Jake Wood who blogged from the frontlines of Iraq and Afghanistan, while dealing with sniper fire and hunting I.E.Ds, is now blogging about the relief efforts in Haiti. On January 17th, Jake and his 4 man team began taking medicine and much-needed supplies to the people of Haiti. His web site Jake’s Life, has now become Team Rubicon. You can stay updated on all the good they’re doing by visiting Jake’s blog. Military Blog Blackfive has also been covering their journey since the beginning, posting daily updates including photos and dispatches. Team Rubicon’s efforts have also received attention in the news – including a story by Catholic Online, a Catholic news site that reaches over 100 thousand users per day.
Jake Wood, a remarkable young US Marine military blooger (milblogger) and former University of Wisconsin Badgers football player, has established Team Rubicon for a joint medical relief operation with Jesuits in Port au Prince.
The operation is able to move more swiftly than larger, established aid organizations because it is privately-funded and overcomes three critical blocks in the flow of aid: security, lack of water, and organizational cumbersomeness.
Wood blogged his recent combat experience in Iraq and Afghanistan as Badger Jake at Jake's Life, which has now become the home of Team Rubicon. He also served as a volunteer in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina.
According to Jake’s blog, Team Rubicon is assembling a second team to go to Haiti and they’re in need of: ER doctors, EMTs with pediatric skills. Rally point will be Fayetteville, NC. Click here for more info.
Read the entire Catholic Online story here.
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Admiral Mullen was sworn in as the 17th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on October 1, 2007. He serves as the principal military advisor to the President, the Secretary of Defense, the National Security Council, and the Homeland Security Council.
A native of Los Angeles, he graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1968.
He commanded three ships: the gasoline tanker USS Noxubee (AOG 56), the guided missile destroyer USS Goldsborough (DDG 20), and the guided missile cruiser USS Yorktown (CG 48).
As a Flag Officer, Admiral Mullen commanded Cruiser-Destroyer Group 2, the George Washington Battle Group, and the U.S. 2nd Fleet/NATO Striking Fleet Atlantic.
Ashore he has served in leadership positions at the Naval Academy, in the Navy's Bureau of Personnel, in the Office of the Secretary of Defense and on the Navy Staff. He was the 32nd Vice Chief of Naval Operations from August 2003 to October 2004.
His last operational assignment was as Commander, NATO Joint Force Command Naples/Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Europe.
Admiral Mullen is a graduate of the Advanced Management Program at the Harvard Business School and earned a Master of Science degree in Operations Research from the Naval Postgraduate School.
Prior to becoming Chairman, Admiral Mullen served as the 28th Chief of Naval Operations.
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We have a variety of sponsorships available, several options can be mixed and matched. Our packages can accommodate the smallest of budgets and are constructed so that both large and small organizations can participate. For more information on sponsorships, click here.
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ArtDaily, an online fine art newspaper, has a story about a war photography exhibition being held at the Stellam Holm Gallery in New York. The works being showcased, have also been published in a book called I.E.D.: War in Afghanistan and Iraq and it includes military blogger stories from Doonesbury’s Sandbox. It’s another testimony to military blogs – as the article states, “This 'boots-on-the-ground' testimony adds a powerful voice to the compelling and harrowing photographs constructed by Levinthal.” The photographs aren't of real people, but of tiny miniature Soldiers and figurines.
I.E.D.: War in Afghanistan and Iraq features eighteen color photographs by renowned photographer, David Levinthal, which seek to examine the way in which our society looks at war. The idea for this series was conceived when Levinthal recognized a flood of figurines and models available to the American consumer, depicting the ongoing conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan...
Released by powerHouse Books, the publication, I.E.D.: War in Afghanistan and Iraq, compiles the entirety of Mr. Levinthal's series of photographs. The book features seventy color photographs along with an introduction by the artist. It is accompanied by a series of writings culled by David Stanford, editor of The Sandbox, an online military blog that posts writings from troops deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Though the photographs look stunning, I was slightly disappointed. It doesn't appear as though David Levinthal consulted any military action figure experts (like my 3-year old) before publishing the book.
I mean because, when I glanced at the book online, I didn't see any "Pew! Pew! Pew!...Pew! Pew! Pew!" balloons photoshopped on top of the photos...
Read the entire story here.
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By Andi
Admiral John C. Harvey, Jr. is no stranger to blogging. In addition to authoring his own blog, he's also a contributor at the USNI blog. We're pleased to announce that ADM Harvey will be a featured speaker at the 2010 MilBlog Conference. ADM Harvey will join contemporaries from other branches to address the use of social media by senior military leadership. More on this panel soon.
Our Generals and Admirals are busy folks these days. They have pesky little things to deal with, like wars and natural disasters.... Confirmed speakers on this panel are tentative. They plan to appear unless duty dictates otherwise.
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It’s part of an ongoing distinguished visitor embark program that has been reaching out to community bloggers as a way to communicate U.S. military missions to a whole new audience.
“The Navy recognizes the importance and the reach of social media,” said Capt. Brett Genoble. “Taking out this group of San Diego-based bloggers is a great communications opportunity.”
Read the entire story here.
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It's Official: The "Fifth Annual Milblog Conference and Party" Scheduled for April 9 and 10, 2010, Going to Be the Best Yet!
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"The Charitable Landscape" Panel Announced
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Official Milblog Conference Banner: Now Available for Download
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Registration for Fifth Annual MilBlog Conference & Party NOW OPEN!
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2010 Milblog Conference and Party, Sponsorship Packages
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Ever wonder what Civil War buffs do for fun? A Curator for the National Civil War Museum, based in Harrisburg PA, will live the life of a Civil War soldier on picket duty for 2 weeks starting February 6 at 10:00am through February 20 until 5:00pm. Picket Duty basically means maintaining watch for the enemy. The story is getting press, and Brett Kelly the curator who will be pulling duty, is also going to be tweeting updates according to the news.
Brett Kelley's plans for two weeks in the Union Army include picket duty, 10-mile marches, improving defensive position and taking care of Twitter and YouTube.
It is not the Civil War of the 1860s.
Kelley, curator of collections at the National Civil War Museum in Harrisburg, will serve two full weeks standing guard at the museum in a fund-raising and consciousness-raising activity,
"People say I'm crazy for doing this in February," he says. But then he talks about wearing a wool uniform being produced by a manufacturer of period clothes in Gettysburg. He does not want to emulate the slow-cooking process that drained Civil War combatants in the summer campaigns.
"I'd really be nuts to do this in July," he says.
Kelley will be on duty Feb. 6 to 20 outside the museum, trying to experience life as a Civil War soldier. He will be housed in a wood-floored tent and cook meals in a cast-iron stove.
It’s actually pretty interesting, although, I could think of better things to do for 2 weeks. Normally when I’m really into something I watch a movie or read a book about the subject. But truthfully, that’s only because dressing up like an enchanted mythical creature outside of my apartment, would likely end up in a phone call to the Police by my neighbors.
I anxiously wait the day unicorns are accepted as people, too.
Read the entire story here. You can check out the museum’s web site here.
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American country music artist and American Idol contestant, Kellie Pickler recently packed her bags according to her Twitter account and is off on her third USO Tour. Her first two USO tours in 2007 and 2008 took her to military bases all around the world including Iraq, Germany, Afghanistan, and Kosovo. In addition to participating in USO Tours, she’s trying to bring attention to the USO through microblogging – and hear nearly 200,000 Twitter followers. In her most recent tweet sent on Jan 10th @4:12 PM, she wrote:
Bringing a little piece of home to our service men and woman in Iraq. #USO
And earlier that same morning, she tweeted:
All packed for the Middle East. Lets make #USO a trending topic!! ;)
Seriously, this is a cool story. I think it’s great any time someone uses their fame to support the troops. But Kellie doesn’t seem too interested in following others on Twitter. While she has nearly 200,000 followers, she follows exactly ZERO people back *sniff* (despite repeated requests).
Now I don’t personally know all 73,000 of my Twitter followers, but life without friends can be pretty lonely.
Patting cat on head. “Isn’t that right, Linguini?”
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The Charitable Landscape: Representatives from various troop supporting organizations will examine how the use of social media has changed the way non-profits communicate with their membership, donors and the general public. This panel will discuss the challenges and benefits of social media, and how we can assist in their efforts to support the military community.
Greta Perry – Moderator
Keith Hensley - Wounded Warrior Project
Vivian Greentree - Blue Star Families
Shelle Michaels - Soldiers' Angels
Taylor Kiland - United States Navy Memorial
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A vertical sidebar banner is now available for download as a way to spread the word about the Fifth Annual Milblog Conference Bash. This is the first banner I’ve used on the Milblogging.com site and hopefully more will be added soon. I’m using the banner at the top of the right sidebar. When more banners or buttons are available I’ll make sure to update the Milblog Conference section of Milblogging.com.
On a side note: Another year has passed, and the conference is right around the corner in April. You can keep updated on the goings-on about the huge Conference Bash planned here. Registration and hotel information is also available. I’m sure several of you are gonna point out the banner is pretty big. And because it’s vertical it’s a little difficult to read. But it’s actually freaking awesome if you look at it long enough.
I highly recommend turning your head all the way to the left until your ear touches your elbow. Then hold that position. If you do it for like 5 minutes the banner starts animating and changing colors. Neato.
Download the image here.
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For Legg, a typical day starts off with getting her two boys ready for school. After her six-year-old and four-year-old scoot off, Legg has a few quiet hours to get to work.
Legg writes in her blog, called “9 to 5 to 9” (http://debralegg.com), about a wide range of subjects but focuses on things in her immediate world, like the challenges of raising a 6-year-old with severe food allergies. Legg herself grew up with food allergies ranging from egg pork to seafood, and devotes sections of her blog to product reviews and adapted recipes tested in her own kitchen.
Read the entire story here.
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9/11 The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Pronounced “nine eleven.”
blog A web site for publishing a chronological and ongoing series of related entries, especially when they are all by the same person(s) or on the same topic. Also a productive combining form: blogosphere, blogerati, milblog, blogola.
google Verb meaning “to search the Internet.” Generic form of the trademarked “Google,” the world’s dominant Internet search engine.
green Related to ecological or environmental conservation or protection. Also a productive combining form: greenwashing, green collar, etc.
text Verb: to send a text message via a mobile phone. Noun: such a message.
war on terror A global effort to prevent terror and terrorists.
It would’ve been nice to see Milblog make the list, but it’s not surprising considering I still get puzzling stares when people ask me about milblogs. Who knows, maybe in the next decade it’ll top the list? If it does, I’m really hoping they’ll use the Urban Dictionary definition (see below). Who ever wrote it is my hero.
Military Blog. Weblogs written by military bloggers.
We don't need more sissy reporters at the front. Just tell those pansies in the mainstream media to copy/paste from the milblogs.
I actually tell people this when they ask me what a milblog is.
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The Task Force Mountain website, the official site for news and information from the 10th Mountain Division, gained a lot of attention over the last year after the Commander Major General Mike Oates regularly blogged on the web site. At least year’s Official Milblog Conference held in the D.C. area, Major General Oates even called in from Iraq (you can watch the video here). MG Oates departed Fort Drum in August, but the new commander Major General James Terry picked up right where he left off. By the looks of it, MG Terry is doing everything he can to keep the communication open with soldiers and families. In late November he posted a story titled: Communication – How are we doing? That received nearly 2 dozen comments from readers.
We have a lot of venues for communication and information here: FRGs, the Mountaineer, DrumTV, Channel 13, the Fort Drum and Task Force Mountain websites, etc. But I keep hearing Soldiers and Families don't feel like they are informed of what's going on.
How do you get your information? What is the most effective way for me to get the community the information they need?
While many in the ranks of the DoD are still trying to figure out the best way to use social media, MG Oates has left a lasting impression on the 10th Mountain Division’s new commander – and how they communicate.
Now I’m not saying every General in the Military should become versed in the way of blogging, but it’s great to see participation at all levels. I mean, you’ve got to respect people like the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs and Major Generals who can find the time to blog...
I’m sure nothing brings them more joy than hopping on Facebook or Twitter in between fighting for the free world and running the entire military.
Thanks to my good pal Andi, who has been busy behind the scenes organizing the Fifth Annual Milblog Conference, for the tip.
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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:
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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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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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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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