A few minutes with Ray Bribiesca

Mr. Bribiesca gesturing about his times in the Middle East to
students at Gaylord College. 

Ray Bribiesca does not mince words. As a veteran of the Vietnam War and a dedicated cameraman for 60 Minutes, he has a grim reality of what his job entails, and how easily it can all be taken away. The journalism students at Gaylord had an opportunity to hear Mr. Bribiesca's stories and ask questions last Monday, the day before he was sent on assignment to Yemen, to capture film and travel one last time with his coworkers at 60 Minutes.

Mr. Bribiesca didn't waste any time at the beginning of the session, merely letting his work show what he does for months at a time: attempt to get the perfect camera shot, while trying not to be riddled with bullets. On the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan, a small, dangerous military base for American troops stands alone in the desert. The men and women who are sent to this area know the dangers of the area, but civilians living in America have no idea how dangerous and terrible this region is for American soldiers. Thanks to the efforts of Ray and his reporter, we saw what terrible conditions these men and women live in. In one scene, while the troops were coming home from trying to help a small village with some repairs, their truck stalled from trying to get over a big rock, and everyone was forced to get out of the car to push it over. Within minutes, the area was surrounded and men from enemy troops started shooting at them. Instead of running for cover, Mr. Bribiesca went out into the line of fire, trying desperately to get the shots that he needed to make the story. He didn't miss a beat. 

·            "Crazy shots are a part of the business.  I wanted to get those shots of the soldier’s faces to make it more personal." 

Mr. Bribiesca talking to the students after viewing one of his
segments on 60 Minutes.

Ray first started taking classes to be a cameraman in Oklahoma City, going to Oklahoma City College to earn his degree. From there, he started working for Channel 9, and eventually landed a job with 60 Minutes. He has traveled all over the world, from taking pictures of caribou coming over the mountains in Alaska (that picture took him 10 years to get) to going to the Middle East and covering the war news there. He has been wounded multiple times, and taken hostage once. It's very clear that this man is tough. 

Mr. Bribiesca is going to Yemen on one last assignment for 60 Minutes, over the troubling problems in Yemen, where many soldiers from the Middle East travel to be trained. While he is cautious, he knows what the job entails and how to twist and turn with every new discovery. Although he is leaving his job now, we can certainly expect him to do amazing things somewhere else. After all, to quote his signature line. "You’re only as good as your last story.”