Today's Milvlog: 2008 Soldier Thanksgiving Day Greetings from the Middle East
Thursday, November 27, 2008, 02:21 PM
[ 1 comment ] | [ 0 trackbacks ] | permalink | Discussion | Digg this | Add to del.icio.us
In the News: A Slain Soldier's Diary Gives Insight Into His Life in Iraq
Thursday, November 27, 2008, 02:19 PM
(ABC News) All "This is Jon's last letter home, received two days after he was killed. 'Dear mom,'"
The letter served as the final words from her 22-year-old son, who died in
But, as
Read the entire story here.
[ Add comment ] | [ 0 trackbacks ] | permalink | Discussion | Digg this | Add to del.icio.us
Upcoming Radio Show To Discuss The Power of the Milblog
Tuesday, November 25, 2008, 04:09 PM
(You Served) A special night and a special show. During this show we will be discussing the "Power of the Milblog" with a round-table consisting of Journalist and blogger Susan Keating, Milblogger and Listen online here this Wednesday, November 26th, at
[ Add comment ] | [ 0 trackbacks ] | permalink | Discussion | Digg this | Add to del.icio.us
In the News - UNSUNG HERO: WWI Artist Private Len Smith Heralded
Tuesday, November 25, 2008, 12:01 AM
(iReport.com) He was no doubt handy with a bayonet and a rifle. But as a young soldier in the First World War, Len Smith's deadliest weapons were his pencil and his pad. In the days before satellite surveillance provided detailed images from the sky, Private Smith would creep behind enemy lines and draw.
His sketches were so accurate they could identify exact enemy numbers, the type of weapons used and the geography of the land ahead.
One of Private Smith's remarkable missions included making a sketch of German positions at Vimy Ridge, subsequently the scene of one of the war's most bloody and strategically significant battles.
He spent four days avoiding mortar shells while drawing, in intricate detail, the entire panoramic section of enemy troop positions.
Read the entire story here.
[ Add comment ] | [ 0 trackbacks ] | permalink | Discussion | Digg this | Add to del.icio.us
In the News: Somalia diary: Arriving on the pirate coast
Monday, November 24, 2008, 11:56 PM
(Telegraph.co.uk) Daallo Airlines, which makes the hop in here from neighbouring Djibouti, lays on a rusting propeller-driven Antonov, flown by a Russian pilot sporting big 1980s sunglasses. Inside, everything except the plywood toilet cubicle is upholstered in leopard skin, making it feel a bit like the aviation equivalent of a Ford Capri.We're off to a port called Boosaaso, in northern Somalia, to do a story about the pirate gangs that are now operating all along the lawless coastline. Earlier this week, they made global headlines by capturing a huge Saudi tanker, the latest in a series of spectacular hijacks.
Our main problem, though, will be ensuring that in covering the story, we don't end up getting hijacked ourselves. Unlike traditional pirates, the Somalis tend not to be interested in a ship's cargo, which is too big to carry away in their small launches – instead, they're after its crew, whom they can spirit back to shore and hold hostage.
That same kidnap risk has now also spread to the mainland, and the handful of Westerners who come here face a certain risk. At least three foreign journalists and aid workers have been kidnapped n Boosaaso in the last year, and while all were eventually released unharmed, I don't fancy joining their number.
Read the entire story here.
[ Add comment ] | [ 0 trackbacks ] | permalink | Discussion | Digg this | Add to del.icio.us
Milblogger's Dilemma: How much information is too much information?
Friday, November 21, 2008, 04:18 PM
(Times Union) So, I have somethings - well, just a certain something - that I want to blog about but Brendan, for the first time, has asked that I not. I told him I was going to write again and he said “oh some nice fluff piece?” with a certain tone attached suggesting that I not go there again. Now I just want to stick my foot up someplace. I don’t like being told (or having it suggested) what I should write about.Read the entire story here.
[ Add comment ] | [ 0 trackbacks ] | permalink | Discussion | Digg this | Add to del.icio.us
Professional Writing Becomes a Reality for Many Military Bloggers
Friday, November 21, 2008, 01:51 PM
More and more military bloggers have plans to turn their experience with blogging into professional writing. Recently, Kaboom reported a book is in the works. Now, military blogger Big Tobacco in a recent post discusses the 2008 Weblog Awards and his thoughts on writing:#1. I may want to make a career out of this writing thing.
#2. If I win this award, people will notice me.
#3. This will either make the chain of command shut me down or I will be mentioned in the media.
#4. Either way, it will help me get an literary agent.
Read the entire story here.
[ 1 comment ] | [ 0 trackbacks ] | permalink | Discussion | Digg this | Add to del.icio.us
Military Bloggers, Friends, Family Connect with Facebook
Thursday, November 20, 2008, 02:42 PM
I signed up this week for a Facebook account, finally. Silly me, I didn't realize how great Facebook is for connecting with friends, bloggers, supporters and family. I know most of you have already signed up so I'm sure you're surprised it took me this long. I probably could've announced I bought my first DVD player, and you probably wouldn't be as shocked. I only have a few friends so here's my link in case you want to add me.
I don't want to sound like I'm begging for friends, but I saw a microwave oven on Facebook with more friends than me.
[ Add comment ] | [ 0 trackbacks ] | permalink | Discussion | Digg this | Add to del.icio.us
Does the Pentagon Read Military Blogs?
Thursday, November 20, 2008, 12:10 PM
(Bouhammer.com) I wonder if they are? I mean if you look back at this blog I wrote, http://bouhammer.com/wordpress/?p=1882 or many of the other ones I wrote on this blog about the strategy and the path to success you will see that many of the things brought up by Mr. Edelman in this story http://www.military.com/news/article/an-afghan-surge-no-sure-winner.html are very similar to some of the things said on here. Granted I don’t think any of these ideas are crystal ball material and in my mind are really plain common sense by anyone that has been on the ground and observant to the geo-political environment and the background and mindset of the local people.Read the entire story here.
[ Add comment ] | [ 0 trackbacks ] | permalink | Discussion | Digg this | Add to del.icio.us
In the News: Grandson Plans to Publish Grandfather's POW Diary
Thursday, November 20, 2008, 10:59 AM
(Mainichi Daily News) A Canadian in Japan is set to publish the prisoner-of-war diary of his late grandfather who served as a British soldier working on the "Death Railway" that Japan built during World War II between Burma and Thailand.The diary was written by Albert Moreton, who became a POW of the Imperial Japanese Army and was sent to work on the railway project. While the project claimed many lives and was known for its harsh work, the diary contains entries such as an instance of kind treatment by an Imperial Japanese Army doctor. Moreton's grandson David, who lives in Japan, is set to publish the English version of the diary in Canada, and is also looking for a Japanese publisher of the translated Japanese version.
Moreton was born in the south of England. In 1942, at the age of 31, he became a POW of the Imperial Japanese Army in Singapore, and was sent to work on the railway.
Read the entire story here.
[ Add comment ] | [ 0 trackbacks ] | permalink | Discussion | Digg this | Add to del.icio.us
Blogger Creates 'Soldiers in the Blogosphere' Site, To Host Interactive Discussion on Military Blogs and Guidelines
Wednesday, November 19, 2008, 10:52 PM
I received an email today from MAJ Jakob Bruhl, who is the webmaster of Soldiers in the Blogosphere. We had exchanged emails earlier in the week after I wanted to learn more about his blog and requested information I could publish and share with my readers. MAJ Jakob Bruhl writes:Soldiers in the Blogosphere was created as part of a research project examining ways that the military can make better use of blogs. The majority of current efforts across the services are focused at using blogs at high levels. For example, the Commander of US Southern Command has a blog discussing current events in his command, the US Army Chief of Engineers has a blog to inform his internal audience of current intiatives and seeking input from them, and the Commander of the US Army Combined Arms Center has created a number of blogs intended to generate discussion among faculty and students on a wide variety of topics. These are all great blogs, and I encourage you to check them out. But something is missing in all of them - the words of more junior service men and women.
The military needs to conduct a thorough examination of how we can make better use of the increasing trend of military members blogging on their own. The Army's policy currently allows blogging (with certain, understandable, security restrictions) but does nothing to actually encourage blogging or make use of the information posted to these milblogs. The author of Soldiers in the Blogosphere, MAJ Jakob Bruhl, is an Army officer currently a student at the Air Command and
Soldiers in the Blogosphere was created as part of this research project and serves as a place for Jake to post his evolving ideas about this subject and, more importantly, get your feedback and ideas. Each week, Jake also has a poll question about use of milblogs, reasons for blogging, or Army policy. One of the benefits of blogs - as many of you already know - is the interactive nature. Jake seeks your interaction in the poll questions and comments about his posts. The discussion generated by your interaction will lead to better ideas. He looks forward to the future dialogue with you on his blog. Who knows, perhaps you will have an idea that will find its way into future Army policy. Thanks in advance for your participation.
You can keep the discussion going over at Soldiers in the Blogosphere.
[ Add comment ] | [ 0 trackbacks ] | permalink | Discussion | Digg this | Add to del.icio.us
In the News: Soldier's diary sends mother on mission of her own
Tuesday, November 18, 2008, 12:05 PM
(KOMO News) The diary of a local corporal killed in Iraq sent his mother on a painful but inspiring journey.The 37 pages helped the mother of Jonathan Santos walk through her son's final days and ultimately led her to an unexpected discovery.
"My brother went off to
But he never did. On
In the days that followed, a large trunk arrived on
But something unexpected caught
"I told my family, 'look at what I found. He kept a journal,'" she said.
Read the entire story here.
[ Add comment ] | [ 0 trackbacks ] | permalink | Discussion | Digg this | Add to del.icio.us
The 2008 Weblog Awards 'Best Military Blog' in Full Swing
Monday, November 17, 2008, 11:42 PM
The 2008 Weblog Awards are officially in full-swing! You can place your nominations for Best Military Blog here. It’s not all that difficult; all you have to do is leave your nomination in the comments section. A-hem, feel free to nominate Milblogging.com. Yeah, I’m shameless. Allow me to explain: we’ve been online since 2005 doing our best to promote military blog awareness and soldier-journalism. We help sponsor each year’s Milbloggies and give away prizes and donations in the name of each year's winner. We work tirelessly to index over 2,000 military blogs. In fact, I some times pull all-nighters chatting with visitors because I love milblogs that much. Even when I was deployed to
Anyway, this completes my shameless appeal for today. Next week - how I once rescued a family of orphan kittens from a burning building.
True story.
High-five to my pal Sherri for the tip!
[ Add comment ] | [ 0 trackbacks ] | permalink | Discussion | Digg this | Add to del.icio.us
In the News - Battlefields and bikes: blogging from the edge
Monday, November 17, 2008, 12:14 PM
(TechRadar UK) "Get yourself set up with a Twitter account. It's a nice, low-cost way of letting people know if you get into trouble or are kidnapped. You can agree on a keyword with friends to use if they need to start mobilising help for you and then you can just text that word when you are in such a situation." That's the advice of Alex Strick van Linschoten. Sounds overly paranoid for everyday blogging, but then again, he's no everyday blogger.
Based in
Read the entire story here.
[ Add comment ] | [ 0 trackbacks ] | permalink | Discussion | Digg this | Add to del.icio.us
Alltop.com Brings Attention to Military News, Blogs
Sunday, November 16, 2008, 08:16 PM
An interesting little story: After I checked in at the Registration desk the day before the 2008 Milblog Conference, my Mother and I met up with Troy of Bouhammer.com. As we were walking towards the Speaker’s Lounge, out from a side door walked Guy Kawasaki. Now, if you're not in-the-know, he’s one of the biggest names on the internet – from helping Apple market the first Macintosh, to launching several successful startups, authoring dozens of books, and even managing his own venture capital firm. As soon as I spotted Guy, I jumped at the opportunity to introduce myself. Guy was friendly and after we chatted for a few minutes we went our separate ways, but somehow we all ended up in the Speaker’s Lounge. I didn't have my Camera, but fortunately Troy did, and we took a few photos together (see here).One of Guy’s ventures is AllTop.com, which could very well compete with Google. And Guy's been working with military bloggers to help promote soldier-journalism since it's launch. Recently, he invited Troy of Bouhammer.com to be published on his Afghanistan News page along other with notable websites like BBC News.
The concept of AllTop.com is awesome, specifically Military.AllTop.com and other related pages such as Afghanistan.AllTop.com and Iraq.AllTop.com.
Meeting Guy Kawasaki in person after all theses years was awe-inspiring. I mean, I was like a foot away from my internet idol and he even shook my hand. And well, as a result, I’m not as productive at work. You know? Typing with one hand and all.
I still haven’t washed it since September.
I pretty much keep it covered in a mitten, shrink-wrap and high-speed tape. Can’t have it exposed to direct contact with air, it’s much too powerful for mere mortals.
I’m just going to sit here now and wait for my wife to spoon feed me. It’s lunchtime. We're having spaghetti...
[ Add comment ] | [ 0 trackbacks ] | permalink | Discussion | Digg this | Add to del.icio.us
Military Spouse Bloggers in the News: Military spouses lean on each other
Sunday, November 16, 2008, 12:52 PM
(TheNewsTribune.com) SpouseBUZZ is a blog run by military.com and designed to help link military spouses. Posts can include anything from funny stories about switching duty stations to changes in laws and military regulations that affect families. The SpouseBUZZ Live tour hoped to link the virtual and real worlds in three cities:
“We’re creating an electronic neighborhood,” said Vince Patton, a retired master chief petty officer in the Coast Guard. He’s also the director of community outreach for military.com and the emcee of the tour stop.
The morning discussion was primarily for spouses to share humorous experiences. Sinbad, a comedian and friend of Patton who was in town performing this weekend at the Emerald Queen Casino, stopped by and cracked jokes for about 10 minutes.
Read the entire story here.
[ Add comment ] | [ 0 trackbacks ] | permalink | Discussion | Digg this | Add to del.icio.us
In the College News: Iraq Soldier Colby Buzzell Blogs on War, Ordered to Stop by Army
Sunday, November 16, 2008, 12:48 PM
(College OTR) "Although Army Public Affairs Spc. Lindy Kyzer told CNN, "We're actually entering an era of transparency, where we need to have our soldiers talk. It does open up risks. Once you post something, you can't get it back. But we trust our soldiers with a lot. They are our best spokespersons. They know what the life of a soldier is like, and it's important to convey that to the American people,” it hardly seems that the Army is doing jumping jacks over soldiers blogging. It’s not exactly “transparency” when soldiers like Buzzell are ordered to stop blogging their experiences when they aren’t just publicizing fraternal camaraderie and good-hearted practical jokes in the barracks..."Read the entire story here.
[ Add comment ] | [ 0 trackbacks ] | permalink | Discussion | Digg this | Add to del.icio.us
Pros and Cons of Military Blogging – What are your thoughts?
Saturday, November 15, 2008, 01:39 PM
MAJ Jakob Bruhl an active duty Army officer currently attending the Air Command and I remember seeing this site earlier in the week when it was submitted to the Milblogging.com database but hadn’t written about it yet. Fortunately my pal from LT Nixon Rants reminded me.
And let me tell you, there are plenty of pros and cons when it comes to military blogging.
Pro: Thanks to the marvels of modern technology, because of blogging I’ve had an opportunity to meet some awesome people who have provided me and my family moral support through my deployments to
As someone who likes attention, I have to admit, I enjoy getting care packages and receiving fan mail. I even have my own t-shirts.
Sometimes, I stare at myself in the mirror.
[ 1 comment ] | [ 0 trackbacks ] | permalink | Discussion | Digg this | Add to del.icio.us
Military Blogs Keep the Mainstream Media Honest
Saturday, November 15, 2008, 12:57 PM
(Wizbang) Maybe a footnote. But that's OK. We all know who and what won the war in For instance, helping the media get it right about the Surge and the Anbar Awakening, which with our help, grew to become the Iraq Awakening and includes Sunni and Shi'a alike (so much for civil war)...
Read the entire story here and check out a clip from Milblogs TV.
[ Add comment ] | [ 0 trackbacks ] | permalink | Discussion | Digg this | Add to del.icio.us
Exclusive: Internet Tips To Attract Website Traffic to your Milblog
Friday, November 14, 2008, 10:41 PM
Ever wonder how to grow traffic to your military blog?Well this morning I asked respected military blogger and my longtime pal, CJ, for some tips on attracting traffic to a military blog. CJ helps write the military blogs A Soldier’s Perspective and You Served, he also runs the website They Have Names, and hosts a weekly Podcast. CJ offers some effective marketing tips, both fun and educational.
Seriously, read his advice below, you'll be amazed at what actually works. CJ’s helped grow traffic to his network of sites from a few dozen to SEVERAL THOUSAND per day.
To keep his stats growing, I figure by next week he'll be shooting himself out of a cannon.
CJ writes:
1) Whore yourself out! There are all kinds of places to get your link posted. Start a Facebook page, a MySpace page, YouTube, Photobucket, Twitter account, etc.
2) Call into radio shows with opinions about military topics as if you were a subject matter expert and introduce yourself as a military blogger. The next question will be, "what is the link to your site?"
3) Get off Blogspot! If you really want a buttload of visits, you have to spend the $4.95 is costs to register a domain name and $5-10 per month to operate. You don't need a lot of space since you can host all your videos on YouTube and photos on Photobucket for free.
4) Fake your virtual death on April Fool's Day. Nothing says site traffic like the thought of a government censorship. However, be prepared for the backlash afterwards!!
5) Keep it real. If the embedded music on your blog is by Milli Vanilli you're on the wrong track. Speak about facts and your personal experiences.
[ Add comment ] | [ 0 trackbacks ] | permalink | Discussion | Digg this | Add to del.icio.us
