Staff Sergeant Treen

Globe-hopping Seattle photojournalist Jake Warga has produced a first-rate series of short pieces. After megatons have been said about Iraq, Warga “tells it like it is,” but in such fresh, appealing ways that you’ll want to pore over his series like a June wedding gift.

Now that Afghanistan is our major killing field, Iraq has been pacified to the extent that Warga’s portraits of GIs are free to deploy covert activities all their—and Warga’s—own. His secret is the way he focuses on enlisted men and one enlisted woman’s favorite music. From the gospel hymns Staff Sergeant Ike Richardson belts out; to the dulcet harmonies of singer Blake Shelton, which Sergeant Crystal Halbert favors; to Pittsburgh native Sergeant Adam Treen’s preference for Barbra Streisand’s “Send in the Clowns,” Warga’s pieces are well worth hearing, with great music to back up their unscripted monologues spoken by soldiers on active duty.

That Sergeant Treen chooses “Send in the Clowns” is ironic, considering that the U.S. armed forces may be seen as “clowns” who’ve been brought in to resolve Iraq’s far-from-funny challenges. Still, Streisand’s song is more than sardonic; it’s poignant in context, not least because of its haunting melodies and Streisand’s stellar performance.

At under forty years of age, Jake Warga is one of the most promising, accomplished young producers on the public radio scene. If you don’t believe me, listen up—and, if possible, license—his latest series of forget-me-nots.