Pitt graduate student stationed in Afghanistan

Jason Wynnycky remembers the initial moments of Sept. 11, 2001, in the same way most Americans… Jason Wynnycky remembers the initial moments of Sept. 11, 2001, in the same way most Americans do: as a period of shock and confusion. He remembers discussing the events with his classmates, trying to come to terms with what had just befell the nation. In an evacuated Mervis Hall, he attempted to log on to an overly taxed Internet system to find out the latest information.

He also remembers a phone call that few Americans had to make that day: a call to his army boss, letting him know that he was ready and available for his military service.

“A little over a year later,” he said, via e-mail from a military compound in Kabul, Afghanistan, “he followed up on that initial phone call by letting me know that our time to serve had arrived.”

Lt. Wynnycky, a second-year graduate student at the Katz Graduate School of Business, is a 1st Lt. Public Affairs Officer with the 109th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment, a unit of the Pennsylvania National Guard. He has been stationed in Afghanistan since December as part of Operation Enduring Freedom.

Wynnycky’s military service began with three years of active duty after his graduation from high school. He then attended Penn State University and joined the Pennsylvania National Guard in 1998, where he started his officer training.

Wynnycky now leads a unit of 16 public affairs specialists who assist Operation Enduring Freedom in a number of media-related activities. They are expected to be the authorities on military public affairs, facilitating media interaction and telling the U.S. Army’s story in print and video mediums. Many of the specialists in his unit are print and broadcast journalists.

“Public affairs is an important part of the Army’s operations on today’s battlefield,” he said. “Because we live in the information age, getting the right information out in a timely manner, both internally and externally, is of great importance to the military.”

He added that approximately 85 percent of all Army public affairs specialists are in the reserves, meaning that public affairs units are one of the most heavily utilized reserve components.

Although Wynnycky’s deployment is scheduled as a six-month rotation, Army orders could require his unit to remain on duty for a full year.

“Considering the volatile situation in Iraq and North Korea it would not surprise me if the Army extended our time here,” he said.

Wynnycky said he has a much better understanding of Operation Enduring Freedom after being stationed in Afghanistan. He said although the military is still in a combat operations phase there, it is moving towards more humanitarian and relief efforts. While he is optimistic about the efforts being made, he is realistic about the kind of long-term commitment that will be required of the coalition to fully help the situation in Afghanistan.

“I can see the positive impact of our involvement here,” he said. “But seeing how poor and desperate the situation is here, you realized that it will take a long and sustained effort to get things raised even to what most Americans would consider basic living standards. I am not sure if everyone realizes the commitment that would take.”

Wynnycky is equally realistic regarding the prospect of war with Iraq.

“Do I want to see a war?” he said. “No. I think our nation should do everything possible to avoid military conflict. But I also realize that it can’t always be avoided.”

“I just hope that we exhaust all avenues for a peaceful resolution before we commit to armed conflict,” he said.