Press Pool ‘Scrambled’ for Honduras
A group of 10 journalists was hurriedly assembled late Wednesday night to accompany American soldiers ordered to Honduras by President Reagan, the Pentagon said today.
The group of reporters, activated under what is known as the Department of Defense National Media Pool, left Andrews Air Force Base, Md., outside Washington at 3:45 a.m., the Pentagon said.
The reporters were flown to Ft. Bragg, N.C., the home of the 82nd Airborne, and joined the first troops from that division to depart for Honduras at 7 a.m.
“The pool deployment began at 11 p.m. last night with the notification of the bureau chiefs, and initial pool reports are expected to arrive at the Pentagon later today,” the Pentagon said in a statement.
The National Media Pool was created after an outcry from the press in the wake of the 1983 invasion of Grenada, from which all U.S. reporters were excluded by the Defense Department. The Pentagon and press ultimately agreed to set up procedures whereby a small group of reporters could be scrambled, in secret, to accompany U.S. military units as they deployed in the future.
The 10 individuals assembled for the pool were Steven Komarow of the Associated Press; Douglas Allmond, ABC; Karl Inderfurth, ABC; Philip Mishoe, ABC; Durrell Kreisher, Copley News Service; Jay Sapir, UPI; Joseph Marquette, UPI; Frederick Kempe, Wall Street Journal; Robert Cohn, Newsweek, and Colleen Combes, Reuters.
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