(Blackfive.net) Even though spring hasn't officially arrived the snow line is beginning to move up the mountains in Kunar and surrounding provinces in Afghanistan. The Taliban have already begun attacking the KOP, Firebases and Observation Points where elements of the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team from Bamberg and Schweinfurt, Germanicenza, Ily, are deployed. Almost 4,000 Soldiers from 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry (Airborne), 1st Battalion, 503rd Infantry (Airborne) and 1st Squadron, 91st Cavalry were deployed to Kunar and surrounding provinces in Afghanistan in May 2007 for a 15 month rotation. This region of eastern Afghanistan in the Hindu Kush mountains bordering Pakistan has been designated the most dangerous place on earth for military personnel.
Our paratroopers are in the fight of their lives and they need to hear that America loves them.
Please send an email of support to skysoldiers173rd@gmail.com
Or you can mail cards to:
Leta Carruth
P O Box 100
Cordova, TN 38088
Read about the entire support campaign here. And thanks to super military supporter Sherri for the tip.
I had the honor and privilege of serving with troops from the 173rd Airborne for about six weeks during my last deployment to Afghanistan in 2005 and I had some exciting stories to tell in my original milblog “The National Guard Experience” (now defunct). A small detachment of us ran missions with them out of Forward Operating Base Lagman in the southern Zabul province.
I remember how much pride even their Cooks had in their job. When my battle buddy and I asked one of their cooks why every meal was prepared so well , he told us: “We treat every meal like it’s the soldier’s last before they go outside the wire.”
Below is a photo I took while we prepared for an air assault mission back in 2005 with the 173rd Airborne.
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“We are excited to launch Baghdad Bureau and hope it will give readers a more vivid, intimate sense of ordinary life in Iraq, as well as the military and political themes we will continue to explore in our coverage," Foreign Editor Susan Chira said in a statement.
Read the entire story here.
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The Enemy Has Browsers
Other military branches have also been cracking down on a variety of Net activities. Last May, for instance, the U.S. Army issued an order prohibiting soldiers in Iraq from posting to blogs or sending personal e-mail without first clearing the activity with a superior officer.
But the attitude demonstrated by AFNOC and the U.S. Army is not universally held among military personnel. For instance, Lt. Gen. William B. Caldwell IV, a former leader of the American military in Iraq, has noted that modern wars are, at least in part, battles of information and soldiers should be encouraged to help wage that information war on their own.
Many businesses have come to similar conclusions about attempts to prevent employees from reading what customers or competitors are posting. As noted by Susan Katz Keating, an investigative journalist who runs a national security blog, the blogs that are being blocked by the Air Force "are freely available to the enemy."
Read the entire story here.
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Until recently, each major command of the Air Force had some control over what sites their troops could visit, the Air Force Times reports. Then the Air Force Network Operations Center, under the service's new "Cyber Command," took over.
Thanks to my pal Charlie for the tip. If this is the case, I guess I might have to switch up the domain name 'milblogging.com' to something different so Air Force personnel can access this website. I still prefer: UnicornsAreMyFavorite.com. And if Air Force officials decide to block that one, I can always go with: NinjasAreBetterThanPirates.com.
We should be ok. In fact, we should be better than 'ok'. Because I have a never ending supply of these brilliant domain names.
Read the entire story here.
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In fact, I feel more than ever that I will never understand. Although the Milblog has not changed my opinion of the war, it has made me more compassionate to those men and women who serve. Supporting war should not be about supporting an idea or belief. It should be about people, individuals and what they live. In my opinion, I do not have to support the war, or be against it even, to feel compassion and a desire to help those who fight in it. My opinion of a war has nothing to do with it. In the long run, I can hate the fighting for a cause I don’t understand till my dieing day, but it will not make a difference. I am one person, one in millions who either support or do not support the conflict our country is in. Instead, I choose to have a neutral ideal, neither hating or liking the war. But no matter what I will support those people fighting. The Milblog has shown me I can do no less for those people that fight for something I will never understand, but they believe in wholeheartedly.
Read the entire story here.
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This website is going to be super awesome once the folks at Military.com finish with it. Their ideas really can’t be topped. Although, they do plan to leave out one of my brilliant ideas (I must say). But I’m guessing it’s because ninjas really have nothing to do with military blogs. Normally, I’d be pretty disappointed, but I’m still waiting for their feedback about my design that incorporates unicorns and fairy dust.
I’m pretty sure not hearing anything back is a really good sign.
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It's the kind of ludicrous claim one expects to hear from a caller on late night talk radio, not from a potential president of the US. Does Sen. Obama have ANYTHING to back this up?
Read the entire story here.
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Read the entire story and discussion here. By the way, it appears these students are using Doonesbury - The Sandbox – Military Blog for their studies.
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So until I get caught up, go ahead and read through some of the new military blogs added to the database. Which, by the way, is my sly way of saying I don’t really have time to post anything new. Although, maybe next time when I don’t have time to post something, instead of me always calling it “New Milblogs Added”, I’ll just rename the title of the post something like “Ninjas attack FOB in Iraq”. Or, “Soldier adopts Unicorn while on Deployment!”.
Stay tuned for these stories and more.
MilitaryAvenue.com - Our Letters to You, The MilitaryAvenue.com Team, United States, Supporting the Relocation, Travel, and Lifestyle N..., 20 Feb 2008
Navalgazing, Mitja Ng-Baumhackl, United States, Military family blog written by a civilian husband..., 18 Feb 2008
Morning Coffee, Darrell, United States, I am a Retired Navy Chief and as such I may not al..., 18 Feb 2008
Another monday, Melinda, United States, just another busy week, 18 Feb 2008
Chronicles of a modern warrior, John Halbrook (Troy Ruffin), United States, A small town Iowa boy enlists with the Army. Foll..., 18 Feb 2008
ROK Drop, GI Korea, South Korea, The ROK Drop is the top milblog out of South Korea..., 15 Feb 2008
Married to the Military, Mrs. Staff Sergeant, United States, The life and times of an Air Force wife trying to ..., 13 Feb 2008
Navy Pride Blog, Stephanie, United States, All things Navy Pride. Proud to be in the Navy. Pr..., 10 Feb 2008
Soldier 2 Soldier Support, Soldier 2 Soldier Support, United States, Soldier's helping Soldier's with everyday military..., 08 Feb 2008
The New Normal, Streetgang6, Afghanistan, Just another American Citizen-Soldier trying to hu..., 07 Feb 2008
The Navy Wife Life, Battleship Bettie, United States, Personal experiences and insight from a Navy wife ..., 07 Feb 2008
False Motivation, Toy Soldier, Iraq, Reports and random thoughts from Iraq., 06 Feb 2008
Indonesian Military, Indonesianmilitary, Indonesia, Ini adalah blog yang berisi analisis dan berita pe..., 06 Feb 2008
Trigger Man, SSG Kyle Hausmann, Iraq, I happen to be one of these people, through and th..., 05 Feb 2008
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Read the entire story here. I just read about this, so if you have more details on this tragedy, feel free to email me at milblogging@gmail.com.
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The US DoD has developed an ongoing internal dialog (sometimes positive, sometimes contentious — do a google search on the issue for more) with military blogs, especially from sensitive deployments. The upside is milblogs offer a window into the life of a soldier for their family and friends, and can be great source of PR for the military. For example, Gen. Petraeus is a supporter.
Read the entire story here.
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The Soldier, unable to speak but fully aware, "thinks out" the cause of the hearing problem: "Yup. Nine Inch Nails. Worth it!"
Welcome aboard an Air Force aero medical evacuation mission from Iraq to Andrews Air Force Base, Md., as presented in the popular "Doonesbury" strip recently by Garry Trudeau, who incorporated the mission into a story line about a wounded Soldier returning from the war with a traumatic brain injury, or TBI.
Click here for Military.com's Q&A with Garry Trudeau
By many accounts, TBI has emerged as a signature wound of the Iraq war -- not so much from gunshots or even shrapnel from improvised explosive devices, but often from the powerful force of a shock wave created by the IED that can literally rattle the brain.
Read the entire story here.
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I have to say, judging by the material these students are learning, they probably attend Yale. Or Harvard. I mean, if you're reading anything I wrote it's definitely challenging. Particularly, the Golden Rules of Care packages. It’s a complex literary masterpiece. These students obviously will go on to do great things. Living on the street? Unemployed? Licking windows? Who knows?
The sky’s really the limit.
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“The Golden Rules of Care Packages”
This post was very amusing, and even came with a warning label. The author stated upright that his post was going to be a stab at humor, whether everyone got it or not. The warning was well-noted. The author went on to give a list of the things to, and not to, send in a care package for our soldiers overseas. He gave it is such a funny, humors manner that I did not take too much offence, but can easily see where others can. He was rather rude in his attempt, but I believe he just wanted to make a shocking tribute to the rather interesting things that people have sent in care packages. The confusion goes both ways. People who send care packages just want to help, to feel good to help because they cannot or do not want to face the horrors of war. But often such individuals do not know what to send, and resort to the generic brands of household items and puzzle games(the author had a unique view on this…he would rather have the name brands than generics and encourages those who send generics to save their money for “a real house”). What the soldiers may not realize is those are the exact things people who put care packages together are TOLD to pack. My church sends out care packages regularly, and in letters were told to send generic household items and puzzles to help with boredom. it’s a never-ending continuum everyone needs to realize.
Read the entire story here. Make sure to check our Nichole's archives for more entries on exploring milblogs in the classroom.
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The most effective part of the excerpt is the blog from May 4, 2005. He begins going into what his mission was going to be and the reader, at least I did anyway, thinks that he is just going to raid a house and talk about killing some men and that would be about it. However, we soon find out that is not the case when a young soldier begins firing his weapon and we find out that a young boy has been shot in the head and killed. Then it is revealed that there was no real threat from the black truck and the child was killed for no reason. This is heartbreaking, especially to anyone who has a child. Again, Scott-Singley shows his compassion by mentioning how he can still remember that moment to this day, recalling the blood and scattered pieces of skull and talking about how he still cries about the incident. I must say, it is a rather rough piece to read.
The last three blogs of the excerpt are rather interesting to me. Scott-Singley wants to make the reader realize that not every Iraqi is a monster like many of us seem to think. He wants us to realize these people have families, they have friends, they are humans. However, as he points out, we still give them names to “peel away their humanity.” These people are still people, they just happen to be in a terrible place in a terrible time, and we make assumptions about them. I have done it, and I am sure the majority of Americans have done the same, and it is a shame, so I would say Scott-Singley is pretty dead on with his blogs.
Read this entry and more at English 101, Sec 1409 (Group B).
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I wanted to share some personal Valentine's cheer. I opened a box this morning and discovered a heartwarming wonderful gift. My wife and 2 boys sent me a quilt they handmade. It stands 4 feet tall and each square has a different picture or personal message for me.
Honestly, receiving gifts like these from my wife and kids really makes me miss home. But as much as I enjoy these types of gifts, I would rather open a box one day and have my wife and two kids jump out. That would be nice, and definitely a step up from a card.
I imagine though, it would get kinda cramped traveling in a cardboard box and it would probably cause long-term back pain, but it's the price you pay for love.
SHIPPING UPDATE 1: I'm so excited! My wife just sent me an email after reading this and said she's found a box that might work. She's looking at pricing right now. I told her to go with FedEx Nextday service.
SHIPPING UPDATE 2: After my wife talked it over with the kids, apparently my 1-year old and 7-year old refuse to be shipped in a box. Unless of course, they can bring their Xbox 360. So, I guess it's back to the drawing board. This should only be a minor setback.
SHIPPING UPDATE 3: Shipping box development has been in progress for almost 24 hours and already my wife has several boxes ready for testing. She's gonna mail me another test box and I'm gonna let her know how the contents turn out. Only, instead of shipping herself and the 2 kids: she's testing it with a Care Bear doll, Penelope Cruz and some really short guy she met on the street. The first box I received didn't turn out too well. Hopefully she remembers to poke holes in the box this time.
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I don't want to brag, but I will have more insider details on the 2008 Milblog Conference very soon. This year's conference is going to be awesome. I plan to attend if I actually get home in time from Iraq. And hopefully alot of my fellow milbloggers can make it too. Can you imagine all of us in one room? I'm pretty sure within five minutes things would be completely out of control.
CJ of A Soldier’s Perspective would grab the microphone and start making farting noises.
Sean Dustman of Doc in the Box would be snapping photos of people with a trick camera that squirts black ink.
Troy of Bouhammer could drive around one of those little tiny circus cars bumping into people as they mingle.
As soon as the first speaker got up, I'd throw a cream pie at them and hit them right in the face from like 50 feet away. I'm sure they'd be upset, but after like two seconds they'd realize the awesome skill and technique involved and give me a high-five. Maybe even an award.
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The guests included John Donovan, one of America’s leading milbloggers (who was invited to meet President Bush in the White House); Ward Carroll, a retired Navy Commander who flew F-14s and editor of http://www.military.com/; and Charles J. “Jack” Holt, chief of New Media Operations for the Department of Defense. David D. Perlmutter, a professor in the KU School of Journalism & Mass Communications, and author of VISIONS OF WAR and BLOGWARS.
Watch the program here.
Read the entire story here.
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(intel2.0) I am a board member of the Tampa Bay chapter of the National Defense Industry Association (NDIA), and have had many contacts with the defense industry going back 13 years or so to my prior job. Lately, I’ve had many conversations around the topic of social media and the US Dept. of Defense. There’s not a lot published on the topic, but here’s how I categorize where the interest is:
Strategic PR. “From influencing public opinion through new media to designing ‘computer network attack’ weapons, the US military is learning to fight an electronic war. ‘Strategy should be based on the premise that the Department [of Defense] will ‘fight the net’ as it would an enemy weapons system.” (a quote from the 2003 USDOD Information Operations Roadmap).
I’ve been told by some friends inside US Special Operations Command (USSOCCOM) that in the past, the U.S. has taken a beating in the public relations arena. The Pentagon had been traditionally slow to follow up with press releases after a strike or military action, giving our adversaries the opportunity to widely portray the action in the worst possible light and putting Pentagon PR teams on the defensive. However, the Pentagon has gotten a lot smarter, and now major actions are synchronized with public relations activity to help manage the “psychological front” of conflicts. Social media, it seems, is part of this new military PR strategy. Check out “Milblogs in the News: The Internal War Over Blogs” for a quick overview on the topic.
Managing PR Communications. Milblogging.com (an independent military blogging database / search site) reports over 1,600 military-related blogs, and the USDOD maintains a list of notable military bloggers on their defenslink.mil website. Obviously, the surge in blogging and media sharing activity by soliders, in the field and at home, represents a challenge and an opportunity for the USDOD. An opportunity, to manage internal communications and put a human face on U.S. conflicts. A challenge, for the same reasons, and also for the constant threat of critical information leaks that could threaten ongoing operations (check out this Army News Service article about AWRAC activity searching blogs for OPSEC - operations security - violations).
Read the entire story here.
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