Photo By Mass Communication Specialist Senior Chief Gary Ward
NORFOLK, Va. – A 2002 Lakewood High School graduate and St. Petersburg, Florida, native is serving at Expeditionary Combat Camera, as a member of the Navy’s last Combat Camera Unit in Norfolk, Virginia.
Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Ryan Williams served as a mass communication specialist. Williams was part of a unique Navy team that operated from the air, land and sea to create multimedia products that recorded military events for operational commanders in support of combat, information, humanitarian, special force, intelligence, reconnaissance, engineering, legal, and public affairs missions. Williams’s most memorable combat camera missions include documenting explosive ordnance disposal in the Middle East, jumping out of helicopters in the Arabian Gulf, and working with the Royal Canadian Navy in Nova Scotia for a mass casualty exercise.
“Doing this work is incredible and these are once in a life time experiences," Williams added. "I’m thankful for the opportunity combat camera provided as well as the invaluable training and the ability to document events worldwide.”
Navy combat photography began its roots during World War I when the Navy organized its first photographic division to capture aerial reconnaissance photographs. During World War II, the Navy added Combat Photographic Units and sent them to the Pacific and European theaters of war to document major campaigns including Normandy and Iwo Jima.
After the onset of the Korean War, the Navy established the Pacific Fleet Combat Camera unit, and subsequently established the Atlantic Fleet Motion Picture Unit, which would become Atlantic Fleet Combat Camera Group in 1966 and deployed teams to document the war in Vietnam.
The unit became Expeditionary Combat Camera in 2010 and continued documenting all branches of the military during major U.S. conflicts, operations and exercises.
Williams credits success in the Navy to many of the lessons learned in St. Petersburg.
“My father taught me that respecting others is very important," Williams said. "The biggest thing instilled in me was that family always comes first. Secondly, was making sure you are self-sufficient and not a burden so that you can take care of others.”
Williams has military ties with family members who have previously served and is honored to carry on the family tradition.
“My father served in the Navy, my grandfather served in the Army, and I have a great uncle who was a fighter pilot during WWII," Williams said. "I'm also a direct descendent of Ulysses S. Grant. Patriotism runs deep and it gives me a sense of pride to continue the legacy and family tradition.”
Members of Combat Camera perform unique and highly specialized missions with visual information documentation capabilities supporting all phases of a military operation. Personnel maintain qualifications enabling them to operate with air crew, special operations forces and military divers. Combat Camera teams have the technological capability to rapidly transmit imagery during fast-moving operations around the globe.
Expeditionary Combat Camera held a disestablishment ceremony Sept. 21 on Naval Station Norfolk. The ceremony honored the history, heritage and legacy of the command. Navy's combat camera units officially disestablish on Oct. 1, 2018, ending 67 years of service to the Navy and Department of Defense.
“All of those who have served at combat camera, have conveyed everything they’ve had to give; creative vision, a drive to excel, and a willingness to sacrifice,” said ECC’s final officer in charge Lt. Michael Larson, during the Norfolk ceremony. “Many have done the best work of their careers here, and that imagery has made a legacy that will live on, and inspires us to carry on.”
Williams represents thousands of U.S. Navy combat photographers who have recorded historical events from the land, air and sea spanning from World War II to Operation Enduring Freedom.
As a member of the Navy’s last combat camera unit, Williams and other sailors know they are part of a legacy that will last beyond their lifetimes providing the Navy the nation needs.
"It’s an honor to be part of the combat camera legacy," Williams said. "It’s sad to see the command go, but I’m glad to have had the opportunity to work with some of the greatest mass communication specialists in the Navy.”