KTKA

Eight members of the 19th Public Affairs Detachment just recently got back after spending a year in Afghanistan. They are journalists, but soldiers first.

Many of the reports we saw on TV, they were in the middle of but they said it's what we don't see that Americans should know.

"When I was over there, I saw attacks; I saw the recovery efforts after attacks," 19th PAD, Spc. David Ockuly said.

Specialist David Ockuly said there's no denying bad things do happen in war. He lived it, but said in America, that's all we hear or read about.

"They want to get the bang on the front page," he said.

For one year the eight soldiers from Fort Riley reported from the battlefields. They covered the good and the bad in a magazine and a television show called Freedom Watch Afghanistan.

"We took our jobs very seriously and sure we had some hard times, but we had a lot of fun doing it," 19th PAD, Ft. Riley, Spc. James Tamez said.

It's the good they said we're doing that they heard about from the people of Afghanistan.

"Ever since we came in, we stabilized a good chunk of the country, and the people often refer to us being there as a time of peace," Spc. Michael Nyeste said.

So, peace is what they focused their stories on during the war, equipped with a camera in one hand and a gun in the other.

"Bottom-line, we're soldiers first. For most of the time I was able to do my job, but there were times when I had to step in," Spc. Anna Perry said.

Because of her Army training, Specialist Perry had no problem stepping in when things got tough. But the reward they received in return was bigger than any of them could have imagined.

Now they want America to know how they helped the people of Afghanistan get back on the right track to rebuilding schools, roads and even power plants.

"We're not just kicking in doors, that we're really trying to help these people and that the people really appreciate it," Commander of the 19th PAD, Maj. James E. Bono said.

And those are the stories they said they don't have to put a spin on.

"So am I focusing on the good things rather than all the attacks that happened? Maybe, but once you see the smile of a child that's going to affect you a lot more than seeing an attack," Spc. Ockuly said.