalists, to document and communicate with candor and tact the progress and challenges of our forces of war. Getting to the heart of the matter is what journalists do. Salem-News.com is committed to this cause.

Tim King's video reports will be published as quickly as he can get them to us. In this instance, unlike his Afghanistan mission, he will be mainly posting from the field giving less downtime between the report and publication.

Oregonians are a special group, and we mean to bring to our viewers a true view of how they are getting the job done with pride and efficiency. Tim's stories will bring our Oregon Guard soldiers closer to home, via Salem-News.com.

Salem-News.com Top Stories

2025: Hope for the Best, Prepare for the Worst

Two Wars with No Way Out

No One Owns the Future

The Ugly Origins of Trump's America First Policy

A One-State Solution Could Transform the World

Comments Leave a comment on this story.

All comments and messages are approved by people and self promotional links or unacceptable comments are denied.

SFC Bjorklund September 12, 2008 3:00 pm (Pacific time)

Tim - great having you on our combat patrol here in Iraq. Godspeed

Reader September 3, 2008 12:15 pm (Pacific time)

God Speed, Tim. Take care, be safe and be sure to tell ALL the American soldiers you meet how much we here in Oregon appreciate them and thank them for their sacrifices. Remind them they are thought of and prayed for daily.

Sigismond August 24, 2008 7:08 am (Pacific time)

Hi! Tim, beware and do not risk your life; there are not two Editors like you and it's by the time this trip should be your last on a war battlefield. Thousands of young men would like to do this job. So, please please promise me that it is your last. Peace needs you and you'll do much more alive than dead. In French, we say: "Merde! (shit!)" to wish good luck. That's all you get! Fare well. Hervé

Henry Ruark August 21, 2008 3:04 pm (Pacific time)

Okay et al:
Your key phrase in link is:
"While NATO troops scramble, between battles, to rebuild rural infrastructure, U.S. advisers urge Afghan anti-narcotics police to eradicate the livelihood of 2 million poor farmers."
For me, that's precisely what is expected from Chicago School/Friedman approach now notorious for forced usage in developing-country situations like this, and demonstrated throughout S/America, which is now refusing World Bank and similar funding tied to the acceptance of Chicago School outmoded economics.
This is sharp example of the wrong interpretation from what seems a solid source.
Thanks, Okay, for further illumination here by what we can share re real meaning.
For full inf. re Chicago and Friedman, see previous Op Eds or inquiry to Editor with ID will bring 'em direct.

Henry Ruark August 21, 2008 2:55 pm (Pacific time)

To all: appreciate sts seeking truth...but you must be able to recognize it when you find it, too. SO you gotta KNOW-source: If you gonna put confidence in what you get, what other way is there ? That's Lesson No. 1 in life, as well as in Jnrlsm 101 !! We have no question with Tim, having experienced skill, integrity, dedication AND his "intensities" for a long time here --and for years preceding that, for many of us working in the same vineyard. So you can count on the wine he will squeeze out in Iraq, no matter who helps him pick the grapes of events and the coverage-found. For more tips re testing sources, many learned the hard way, will send PDF of previous articles on request with ID to Bon. GO, Tim, GO !! We KNOW you, and know what you will do and how well you will do it, too.

Okay August 21, 2008 9:33 am (Pacific time)

STS- below, please find some info to update yourself with. Things are not always as they may seem and additional research usually confirms that. "Ann Jones- Sunday, December 17, 2006 A little more than five years since the start of the Bush administration's Afghan war, the "ousted" Taliban is back in full flower, and so is the notorious Afghan poppy. There's no doubt the two are intimately connected. The Taliban, which "BRIEFLY" banned poppy cultivation in 2000 [in an effort to gain U.S. diplomatic recognition and aid], now both supports and draws support from that profitable crop; Afghanistan provides 92 percent of the world's heroin. Yet Western policies designed to eliminate the Taliban and the poppy are at odds with each other. While NATO troops scramble, between battles, to rebuild rural infrastructure, U.S. advisers urge Afghan anti-narcotics police to eradicate the livelihood of 2 million poor farmers."http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2006/12/17/ING08MTPMB1.DTL

sts August 20, 2008 7:08 pm (Pacific time)

I just get concerned that the military war machine will take tim to the "nicer" places and give an image that is untrue. They seem to be real good at spinning the truth and using good journalists such as tim as their proxy.

sts August 20, 2008 4:00 pm (Pacific time)

to OKAY : I decided not to give you hundreds of articles from alternative news websites, and give you one from a mainstream news website. This way, you cant say, oh, those alternative news websites will say anything. How about something from the Assiciated Press? http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18041720/wid/11915829)/ I also want to add: I was just pushing Tim to do more. This video is what I expect before offering him congratulations... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-Za5yzJkMM I just want the truth so our troops can come home. They dont belong there. One last thing.. the government allows the poppy fields to extend their wars, but arrest people and imprison them in the U.S. for using them.. Hypocrisy at its best. We really need to bring the troops home. It is only causing more terror with us being there.

Okay August 20, 2008 1:18 pm (Pacific time)

sts the poppy fields were there during the Taliban's ruthless rein. In fact it was their only real cash crop. As far as our military guarding poppy fields for financial consideration, what are you sources?

sts August 20, 2008 7:55 am (Pacific time)

Tim: please don't overreact, it was just a little constructive criticism. I read news straight from Afghanistan, from independent news sources. Your Afghanistan article seemed to be a bit more "fluffy", and just wanted to light a fire under ya.
You do know the the U.S. soldiers guard poppy fields, to make money to finance their war dont you? Sell it in other countries (including the U.S.) Poppy fields were non-existant under taliban rule. (religious beliefs) I have a hundred more stories, such as carpet bombing innocent civilians etc.
I like much of your reporting, was just giving constructive criticism.
Supporting our troops, means finding the real truth, spreading the word, so that the troops can come home.
good luck and go get'em.

Retired Military August 19, 2008 9:23 am (Pacific time)

My hope is that any civilian going into a combat zone appreciates the need for truthful reporting. Certainly the morale of our men and women in harms way is a factor, for they do know the truth as it happens in their particular operational sphere, but also the public needs to see the overall picture. The latter is difficult indeed, for most reporters just see a snapshot in time from a small area. Good fortune and may you return to your country a more informed individual.

CANDY August 19, 2008 6:26 am (Pacific time)

TIM, YOU'RE A FANTASTIC REPORTER. THE CAMP LEJEUNE CONTAMINATED WATER SURVIVORS COMMEND ALL OF YOUR EFFORTS. STAY SAFE, AND COME HOME SOON. CANDY

Gary McAllen August 17, 2008 8:33 pm (Pacific time)

Tim, Oorah!!! Be Safe. Gary McAllen, (from 29 stumps, cal.)now in lebanon, oregon,and now OMMP cardholder

Tim King August 17, 2008 8:07 pm (Pacific time)

STS: Your opinion is not meaningful here; and you obviously have not seen any of the reports. For the record, we could absolutely care less what you think.

sts August 17, 2008 3:46 pm (Pacific time)

after reading his story on afghanistan, I agree with what BV said.

Tim King August 16, 2008 6:59 pm (Pacific time)

Hi everybody, I just wanted to give you a quick update; I am at Fort Benning in Georgia waiting for a flight to Kuwait and then onto Balad, Iraq. I am very excited about reaching my destination and sharing the stories from the Oregon Guard's 2-641 Aviation Group with you. They are a fantastic group of soldiers and I have been able to spend time around some quality people who like me, are headed for Iraq. Look for the reports to begin within the next few days.

BOB August 16, 2008 12:05 pm (Pacific time)

TIM, LOOKING FORWARD TO YOUR REPORTS. IF YOU MAKE CONTACT WITH THE MWSG-37 MARINES, GIVE 'EM MY BEST.

Q Madp August 15, 2008 9:16 pm (Pacific time)

Tell them all THANK YOU from me. :)

Dan August 15, 2008 7:53 pm (Pacific time)

Keep your head down and your hammer up!!

EazyMoney August 15, 2008 7:18 am (Pacific time)

Good luck and stay safe!

CANDY August 15, 2008 4:22 am (Pacific time)

TIM, I KNOW YOU WILL DO A GREAT JOB, AS USUAL. BEST OF LUCK, WE HERE AT WATERSURVIVORS.COM WILL BE THINKING OF YOU. GOOD LUCK TO ALL OF YOU AND STAY SAFE. CANDY

Glen August 14, 2008 6:23 pm (Pacific time)

Best of luck, Tim. The mustache and goatee look great.

BV August 14, 2008 6:15 pm (Pacific time)

I am glad Tim is going over once again but I really hope we get some non-biased reporting. I am doubtful but we'll see.

[Return to Top]