That's a good question.
I did spend many years as a foreign correspondent. I have covered conflicts in Afghanistan, in Iraq, in the Middle East and elsewhere. I think some veterans are aware of that. I don't usually mention it, so I think most are not.
Journalists and soldiers are in war zones for fundamentally different reasons. I think that's important. Some of the people I have interviewed I knew from Afghanistan. There are certain elements of being a journalist in a war zone that are similar. For better or for worse, I do know what it's like to be shot at, and I do know what it's like to lose colleagues. Those might be similarities, but ultimately, we are in conflict zones for different reasons.
When I was under fire, I curled up in a fetal position at the bottom of a trench. I think that's perfectly understandable for a journalist. I think soldiers have different reactions. I would reluctantly say that perhaps it has given me a limited insight into some of the experiences that veterans have had, but I'd say it's very limited.
Perhaps being a journalist and simply having a long history of talking to people and, perhaps more importantly, knowing when to be quiet have been useful in this exercise, which I should say, if you'll permit me, has been enormously rewarding. I feel very lucky to have had the conversations that I've had, perhaps especially with the Second World War veterans, who we're sadly losing. The entire experience has been an enriching one, and I'm grateful for it.