GRAND LEDGE - Specialist Joe McNeilly is one of the Army's more proficient shooters.

But not in the way you think.

McNeilly, a Grand Ledge High School graduate and serving with Gulf Company 185, is a photographer.

In some cases, McNeilly is the only link a civilian has to a loved one serving overseas.

His job? To capture the life of his company in Iraq.

After spending nearly five months just northwest of Baghdad, McNeilly had just recently returned to Grand Ledge on a two-week leave.

Iraq was the last place the 32-year-old McNeilly saw himself, joining the National Guard one year ago on a whim - after years of photography and computer jobs, and computer consulting.

"The next thing I know I'm deployed. It's totally amazing to think of what's happened in the last year and a half and what I've been able to do and where I've been able to go," he said.

"We're right smack in the middle of everything, rubbing elbows with the people you see on the news every day doing some pretty incredible things."

He trained to work with supplies, but after McNeilly's work on a training video for Fort Benning, it became apparent to those higher up that he was made for a higher calling.

"So they were obviously able to see what I could do with photography, so they pulled me out of my job and all I do is photography now."

Now McNeilly's job is to go out and capture whatever he can of life on the base and elsewhere.

His shots are then taken and posted on the Internet for the viewing pleasure of families of the nearly 200 soldiers in the company.

"I've been getting a lot of positive feedback from the families. Some people are so busy that their schedule doesn't allow them to jump on the Internet ... So they can't do the web cam or call, so we try to get as many pictures as we can so and post them so families and loved ones can see what they are doing over there," said McNeilly.

The Web site has become a tremendous resource, with individual folders for each soldier and a general area where people can see aircraft, what the base and work area looks, the headquarters, and living areas.

McNeilly even shows the huge cockroaches and camel spiders.

He photographs soldiers on missions, working on helicopters - simply spending time with them and getting them doing their jobs.

The company isn't exactly in the heat of the action, but is every bit as integral to the war effort. The soldiers carry passengers, carry ammo and drop off ammo off to the troops, and transport equipment.

One of the more interesting sights he has seen has been the pilots cutting two liter bottles and half and filling them with candy, which they then air mail down to Iraqis working in the fields.

That's hard to catch because you're going so fast anyway, but it is really interesting to see as you are flying through these fields these people who are struggling to find food and work out in the heat to make a living.

They actually stop and jump up the air and watch us go by and wave. You know? You don't ever see that kind of stuff on the news," he said.