War correspondent Michael Yon is profiled in the Los Angeles Times today. The article includes this look behind the scenes of Yon’s latest embed:

When the blogger left Iraq for a break and then tried to return in September, the Army said no. Lt. Col. Steven Boylan wrote to Yon, telling him he had violated his embed agreement, which requires withholding photos of dead and injured soldiers until their family members had been notified.
He also said Yon needed an affiliation with an established news outlet, something Yon had skirted when he first arrived in the country.
By now, however, Yon had a considerable following inside and outside the military.
“Surely we cannot be so stupid as to stop the only person who is reporting that we are making progress and winning in Iraq,” Kurilla, on the mend from his wounds back home, wrote to several other officers in an e-mail. The 24th’s commander added: “Mike Yon is the only one who is helping us win the media war and win over the American public.”

Fortunately the military let Yon return to Iraq, where he was able to cover the most recent elections there. You remember. That thing that happened the day before the whole country became obsessed with wiretapping?