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Military Blogger Michael Yon Handcuffed at Airport, Demands Feds Release Tapes of His Arrest
Wednesday, January 6, 2010, 05:09 PM - News Stories, Milbloggers in the News, Afghanistan Military Bloggers
Michael Yon has been updating his Facebook page about this incident, that's sparking discussions among bloggers and news sites, as to whether he was in the right or the wrong:

Yesterday at 8:50 AM:

“Got arrested at the Seattle airport for refusing to say how much money I make. (The uniformed ones say I was not “arrested”, but they definitely handcuffed me.) Their videos and audios should show that I was polite, but simply refused questions that had nothing to do with national security. Port authority police…eventually came — they were professionals — and rescued me from the border bullies.

Yesterday at 9:03 AM:

When they handcuffed me, I said that no country has ever treated me so badly. Not China. Not Vietnam. Not Afghanistan. Definitely not Singapore or India or Nepal or Germany, not Brunei, not Indonesia, or Malaysia, or Kuwait or Qatar or United Arab Emirates. No county has treated me with the disrespect can that can be expected from our border bullies.

And in his latest Facebook entry about 7 minutes ago, Michael writes:

People are asking if I plan to file a lawsuit against the Federal Government. The answer has been "no" up until recently, when what appears to be a DHS employee made false statements about me on Blackfive. Now it's getting serious. The Feds should release their tapes of my arrest.


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Registration for Fifth Annual MilBlog Conference & Party NOW OPEN!
Tuesday, January 5, 2010, 04:09 PM - 2010 Milblog Conference
Registration for the Fifth Annual MilBlog Conference and Party is now open.  Seating is limited and registrations are on a first-come/first-served basis.  The conference registration fee is $50.00 per person and is non-refundable, but is transferrable.  The fee gives you access to all events:

Friday, April 9, 2010

- Kick-Off Panel
- Opening Night Cocktail Reception (light fare)

Saturday, April 10, 2010


- Pre-Conference Breakfast
- Conference
- Awards Ceremony and Party (full dinner and two drink tickets)

We have reserved a block of rooms at The Westin Arlington Gateway hotel, site of the 2010 MilBlog Conference and Party. The rooms are $150 per night. There are a limited number of rooms and they are on a first-come/first-served basis. You may want to reserve your rooms as soon as possible because the conference will be held during The Cherry Blossom Festival this year, so rooms will fill quickly. To book your rooms under our block rate, click here.

In the coming days and weeks, we will be making announcements re panels, speakers, sponsors and other information regarding the conference, so stay tuned.


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Conference Registration for the Fifth Annual Milblog Conference
Tuesday, January 5, 2010, 03:27 AM - 2010 Milblog Conference
Registration information for the Fifth Annual Milblog Conference will be made available on this web site later today.

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Official Department of Defense Web Poll about Which Social Media Site You Use Most Frequently: What the Heck is a FaceTube?
Monday, January 4, 2010, 03:40 PM

DoD Web Poll results


It’s pretty easy to run a web poll and dismiss bogus nominations (say, for example FaceTube), but your eyes are not deceiving you.  Over the last several weeks the Department of Defense has been running a web poll that’s even featured on the Home Page of Defense.gov.  The poll asked:  What social media site do you use most frequently?  And the official results are finally in...

Facebook took first place.  Other valid social media sites included LinkedIn, Twitter and MySpace.  But obviously somebody out there responsible for conducting the poll isn’t necessarily connected to social media.  At least, if you take a look at the poll results it comes with some surprise to see FaceTube in the list of finalists.  And the North American Subaru Impreza Owners Club website?  I don’t really think of Subaru vehicles when I think “social media”.

So what do you think of the DoD's Web Poll results? Accurate?  Truthful?  High-Five?  Chest Bump?  

Despite the fact there is no such thing as a FaceTube, I’m guessing the webmaster who let the bogus nomination stay in the poll, probably has a sweet nurturing family member (Hi Mom) who still refers to Facebook as FaceTube. 

Nice effort, DoD webmaster. You just made one Mom I know happy who’s saying to herself, “HA! I told him it’s called a FaceTube.”  

In case you’re wondering what a FaceTube really is; according to Urban Dictionary:

Fictional online website a supposedly internet-ignorant person imagines everybody in cyberspace to be on all the time. Always used with "the". Possibly invented by Craig Ferguson. (Obviously, a combination of Facebook and YouTube.)



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Social Media outlets like Twitter and Facebook accelerate Army's ability to communicate says "Old-School" NCO over at Army Live
Sunday, January 3, 2010, 01:28 PM
(Army Live)  Most Soldiers consider me an “old-school” NCO. Besides the fact that I’m already over 50, my adapting to “change” is slower and I resist it tremendously. It’s not the fear of change that makes me resist. It’s the inability to catch on as quickly as my young Soldiers do.

Henceforth, the Social Media “craze” within Public Affairs. I did not see any reason why we needed to go there. As the former CMF 46 Branch Manager, I received numerous emails from Public Affairs Enlisted Soldiers inviting me to places like Facebook, Twitter and other sites.

Each time I cringed and reluctantly said “no.” One day I finally gave in and opened a Facebook account. Within hours I was getting emails requesting my friendship. I had no idea what that meant but I agreed. As the day crept on I continued getting friendship requests and at one point became sort of accepting of this new horizon I had encountered-that is until the following day. The next morning I went to Facebook and there was posting from a female tagged: “here’s a rum and coke in memory of the wonderful times we spent together!” WHAT!! I panicked, looked for the red ABORT button to cancel and within seconds, my Facebook experience ended.

Read the entire story here.   Thanks to CJ for the tip.


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Washington Post Tells the Journey of an Army Widow's Blog
Saturday, January 2, 2010, 02:16 PM - News Stories

Captain Robert Yllescas


Military blogging for some can be one of the toughest things people have ever done.  Not necessarily because of the policies and access to computers, but the story some writers share is so personal.  Dena Yllescas, who I wrote about last year here and here, recently had her journey told by a major Newspaper.   If you’re not familiar with Dena’s story: Dena had started a blog shortly after her husband Captain Robert Yllescas was seriously injured in Afghanistan.  She wanted to share his fight to live with others.  Sadly, Captain Yllescas lost the fight and succumbed to his serious injuries but over the last year, Dena has regularly kept up her blog, writing about her children and sharing personal stories and memories.

Greg Jaffe, a Washington Post Staff writer, published a story earlier this week that told of her personal and online journey.  While it’s a very emotional story, it’s also wonderful in that it might help others coping with loss.

Two days after she learned that a roadside bomb had blown up her husband's Humvee in Afghanistan, Dena Yllescas began typing her first blog post for family in Nebraska.

Her daughters -- ages 7 years and 9 months -- were asleep. Friends, who had rushed over with casseroles and cigarettes, had gone home. The 29-year-old Army wife sat at a laptop computer in her kitchen in Texas and described how her hands had shaken as she listened to an Army captain catalogue her husband's injuries over the phone. "I just wanted him to quit talking," she wrote in the predawn hours of Oct. 31, 2008.

Read the entire story here on The WashPo.  And to visit Dena’s family blog, go here.



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Museum in England Wants to Buy Diary Written and Illustrated by a German Prisoner of War
Saturday, January 2, 2010, 07:28 AM - News Stories

According to the Wiltshire Gazette: "The diary, 56 pages long and written in rhyming German dialect, contains humorous accounts of life in the camp, including the terrible food and how cigarettes were used as currency."


(The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)  Wiltshire Heritage Museum in Devizes has appealed for donations so it can buy a superb diary created by a German prisoner of war held captive in the town.   The soldier, whose name is not known, wrote the exquisitely illustrated diary while held at Le Marchant Camp on London Road between 1944 and 1946.  Some 7,500 prisoners were held there and many were sent out to outlying villages to work on farms.

The diary, 56 pages long and written in rhyming German dialect, contains humorous accounts of life in the camp, including the terrible food and how cigarettes were used as currency.

Read the entire story here.



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2009 Milblogging.com's Memorable Stories: Fallen Military Bloggers, Rise of Twitter, DoD's "Schizophrenic" Social Networking Policy, World's Oldest Known Military Blogger...
Thursday, December 31, 2009, 08:40 AM
I don’t keep track of the most viewed stories on Milblogging.com, so I spent some time going through the Blog Archives of 2009, digging up memorable stories.  There are some sad stories with the loss of military bloggers killed on the frontlines who were remembered and honored across the military community online.  The big stories of 2009 also included the DoD’s policy on social media across the services, the rise of twitter both on the homefront and the frontlines, and much more.  Here’s a look at some of the most memorable stories that I’ve tracked over the past year that involve the military and social media.  Happy New Year!

Military Responds to Milblogger "Silence"; a Message from the Army, 12/23/09

Several Military blogs Go Silent for the Day in Support of CJ Grisham, 12/16/09

Milbloggers In the News: "The rise and fall of a military blogger", 12/09/09

It's Official: The "Fifth Annual Milblog Conference and Party" Scheduled for April 9 and 10, 2010, Going to Be the Best Yet!, 12/06/09

A little milestone for Milblogging.com: 2,500+ Military Blogs Indexed, 11/30/09

Not even a Month Old, The Department of Defense Launches the DoD Social Media Hub, 11/22/09

Prayers for MilBlogger "Concrete Bob", Suffers Serious Heart Attack, 11/20/09

Military Twitter Users Make CNN Tech's Weekly Feature, 11/14/09

Long-Standing Military Blog "A Soldier's Perspective" Shuts Down, 11/09/09

My 10 Favorite Experiences as a Military Blogger, 11/09/09

Harding Distinguished Lecture Features Milblogger Colby Buzzell, 11/05/09

Getting Jiggy With It: The National Guard is Now on Twitter, 10/21/09

What the Media is saying about the Pentagon's Policy on Social Networking, Price Floyd Says a Few More Weeks Before it's Released, 09/30/09

Four years of Milblogging.com, a lot has changed, now there's Twitter, 09/13/09

The Sweet Embrace of Social Media: Federal Computer Week Lists 5 Reasons Why the DoD Should and Shouldn't Embrace Social Media, 09/04/09

Military Blogger Michael Yon Has Embed Cancelled by British Ministry of Defence after Writing Dispatch Titled 'Bad Medicine', 08/24/09

World's Oldest Known Military Blogger, Normandy D Day Vet Solomon Fein Still Blogging Away, 08/08/09

Stars and Stripes Calls the DoD's Policy Towards Sites Like Facebook, Twitter "Social networking schizophrenia" , 08/05/09

Twitter News: U.S. Army Astronaut Col. Tim Kopra First "Soldier" to Tweet from Outer space (and first person from the Space Station), 08/04/09

Danger Room Churns out Updates on Military Social Networking Ban: 'Pentagon Social Media Czar Pushes Web 2.0, Despite Ban Threat', 08/03/09

Breaking News Story from Wired.com's Danger Room: 'Military May Ban Twitter, Facebook as Security Headaches', 07/30/09

Is the Highest Ranking Military Officer on Twitter, Still Actively Tweeting? You Better Believe He Is!, 07/29/09

Roger That: MilitaryTimes.com Writer Jon Anderson Writes Another Social Media Article 'Front-line tweeting tells war's story, in brief', 07/22/09

In the News: Military blocking of Web sites not uniform , 07/16/09

My Favorite Military Support Commercial is Made by Anheuser-Busch, 07/07/09

What's in Store for Military Blog Kaboom?, 06/21/09

No Strings Attached: Navy Hosts 16 Bloggers on USS Nimitz This Past May - VatorNews Has a Great Recap, 06/16/09

U.S. Army Issues Official Press Release Regarding Social Media Standards in CONUS; Twitter, Facebook, and More, 06/12/09

Anonymous Blogger Who Used a Fictitious Name Online is Revealed: Not a Military Blogger, 06/08/09

Carson Daly Deserves Kudos for Supporting the Troops; Plugs #MilitaryMon on His Late Late Night/Early Morning Show, 06/03/09

The Rise of Military Tweeters on the Frontlines, 05/21/09

More Army Twitter Coverage in the News: Army jumps on Twitter bandwagon, tells some personnel to tweet off, 05/13/09

Say Whaaaa? Carson Daly Taking Credit for Starting #MilitaryMonday on Twitter?, 05/11/09

Military Blogger Major General Oates Calls In from Iraq During the 2009 Official Milblog Conference, 04/27/09

Awesome "Stand By Me" Video Being Retweeted in Military Twitter Community (via @SoldiersAngels), 04/21/09

U.S. Army Issues Press Release Officially Announcing Launch of Blog, Facebook page, 04/18/09

Interview with the 'Online and Social Media Division' about the Launch of the Official Blog of the U.S. Army, 04/15/09

Honoring a Fallen Soldier and Military Blogger, PV2 Bryce E. Gautier, 04/14/09

Twitter Poll Calls It: Navy Seals Kill Pirates, Rescue American Hostage, 04/12/09

Honoring a Fallen Soldier, Avid Writer and Military Blogger, Sgt. Christopher P. Abeyta, 03/23/09

SGT Danger Shares Why He's a Military Blogger, 03/21/09

Odd News: Military Blocks Its Own 'YouTube' Knockoff called TroopTube at Several Military Bases (Hilarious), 03/17/09

If You Have a Military Blog, Then You Have a Brand (You Should Register Your Brand On Other Social Media Websites Like Twitter), 03/12/09

Online Interview with Normandy D-Day Veteran and Oldest Known Military Blogger, 86-Year Old Solomon Fein, 02/24/09

Vice Admiral John C. Harvey, Jr. Loves Military Blogs... Not Really. Claims Military Blogs Don't Have Much Value, Lack Facts, 01/29/09

Blogging General Reaches Out to Troops, Blows Off Security Fears, 01/16/09

Milblogger Michael Yon Considers Suing Michael Moore , 01/15/09

Michael Yon, Winner of 'Best Military Blog' at the 2008 Weblog Awards, 01/14/09

Military Blog Conference Moves Back to Washington, D.C. Area, 1/10/09

An Army Wife's Blog Heartbreakingly becomes an Army Widow's Blog, 01/08/09

Israeli army tells foreign journos to blog off
01/02/09


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Military.com's Twitter Page Gets a Fresh New Makeover
Tuesday, December 29, 2009, 06:04 PM - Twitter


Military.com's Twitter page recently got a makeover.   The new Twitter background includes images of men and women in the Military and uses a refreshing blue color throughout the page.  I threw in a shot of their new Twitter page above, in case you’re not on Twitter.  In the past year, a lot of members of the military community have jumped online with Twitter including high-ranking members of the DOD and everyone has their own "look and feel". 

Some might say this isn’t news, but I’m a huge fan of Twitter and I enjoy watching more and more individuals and organizations engage others through the microblogging platform.  Plus, I think Military.com's new design is HOT.  If I ever get around to updating my Twitter page background, I’d probably go with a similar awesome design – except with super-real Unicorns flying over those clouds in the background (top right).  

Unicorns are just smart marketing, folks.  And terrorists hate them much more than A-10s.



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In the News: Dispatches from Helmand offer Insights into the Life of Welsh Soldiers in Afghanistan
Tuesday, December 29, 2009, 04:46 AM - News Stories
(WalesOnline)  Darkness didn’t do Camp Bastion justice.

In the full bright light of morning its sprawling vastness is almost overwhelming. This is a camp that houses 14,500 plus personnel, with air movements that can exceed traffic at Gatwick.

The average daily postal delivery is 300 bags, while the 150 generator sets produce enough power to run a small town. The camp fuel usage per day is enough to drive a Ford Mondeo around the world 35 times.

There seems no end to its impressive dimensions, yet it is surprisingly easy to get used to its extraordinary sights. You walk along the roads passed by convoys of heavily armoured vehicles. Helicopters swirl above you in constant activity. There is a permanent whirr of goings-on – life never stops in the camp that doesn’t sleep.

Read the entire story here.


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DoD Live says, "Think ‘Social’ When Using Social Media" - Reeeeally?
Monday, December 28, 2009, 02:22 PM - Policy, Milblogging/Op Sec Guidelines

Just Do It


When I saw this story pop up on DoD Live, the blog of the Department of Defense that discusses emerging media, I just couldn’t help myself.  It's apparent the DoD has no plans to release their official stance on Social Media anytime soon (or do they?), despite all the hinting and literally dozens if not hundreds of DoD social media sites launched over the last several months.  In the meantime, there are constant reminders and notes being published on how to use social media, most of which seem to explain the best way to use social media is by using “common sense”.   Often, analogies are used to illustrate a point – but yet, nothing in writing which spells out the exact “do’s and don’ts” is online specifically for Social Media. 

In the latest DoD Live Emerging Media story posted last week, the writer Ian Graham quotes Dr. Mark Drapeu (an adjunct professor in the School of Media and Public Affairs at George Washington University):

“Street smarts are more important than book smarts,” he said. “Just do it.”

There’s no better way to say it. While people scramble to find the next big thing or discover the secret key to social media, they ignore the entire point: to be social. Like going to an office mixer or a happy hour, the point is to mingle, to chat with people, to make connections.

As one blog I read recently joked, social media is like starting at a new school – you find the popular kids, start hanging out around them, and try to mimic what they do while adding your two cents – after a while, you’re either a part of the cool crowd, with lots of friends, or you’ve learned you want something different.

The idea, of course, is to create a discussion, to share ideas and to be a part of the network. Many people and organizations have joined social media only to try to deter commenters and stay “above the fray” of web discussion.

“Don’t be stupid. Join the conversation. Provide value. Sharing is caring,” Drapeau said.

I can sometimes be clueless, so analogies really help. 

I’m not exactly sure what the DoD’s stance on social media is, but apparently it’s “like a box of chocolates” and “you never know what you’re gonna get”.  And sometimes it can be “yummy”.  Or something.  True story.


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Reminder: Upcoming Milblog Conference & Party, April 9-10, 2010
Sunday, December 27, 2009, 06:06 PM - 2010 Milblog Conference
As a reminder, more information about the Fifth Annual Milblog Conference will be released over the next few weeks.   As of right now, details about the location, dates/times, and agenda are available here.  If you’d like to be a sponsor, a variety of sponsorships are available.

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In the News: "Diary of a doctor turned soldier details thoughts, experiences during Civil War"
Saturday, December 26, 2009, 05:46 PM - News Stories
(Chicago Tribune)  "I have now been in the capacity of a Soldier one year today, and many and varied experiences have been the scenes, circumstances and vicissitudes of that short period of my life, perhaps there has been more of human nature learned in that year than the balance of my life," Black wrote on Dec. 31, 1862.

Those are sentiments of somber reflection for Black, whose four-year slog through the Civil War as a soldier, then officer, and finally surgeon with his Illinois regiment is meticulously cataloged in a handwritten diary recently acquired by the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library in Springfield. The tattered, cloth-bound diary, one of 122 from Illinois soldiers and officers available to the public in the library's archives, provides a stark firsthand account of war without romance or sentimentality for the era.

Read the entire story here.


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Happy Holidays to our Troops & their Families! Remembering Christmas Past: Civil War Battlefield Dispatches during Holidays
Thursday, December 24, 2009, 07:07 AM

I would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from Milblogging.com!  The Fort Scott Tribune published a story today called “Battlefield Dispatches: Remember Christmas Past”, which contains excerpts of messages from Civil War soldiers dating back to 1861.

Major / Surgeon John H. Brinton, U. S. Vol. Wrote: "during the days preceding Christmas, I received some boxes from home, full of nice comfortable thins & the letter, which came tome at that time, you maybe sure, made me feel HOMESICK! On Christmas night, I left for St. Louis as my teeth were troubling me & [I was] greatly in need of the services of a dentist. I was fortunate in finding a good one & in a day or two the necessary repairs were made." [Note: it must have been a painful Christmas for the Major."

Corporal J. C. Williams, Co. B, 14th Vermont Infantry, December 25, 1862: "This is Christmas & my mind wanders back to that home made lonesome by my absence, while far away from the peace & quietude of civil life to undergo the hardships of the camp & may be the battlefield. I think of the many lives that are endangered & hope that the time will soon come when peace, with its innumerable blessings, shall once more restore our country to happiness & prosperity.'

Capt. Charles w. Porter, Co. A, 3rd Wisconsin Cav., near Cane Hill, Arkansas. "As today is Christmas, our thoughts was naturally turned homeward to our mothers good CHRISTMAS DINNERS of ROAST TURKEY & other nice eatables too numerous to mention here. But we tried to substitute a dinner in my mess by getting up a chicken potpie & warm biscuits & butter and for supper apple dumplings which was sent up to use by our cook William A. Hawes. I think we praised the cook & done our repasts justice. Some of the boys was card playing & other amusements. I spent apportion of the day writing in my journal. Today rainy."

You can read the entire story here.  On a sidenote, I’ll be offline for the next day or two unless I’m able to jum
p on Twitter.



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Military Responds to Milblogger "Silence"; a Message from the Army
Wednesday, December 23, 2009, 06:24 PM
Lindy Kyzer, a Public Affairs Specialist, with the Online and Social Media Division of the U.S. Army, posted a message to Milbloggers yesterday on Army Live (the Official Blog of the U.S. Army) .  The message was in response to Milblogs going “Silent” in support of C.J. Grisham - and in the bigger scheme of things: censorship. 

As a huge fan of milblogs – personally and professionally – I do my best to keep up with issues in the milblogosphere. And to be honest, I have to say I wasn’t aware of huge issues among our bloggers. There has been at least one high profile case, but I haven’t been on the grapevine of information about widespread shut downs of military blogs. From my foxhole, I meet new commanders and leaders in our Army every day who openly embrace milblogging in the ranks. Gone are the days when LTG William Caldwell was one of the few champions of engaging the blogosphere. These days everyone from the Secretary of the Army to battalion and brigade commanders across the field aren’t just supportive of blogging – many of them are blogging themselves.

I absolutely admit that there are still areas, and leaders, where blogging in the ranks is not met with open arms. And most of the issues milbloggers have are with their local command, not a headquarters Army action item. We consider our left and right boundaries when it comes to social media engagement and blogging to be the Uniform Code of Justice and Operations Security. Contrary to some opinion, you don’t avoid UCMJ responsibility when you log into the Internet – you’re responsible for maintaining military standards and decorum even online.

Surprisingly, in all my years of blogging and even when I participated in a Film in Iraq (Bad Voodoo's War), I’ve never been censored by the military.  Frankly, I never write about anything controversial.  I’m just too lazy.  Typically when someone starts talking to me about Politics or the news or the economy or other literally hundreds of other topics you could choose from, I start daydreaming and just nod my head in between the pauses. 

Hold on a minute, my wife is talking to me *nodding head*

Read the entire message here.


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Military Blog Written by Mother, Helps Her Learn about the Military while her Son does the same
Tuesday, December 22, 2009, 05:27 PM - News Stories
The Boston Globe has a wonderful story about Laurie Tishler Mindline who writes a blog about her son’s Military experience.  By writing about her son, Corey - who is currently in Basic Training and learning about the military himself - she is also learning about the military from Class A’s to FTX.   Here’s an excerpt from the Boston Globe.

This son who has grown up on e-mail and text messages now has no computer or cellphone, so he puts pen to paper, the only letters he has written to her since he was a boy at summer camp. The letters are short, a few paragraphs about rifle training and a 10-kilometer march up a hill called Agony. The envelopes holding his words travel an achingly slow path from Kentucky’s Fort Knox to Needham.

She loves his letters and she is proud of her son, proud that he has found the strength to get through these grueling months, proud that he has stuck with his choice. But she is a mother, so she worries.

She worries that he does not get enough to eat. She worries because he has been sick. But mostly, she worries about what will happen after he finishes basic training, and medic training, and gets deployed.

This blog helps Laurie Tishler Mindlin understand her son’s new world. She named the blog after her son, who enlisted two years after he graduated from Needham High School. It is called Corey Mindlin US Army.

Honestly, this is a nice story and all, but this would've been totally un-COOL if my Mom had written a blog for me.  Seriously, folks.  It's basically impossible for my Mom to go five minutes without calling me a nickname like "Chipperdinkle" or reminding me to eat my vegetables.  If she had written a blog for me, it would be just like a Military Blog, except susbtitute "Military" for "My Baby Photo Album"...and I'd imagine her entries would be something like this: 

"And here's my Chipperdinkle in Afghanistan...Wh-where's his hat?!! Sweet Jesus! HE'S GONNA CATCH A COLD!!!"

...Followed up with an email to my Commanding Officer.  

You can check out the blog here and you can read the entire new story here on The Boston Globe.  And if you’re a Mom or Dad, you can search through the Milblogging.com database and view 70 other military blogs written by parents.

Thanks to CJ for the tip.


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The Magic of Twitter: Twitter's Top Trending Topics for 2009 Published, Hashtag #MilitaryMon Doesn't Make the Cut
Monday, December 21, 2009, 12:39 AM - Twitter

Twitter Trending Topics 2009


A Chief Scientist at Twitter recently posted the Top Twitter Trends of 2009 on the Twitter Blog.  Despite all the efforts of the dedicated military community and all the supporters on Twitter, #MilitaryMon didn’t make the 2009 chart.  Of course most don’t tweet the hashtag #MilitaryMon with the goal of seeing it trend, but since I enjoy writing about the Military and Social Media, I was hoping to see the hashtag started by my friend Greta Perry of Kiss My Gumbo somehow crack the chart.  Some theorize that #MilitaryMon hashtag can’t trend due to blocked characters, but trying to get a response from Twitter is near impossible.

Either way, #MilitaryMon has been riding a huge wave of support in 2009.  Already widely used among the Military Community on Twitter, it’s certain to continue expanding across the Twitter universe.  Here’s an excerpt from the Twitter blog, written by
Abdur, who is part of Twitter’s Research Team:

In 2009, Twitter’s Trending Topics helped us understand what was happening around the world showing us that people everywhere can be united in concern around important events; excited about a new movie; or geek-out about a major new technology.

Among all the keywords, hashtags, and phrases that proliferated throughout the year, one topic surfaced repeatedly. Twitter users found the Iranian elections the most engaging topic of the year. The terms #iranelection, Iran and Tehran were all in the top-21 of Trending Topics, and #iranelection finished in a close second behind the regular weekly favorite #musicmonday.


I glanced at the Twitter chart, but didn’t see any U.S. Military trends listed anywhere.  What’s that, G.I. Joe, you say?  That’s a tough call.  Then again, it did showcase the Military’s Accelerator Suit. 

I mean, uh, Op Sec.



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PoliGazette Writes about Military Blog Debate: "blogging work should be celebrated, not censored"
Sunday, December 20, 2009, 05:53 PM - Milbloggers in the News
(PoliGazette)  C.J.’s blogging work should be celebrated, not censored, but that some officers in the military wish to do so is not so surprising.  I’m certain that C.J. Grisham certainly isn’t the first to speak out against a government entity while enlisted.  What is different these days is the reach of the audience.  Before the Internet, the flow of information could be relatively contained to a certain country. But now the advent of the Web, and particularly blogging, have broken down borders that once existed.  Grisham can have his own site, and reach a world wide audience.

I guess I can see why some in the military might have a problem with that.  Perhaps they fear that one of our enemies could use Grisham’s dissent against the government as propaganda in their own region of the world.  Sort of a, “Look, even an American soldier disagrees with his own government.  So why should we listen to America?”

However, the PTA dispute is of a completely different nature.

Read the entire story here.


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The National Guard Web Site Unveils New Design, Social Feel
Saturday, December 19, 2009, 07:48 PM

The National Guard Web site gets a new design!


The National Guard website has a new design.   From the standpoint of a visitor interested in the National Guard, it makes it easy to find information.  Of course, the best aspect of the site is that it has a section called Soldier Journals - which publishes first-hand accounts from National Guard Soldiers, online.  And I’m not just saying that because I love blogs, but it’s helpful for people curious about the Guard to read stories written by Guard members.  The National Guard web site is also tightly integrated with social networking tools like Facebook, YouTube, MySpace, and Twitter.  It’s so interactive you can even live chat online with a soldier. 

I talked to a recruiter in-person when I joined the Guard, but I highly recommend you visit NationalGuard.com to get the 411 beforehand if you’re just searching for information.  The website has tons of info and the Live chat is a really neat feature. 

I’m a big fan of Chat.  When I first met my wife of almost 10 years, we would chat online and I would try impressing her with made up stories of me being a rocket pilot or a professional Salsa dancer.  I always told her the truth a minute or so later, but I was able to do it with a straight-face over messenger.

Once she asked me about a scar on my forehead, and I told her I was bit by a lion at the zoo during a summer internship where I nursed baby lion cubs back to health.   It might have been a mosquito, I dunno.  I have very sensitive skin.  I mean, I still don’t remember.  It all happened so fast.

Check out the Citizen-Soldier Journals here. 

Thanks to my good pal Keith for the tip.



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Verified: Adm. Mike Mullen is THE REAL DEAL on Twitter
Friday, December 18, 2009, 08:24 PM - Twitter

Admiral Mike Mullen on Twitter


If you’ve ever wondered if the person you’re following on Twitter is authentic or just an impersonator, Twitter’s Verified feature helps you know.  Admiral Mike Mullen, the current Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is one of the latest public figures to have their account verified on Twitter – a feature that works to establish authenticity.  If a Twitter account has a blue checkmark above their name, they are the “real deal”.  According to Twitter:

With this feature, you can easily see which accounts we know are 'real' and authentic. That means we've been in contact with the person or entity the account is representing and verified that it is approved. (This does not mean we have verified who, exactly, is writing the tweets.)

We're starting with well-known accounts that have had problems with impersonation or identity confusion. (For example, well-known artists, athletes, actors, public officials, and public agencies). We may verify more accounts in the future, but because of the cost and time required, we're only testing this feature with a small set of folks for the time being. As the test progresses we may be able to expand this test to more accounts over the next several months.

The Verified feature has been available for some time, but I’m glad Twitter actually takes the time to verify accounts.  I was almost 90% certain that @Michael_Mullen was the “real” Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, until he tweeted: 
Feel like I'm getting man flu. Hot whiskey I think”.

You can follow the “real” Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff here @TheJointStaff.



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