The winner in his category did a really good job (immediately above), a little too good if you ask me though :)  I mean, life like looking figures? Soft brushstrokes?  Shadows?  Of course, what really gives it away is the Coloring inside the lines.  We're dealing with a "kid genius" here, folks.  I’d like to know this kid’s opinion on the Economy? Or world peace? 

Dammit, someone get me this kid on the phone, STAT! I need advice on my 401K.

As a fellow military blogger, what can I say about CJ Grisham?  He’s been a friend to me since 2004/2005 when I blogged from Afghanistan and he and I have remained friends ever since.   He has dedicated himself over the years to telling the story of the military from the soldier’s perspective, which says a lot in terms of him as a person.   While many bloggers who launch a site, more often than not will stop writing, CJ has kept up with military blogging year after year after year but ultimately made the decision to shut down his popular military blog A Soldier’s Perspective.  All I can say is that it was disappointing to learn that news not too long ago, and though I don’t know everything firsthand about the circumstances of his situation - I would vouch for my friend anytime. 

If you’re not familiar with CJ’s story, you can read his newest article that’s posted on YouServed which details his situation – and as he puts it, “I feel like I must humble myself and ask for help on my own behalf in this instance.”

In September, my kids brought home a note from their school stating that the school would transition to uniforms beginning in January — midway through the school year. Naturally, this concerned me as the cost for each kid (I have two who would be affected) would be at least $400. A note home to parents assured us that the principal would entertain concerns during the upcoming “uniform fashion show.” However, the principal ended that meeting without answering a question, even though numerous hands were up. After that meeting, I organized parents with concerns and began a letter-writing and phone-calling campaign to members of the school board and media. We succeeded in getting the uniform issue tabled until next year. But parents still weren’t given a voice about whether we even wanted uniforms.

Instead of deal with me and other parents who disagreed with her new policy, the school’s principal began contacting the Army with fictitious complaints that I had threatened her. She pointed to posts on my personal blog about her behavior at the meeting as proof. However, after being referred to military investigators, they concluded that I had never issued any threats through email, blog or otherwise. I collected letters from other parents attesting to my behavior at the meeting.

Unfortunately, the Army took what the principal was saying at face value and formally counseled me. Suddenly, I was a trouble maker after 15 years of honorable service. The Army practically forced me to shut down my blog, though the decision was mine alone and no orders were given to do it.

There’s much more to the story here.

On Monday, Israel announced that they would be forming a new unit in their military – the Internet and New Media Department whose mission is simple:  “create a direct link with international audiences rather than addressing them through the regular media.”  Press TV ran the story:

The plan was presented at the Monday conference alongside another initiative by the Israeli Information and Diaspora Ministry to train people to represent Israel independently on the Internet and other domains.

According to Benayahu, from each group recruited at the Army Spokesman's Office, between 8 to 10 young people who are experts in Web 2.0 — YouTube, Facebook and Twitter — would be identified before training and assigned to the new unit.

This is pretty cool, although I don’t know how the selection/training process will be for new recruits.  We can all agree that IDF soldiers are some of the toughest in the world, but I don’t picture the Internet and New Media Department anything like Delta Force.

I’d imagine the selection/training process involves an intricate game of chess. 

I also heard you need to be at least a Level 70 Night Elf in World of Warcraft to even get a callback.

Read the entire story here.

I’m proud of the index being built here, from spouse blogs to every branch of the military, both U.S. and Foreign.   Veterans, parents and pretty much anyone connected to the military can be found on Milblogging.com – some still writing actively, some not.  It’s important to point out that 2,500 is a miniscule fraction of all the blog and social network sites being run by members of the military community.   We’ve still only scratched the surface of military blogs.  Here’s a look at the website, way back in 2005.

There is much more in store for Milblogging.com and the Milblogging community as a whole.  As far as the website, sometime in the future (no details or dates) we’ll be doing a makeover.   Plus, the Fifth Annual Official Milblog conference will be even more exciting  in 2010 – it’ll be a BLOWOUT as we’ll be celebrating five years of blogging as a community. 

Over the last 4 years, Military.com has been a huge supporter of military blogs, growing the community of writers more and more each year in a wide variety of topics from DoD Buzz to DefenseTech, the Military Fitness blog and even an Entertainment blog.  Spouse Buzz, Ask June, Military Education Blog – the list goes on and on.  We get along real well, like a tight-knit family, and there’s even a soft spot in my heart for The Line of Departure – authored by internationally known journalist Jamie McIntyre who used to work for: CNN. 

“Quick, Op-For Blogger!  Here comes the Big Mac now …” [ducking behind desks]

“Grab the Icy-Hot and Duct Tape.”

If you have questions about what is appropriate or what’s inappropriate to post on Social Networking sites like Twitter, YouTube and Facebook,  the DoD’s new Social Media Hub is setup to answer your questions.  I wrote about the launch of the new website here and here, and the site is still young and light on content, but in the absence of a formal policy being published, it does have sections that might answer your questions.  If you still haven’t seen a copy of the draft policy on Social Media, you can read it over at NextGov.  Here’s an excerpt:

It is DoD policy that:

The Department of Defense shall permit and encourage official use of Internet-based capabilities to leverage their potential while managing risk to build an information advantage for DoD personnel and mission partners.

The establishment of External Official Presences by DoD organizations is permitted with the approval of the appropriate DoD Component Head. Approval signifies that the DoD Component Head concurs with the intended use and has determined that the Internet-based capability has an acceptable level of risk.

External Official Presences are considered public affairs activities. As such, they shall comply with Reference (a) and clearly identify that their content is provided by the Department of Defense. The DoD shall maintain a publicly accessible Internet repository of External Official Presences.

Business transformation, professional networking, education, and other official uses of Internet-based capabilities unrelated to public affairs are permitted. However, because these interactions take place in a public venue, personnel acting in their official capacity shall maintain liaison with public affairs staff to ensure organizational awareness.

Personal, unofficial use of Internet-based capabilities by DoD employees from the NIPRNET is permitted, but users shall not claim representation of the Department or its policies, or those of the U.S. government.

A new video that appeared on the Pentagon Channel this past week has DoD personnel talking about the new website and also about social networking in general.   The video (like most of FNG’s videos dealing with Social Networking), basically tells viewers to use “Common Sense”.   Clearly the Official policy isn’t ready to publish, but just to make sure no one in the DoD community accidentally posts something inappropriate: say like a hidden video of the Greatest Freakout Ever because their Mom cancelled their WarCraft account – they just use a catchall in the meantime. 

Kinda like telling people not to drive with their eyes closed or not to play with poisonous snakes.

In just the last few years, it’s becoming easier to stay connected, especially with all the different options ranging from Web chat and cameras, to Facebook and Twitter, even cell phones.  Trib (a Wyoming online news source) has a story about the Wyoming National Guard and how they stay connected with family and friends.

Cell phones now offer international calling plans. Soldiers post pictures and comments on social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace with ever-better Internet connections on military bases. Web cameras make it possible for families to talk face to face, more or less, over their computers.

The military has approached the use of social networking cautiously. It is studying policies that would allow it to use the fast communication potential of services such as Facebook, MySpace and Twitter without compromising sensitive information or opening its computer systems to hackers.

Soldiers are also trained about what they can and cannot post, as many of them carry cameras, shoot video, blog or use their own personal networking accounts.

I’ve been doing a lot of coverage of DoD and the Social Media these last couple months, while waiting for the Final Policy to be published.  But I’m going out on a limb here and guessing the final policy might not be released until after the New Year.  I was excited back in September after Price Floyd said it would be done and out in a few weeks, but if you do the math, that came and went like a month or so ago.

While I applaud the DoD for putting together a Social Media policy, I’m starting to lose interest. 

Honestly, I’ve been more enthusiastic about eating a bagel.  Plain.

Read the entire story here.

 Happy Thanksgiving everyone!  I’ll be sharing the day with my extended family and most importantly my wife and kids.  So I most likely won't be online, but I'd like to wish everyone a very Happy and a very safe Thanksgiving. 

If you’d like to give thanks to those who give so much – from troops on the frontlines to families on the homefront – feel free to browse the Milblogging site to find and view blogs written by veterans, members from every branch of the Military, spouses and more.

The Federal Times has an Op-Ed by Air Force Gen. Craig McKinley (the chief of the National Guard Bureau) that talks about how he uses Twitter.  The title of the article is even, “Why I tweet…”.

It may surprise some to learn how high up the chain of command interest in social networking sites has risen. Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Adm. Jim Stavridis, commander at U.S. European Command; and Adm. Thad Allen, commandant of the Coast Guard, all were on the bow wave of the tweeting trend. Price Floyd (@PriceFloyd), the principal deputy assistant secretary of Defense for public affairs, has been an outspoken supporter, along with other civilian DoD leaders, of broader use of Internet capabilities for communications.

I asked the help desk technician to sign me up for an account. Today, I am up and running on Twitter, have a great group of followers, and follow many users. It may not be the most powerful tool in my communications arsenal, but it is certainly the most personal and the most enjoyable.

This is another great endorsement for the use of social networking tools by the Military.  I should send him a #FollowFriday shout out this week.  I heard that Adm. Mike Mullen and Gen. McKinley compete to see who can get the most followers on Twitter – and with Gen. McKinley trailing Adm. Mullen by several thousand followers, every shout out can help.

I also hear those two like to battle it out on Facebook over social games like Mafia Wars or YoVille.  For tie-breakers: Bejeweled Blitz. 

I picture them kicking out each other’s network cables or saying distracting things like, “Hey look, The President.”

Ahh, kids. [at heart]

Read the entire story over at FederalTimes.com.  You can follow him @ChiefNGB

If you’re not taking part in Military Monday on Twitter, get over to Twitter each and every Monday and use the hashtag #MilitaryMon and help recognize the troops, families, veterans and supporters through a Tweet.  Even celebrities are in on the action, using their fame for causes that are important to them: like honoring the troops with #MilitaryMon tweets, which hopefully results in more and more people recognizing the military.

Celebrities like Carson Daly and Alyssa Milano are regulars on #MilitaryMon.  They tweet every Monday something to the troops.

I must say though, it would be nice to see more celebrities use their fame to support the troops, like Britney Spears who has nearly 4 million Followers on Twitter.   But I could see why she doesn’t.  In her defense, Britney is said to be devastated after her “It’s Britney” iPhone app got poor reviews.

Plus, I heard her Twitter account got hacked recently, after someone typed "Password" into the "Password" field.  It may have even been Paswerd.  Just saying.

Give her a break, folks.

To get a little more information on the DoD’s stance on Social Media from the DoD themselves (even though the Policy hasn’t been made public), the Social Media Hub is now online and less than a month old.  I can actually access and surf the website even though I didn’t have much luck earlier in the week.  The really cool thing about the site is that it’s full of information, whether you’re a family or a friend of someone in the DoD, deployed or not deployed, the site aims at sharing and explaining information.  The site includes sections on Social Media including videos, games, FAQs, a blog, a directory of DoD social media sites and much more. 

Here’s a snippet from the site:

As a family member or friend of a U.S. servicemember, you have a special role in helping to maintain morale, especially during times of war and deployment. Just like thorough training and proper equipment, the support you provide is a key enabler for the Department of Defense’s mission. Social networks and other online tools can help you maintain this critical contact and communicate in rich, new ways, but you need to stay vigilant with what you do and say online so that this opportunity doesn’t turn into a liability.

Protecting privacy and defending against viruses and unauthorized access are consideration for anyone who goes online.  Your connection to the military means you have extra concerns when you operate on the Web. In this section, you will learn about:

personal communication with your family and friends;
controlling rumors and assisting your community;
appropriate behavior on social networks; and
educating children about online threats.

Although the DoD Policy on Social media still hasn’t been made Public, I think it’s going to be fairly supportive and explain pretty much every scenario you might find yourself in.  Since rumors of a revised policy in the makings, they’ve launched literally hundreds of sites. 

I’m guessing the Policy is going to be in favor of Social Media.  But who knows, it’s hard to tell.  The DoD is so subtle.

(Afghanistan My Last Tour)  From Liisa, SMSgt Rex Temple’s wife:  Rex wanted me to post a quick “Thank You” to the USF Bulls and to his home base at Tampa’s MacDill AFB for adopting the “School Supplies for Afghan Children” project at this Saturday’s football game against Louisville. It’s an honor to have this project be part of the team’s military appreciation game. And I’m thrilled to have Rex’s friend SPC Christopher “Kit” Lowe join us at the game; he’ll be enjoying a few days of leave from Walter Reed Army Medical Center in D.C. and his rigorous physical therapy and recovery training after being wounded in Afghanistan in August.

Read the entire story here which also includes coverage by the press.

The BBC and other news organizations as well as fellow bloggers like Daniel Bennett have more information on Rifleman Andrew Fentiman, a Territorial Army Soldier who was killed earlier this week in Afghanistan.  A blog that Andrew wrote on November 4th is receiving a lot of attention because he writes about waiting on new body armor and helmets. 

God bless Andrew, his family and friends, and his battle buddies. 

In Andrew’s last post, Andrew also wrote about everyday life on the frontlines:

One of the best things out here is that cigarettes are $5 for 200! There is the odd brand I recognise but we will only have access to the local ones when we are in the FOB.

That’s about it for the moment; I will try and send a post every now and then when things are a little more interesting.

PS they made me shave my head and the run through loads of dust with full kit on in the middle of the day – hence the picture!

Regards, RFN Fentiman

With the much-anticipated publishing of the DoD’s Social Media policy, the DoD has been launching its own social media sites online.  Earlier today, I stumbled upon the DoD Social Media Hub (which right now appears to be down).   But by the looks of the Social Media Hub and other online efforts by the DoD, something could be announced soon.

I found the DoD Social Media Hub link through DoD Live in a story titled “How to Stay Cyber Safe, and NetSmart” – which is an interview with Mr. Price Floyd, the principal deputy assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs.   

Among other things, Floyd explained that what you do on these social networking sites can come back to haunt you in one way or another. Passwords can be easily figured out; personal information can be gathered by our adversaries; computer viruses and malware could be transferred, which could risk yours, your families’, and your countries security.

Click here to watch the video of Woody Harrelson and Oren Moverman thanking Military bloggers for their support of the upcoming film The Messenger.

You can clearly hear Woody in the video thank the Milblog Community, but it’s hard to make out what Oren is saying.   I’ll be the first to admit though, I never expected Woody Harrelson to star in such a Dramatic role like this.  But you have to remember, I grew up with him playing the simple-minded Woody Boyd on Cheers.  And one of my favorite movies of all-time: White Men Can’t Jump.  Classic.

I’m just impressed he didn’t start “oohing and aahing” when he saw the camera.  Or start poking at it with his fingers in bewilderment.

Note:  My wife has no clue what I'm talking about when I say "Woody Boyd", cause she’s a few years younger than me and never saw Cheers.  So I explained to her: it would be like watching Joey from Friends, play Russell Crowe in the movie A Beautiful Mind.

Thanks to Maja for the tip.  Seriously, I can’t wait to see the film and from what I’ve read and seen already, Woody Harrelson and Ben Foster give great performances.