Sebastian Junger, author of 'War' and director of the documentary Restrepo joined HuffPost Live Tuesday to discuss his Reporters Instructed In Saving Colleagues (RISC) training program. He told host Mike Sacks that the decision to teach reporters basic trauma treatment skills was was spurred by the death of his friend and colleague Tim Hetherington. And he added that journalists today, following the Arab Spring, are at more danger than they were a generation ago.
"Journalists have absolute, complete access to front lines, which usually they don't," Junger said. "Totally unfettered access, and they're with militias that really are inventing things as they go. They're extremely dangerous situations."
Junger said that Hetherington, who was hit by a mortar blast in Misrata, Libya, would not have been allowed so far forward to the front lines in Bosnia.
"You could go get yourself killed if you wanted, basically," he said. "I think it's very dangerous, particularly for younger, inexperienced freelancers who are trying to break in, who don't understand the dangers of going forward into a situation where people are shooting at each other."
Junger said he started RISC because he realized, had he been with Hetherington, he wouldn't have had the necessary training to save him.
"I would have watched him die," Junger said.