Hat tip to Matt Burden over at Blackfive who brought attention to this honorable project.

Daniel Gade, an active duty Army officer, is collecting “Last Letters Home” from those who have returned from combat alive (whether wounded or not) and from the families of those killed in action.

Daniel is putting the letters into a book that will be published and proceeds will go to military charities.

How This Project Started

Before I was deployed to Iraq in 2004, I wrote a letter to my wife, Wendy, to be opened only ‘In the Event of My Death’.  In it, I expressed my love and admiration for her, my gratitude for our life together, and my fondest hopes for her future with our daughter.  In the summer of 2011, while we were moving to West Point, I discovered the letter in a binder and allowed her to read it- her reaction to the letter is where this book idea came from.

I began to contemplate the hundreds of thousands of Soldiers, Marines, and other service members who have written this kind of letter to their families, and the sacrifices of all of those spouses and children during repeated long deployments.  Whether the service member is wounded, killed, or comes home unscathed: he or she has sacrificed greatly, and his or her family has as well.  Too often, these sacrifices are unsung.

The purpose of this book is to honor the sacrifice of our American heroes by letting others see a small portion of their sacrifice.  The book concept is simple: I intend to simply publish 30-50 of these letters with no commentary whatsoever: no politics, no opinion, and no spin.  The letters will stand on their own.

Proceeds will be donated to charities that serve military families.

Daniel Gade

You can find more information at intheeventofmydeath.wordpress.com

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The Army's Social Media Industrial Complex. Considering the heavy female demographic happening on Pinterest, we were surprised to find the U.S. Army had a well-stocked profile, until we checked out the rest of their online goings-on. The Army is all up on the Internet. And, in a very active way -- it doesn't just have social media profiles to have its hand in the future. It has robust profiles on various sites, ranging from the big social media players like Twitter to newbs like Pinterest, each appropriately using the platform as a PR tool. It's really quite impressive for such an established, bureaucratic organization that one would assume would stink at the Web...
(The Atlantic Wire)

Facebook Asking Some Users To Upload Government Issued IDs. Facebook on Thursday began asking certain popular users to upload photos of their government issued identification cards to help the social network test a new accounts verification service, the social network confirmed to TPM.“​The new process enables people to verify their identities by submitting a government issued ID,” a Facebook spokesperson said. Facebook also revealed to TechCrunch, which first broke the news of the new verification process on Wednesday night, that it will “permanently delete” the ID information after the account holder has been verified...
(TPM Idea Lab)

Author explores the truth of war stories (video). He didn't make up the words - the vulgar or the offensive. His job isn't to "sprinkle Ajax over the world we all live in and clean it up for you," author Tim O'Brien warned the audience at the University of Houston-Victoria. "Send guys to war, they come home talking dirty," he said. "You don't like bad language, watch how you vote."
(Victoria Advocate)

Syria arrests prominent blogger, leading activist as crackdown ensues. Prominent Syrian blogger Razan Ghazzawi was arrested on Thursday in Damascus along with rights activist Mazen Darwish and 12 others, opposition figure Loay Hussein told AFP news agency. Darwish heads the Syrian Centre for Media and Freedom of Expression. Hussein said the reason for the arrests was unclear. “At about 2:00 p.m. (1200 GMT), Syrian security forces arrested him [Darwish] along with his wife and an employee,” Hussein said...
(Al Arabiya)

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Here’s an interesting read by Red Bull Rising’s Charlie Sherpa about helping troops and families prepare for the worst when it comes to social media, and that includes how to care for online identities in the event of injury or death.

Soldiers and families should be issued Social Media First-Aid Kits, along with checklists and battle-drills to execute when the Internet explodes in their faces.

After all:

We train soldiers how to react to Improvised Explosive Devices (I.E.D.), sniper fire, and incoming artillery.

We train soldiers basic life-saving procedures: Stop the bleeding, treat for shock, call for evacuation.

We train soldiers to engage newspaper, television, and radio journalists: Tell the truth; avoid operational or classified details; always assume that everything you say will appear in print, or on the air, or on the Internet.

We also increasingly teach soldiers to responsibly exercise their First Amendment rights through online media, to keep within the constraints of operational security ("OPSEC") and good military order and discipline.

We even teach our soldiers and families to prepare for the worst: Write last wills and testaments, document powers-of-attorneys, designate insurance beneficiaries.

No one, however, tells soldiers and families what to do if the Internet blows up in their directions. Take, for example, the recent experience of a young, pregnant, and geographically isolated military wife and blogger, who, along with her U.S. Army recruiter husband, published some controversial statements about the U.S. Army National Guard.

Full story here.

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Book Review: Kaboom: Embracing the Suck in a Savage Little War by Matt Gallagher. Soldiers serving in countries of the Middle East pour out horror and bravery stories, boredom and despair, or mere idle jottings. They push out letters and email; some scribble in diaries, others just brood about their daily lives. A few of them press on and try to write a book; in this case, a brave effort uses a private memoir format with a new twist and style. Kaboom: Embracing the Suck in a Savage Little War by Matt Gallagher pins down the modern-day experience of war and its maze of contradictions - this time in a place named Iraq. Despite political utterances no sharply defined goal drives these regional conflicts, nor does a battle-cry enliven the young troops who risk their lives...
(seattlepi)

War veteran trying to play football at Virginia Tech. An American hero wants to trade his army fatigues for a football jersey, and he wants to do it at Virginia Tech. Daniel Rodriguez is getting a lot of attention on YouTube, Facebook, and now from Coach Frank Beamer. Rodriguez is at a disadvantage because he's 24. But when people hear his life story they can't help but root for him. Daniel Rodriguez wants to play college football so bad he hired a production company to make a recruiting video...
(wdbj7)

‘Stars’ dancer to tell Iraq war story. GALLOWAY – J.R. Martinez, motivational speaker, war hero and 2011 champion on “Dancing with the Stars” will be at Richard Stockton College 4:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 16. Martinez, whose story of bravery and courage following serious wounds suffered in Iraq captivated the nation, will give a presentation and answer questions in Stockton’s Performing Arts Center - M-Wing on the main campus. The event is free to the public, but tickets are required and can be picked up at the Performing Arts Center box office 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Thursday...
(Shore News Today)

Library Digitizes Civil War Diaries from Valley Family. Diaries belonging to a Civil War soldier who witnessed the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln have been digitized and published by UC Merced's Kolligian Library. Henry O. Nightingale was an abolitionist and Union soldier. His diary contains a firsthand account of Lincoln's assassination at Ford's Theatre and chronicles the following day's chaos and sadness that enveloped Washington, D.C. The diaries are available for the public to view online at the Online Archive of California...
(newswise)

Inspired by Hollywood movie, former soldier delves into survival of ‘heroic’ brother-in-law. A D-Day veteran has uncovered the story of his “hero” brother-in-law who survived a fire shell attack which killed his First World War pals. Former Bradford soldier Albert Knapton suffered horrific burns to his entire body in the devastating blast which instantly killed his five-strong team of horsemen, in a scene reminiscent of Hollywood blockbuster War Horse.  Inspired by the film, Royal Navy veteran Ron Bairstow decided to delve into his relative’s history...
(Telegraph & Argus)

Michigan Civil War flags tell story of sacrifice. The bullet holes and blood stains tell the story. “They’re testimony to the sacrifice these men made,” said Matt Van Acker of the 240 battered, bloodied Civil War flags Michigan soldiers once carried into battle — a rare collection Van Acker is determined to save. A key maneuver in that campaign is letting the people of Michigan know the flags exist, and getting them to understand the historical significance of these tattered scraps of colored cloth. Two events this week will advance that cause...
(Lansing State Journal)

The story of an inspiring World War II veteran. World War II veteran Gordon Butler may be the only person who thinks he was lucky to be sent to work forced labour on Hellfire Pass on the Death Railway in Thailand. "I could have been sent to Sandakan, or some other bad place," Gordon told Richard Glover on 702 Drive. "Luckily I'm here because I had a good draw." On February 15, 1942, Gordon was on the ground at the fall of Singapore when Allied forces surrendered to the Japanese. He returned there today for the 70th anniversary of the battle...
(ABC Sydney)

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The winning couple in the 1st Infantry Division's inaugural Best BRO Love Story Contest on Facebook was announced this week.

The winners were Sgt. Anthony and Megan Petrola.

According to the couple's submission on the Best BRO Love Story Facebook page:

"EVERYDAY LOVE: The Petrolas met four years ago in Boston at a social gathering with friends. Megan writes, “Although the way we met is pretty typical the special quality we have is our love for one another and our ability to work together to keep rolling with the everyday punches of life. No matter what has happened in our relationship whether it be family issues, financial struggle, deployments, or training he has always been able to keep that smile on my face; it could be acting goofy or finding a little love note he has hidden in a pair of socks during a deployment. Love is a tricky thing that you have to work at everyday and I plan on working on my love story till the very end of time.”

The announcement was also published on Army.mil by the 1st Inf. Div. Public Affairs.

"With nearly 600 "likes" and more than two dozen notes of support, Sgt. Anthony and Megan Petrola were named the winners of the 1st Infantry Division's inaugural Best BRO Love Story Facebook Contest Jan. 30.

While division public affairs personnel were somewhat surprised by the high number of votes and outpouring of support for the Petrolas, the clear contest victory didn't come as much of a shock to the young couple from Boston -- Megan and Anthony have known their love story is something amazing pretty much since they met Dec. 16, 2007."

Congratulations to the Petrolas!

Image credit: Facebook

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Navy Bomb School Told to Remove Unofficial Motto. The school where bomb technicians from all branches of the U.S. military learn their craft has been ordered to remove the unofficial motto "Initial Success or Total Failure" from its classroom walls. Rear Adm. Michael Tillotson told school leaders this month that the motto could be viewed as disrespectful to the hundreds of Explosive Ordnance Disposal technicians who have died in the line of duty. "The motto itself holds potential insensitivities and implies that our fallen and wounded EOD Warriors have somehow failed," Tillotson, who is based in Norfolk, Va., said in a memo to the Florida school...
(ABC News)

Choosing troops to attend Iraq War dinner no easy task. Over the course of a few days this month, the Pentagon hand-picked 64 troops as stand-ins for the 1.5 million Americans who fought in Iraq to attend a formal White House dinner Feb. 29 officially honoring service and sacrifice in the nine-year war. There were broad-stroke demands by the White House that left senior enlisted officers with each service scrambling on short notice to find just the right soldier, sailor, Airman, Marine or Coast Guardsmen, according to interviews with military leaders Tuesday...
(USAToday)

U.S. Army faces controversy over Afghan base allegedly called 'Aryan'... but blames Nazi name on misspelling. Days after an embarrassing photo scandal showed Marine Corps snipers posing with a logo resembling a notorious Nazi symbol, controversy has erupted for the U.S. Army amid allegations soldiers named a base in Afghanistan 'Combat Outpost Aryan' - a term closely linked to Nazis and white supremacists.  The name of outpost, near Kandahar, was published in a news bulletin from June 2011 on the website of the Army's 170th Infantry Brigade, which is based in Germany and was deployed to Afghanistan...
(Daily Mail)

Marine captain: ‘We don’t know how to supervise anymore’. It has been a rough few months in the public relations department for the Marine Corps. In separate incidents, the Corps has taken hits in the last few months for the hazing-related death of Lance Cpl. Harry Lew, the revelation that Marines in Afghanistan urinated on the corpses of dead Taliban last year and the scout sniper community’s use of the stylized “lighting bolt” SS logo popularized by the notorious Nazi SS organization. Time Magazine’s military blog, Battleland, ties those themes together in a blog post today provocatively titled, “What’s wrong with the Marines?” Some readers will be quick to point out the mainstream media’s alleged hatred for the military, but it’s worth considering where Battleland got its fodder: an active-duty officer...
(Military Times)

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In a video that appeared online earlier this month, Jamie Walden who is serving in the Air Force, has invited Tim Tebow to a military ball that is taking place in April.

As of today, there still has been no response from Tebow's camp.

Part of me is pulling for Walden, if only because I think it’s great for celebrities and sports stars to help bring attention to all our troops.

I even took the liberty of “tebowing” and praying. 

So now I know he has to say yes.

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Here’s a press release from Milspouse.com announcing this year’s 2012 Branch Winners in the 2012 Military Spouse of the Year. Congratulations to the finalists!

The votes have been tallied and the six branch winners of the 2012 Armed Forces Insurance’s Military Spouse of the Year presented by Military Spouse Magazine have been selected. The 2012 branch winners are:

Air Force, Jeremy Hilton of Burke, Virginia
Army, El Brown of Monterey, California
Coast Guard, Jennifer Bassett of Astoria, Oregon
Marine Corps, Stephanie Geraghty of Jacksonville, NC
Navy, Erin Strasburger of Virginia Beach, VA
National Guard, Christine Gilbreath of Crowley, Texas

The finalists for this award were selected through an online vote open to all Americans. Learn more about the individual Branch Winners at http://www.milspouse.com
The final round of voting for the 2012 Military Spouse of the Year will commence on February 14th and end on March 5th after which the overall winner for 2012 will be selected and announced.

“Each of our six branch winners are standout candidates and could easily win the Military Spouse of the Year title,” said Babette Maxwell, Military Spouse magazine founder and executive editor. “All Americans should cast votes for the spouse they feel will best lead the entire military spouse community.” Voters can view the finalists’ profiles and video submissions at http://www.milspouse.com
The overall 2012 Military Spouse of the Year (MSOY) winner will be announced at the fifth annual MSOY Awards Ceremony in Washington, D.C. The ceremony will be held on May 10 at 8th & I, the U.S. Marine Corps’ oldest active post, home of General Amos, Commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps, and the historic site of the Marine Corps’ evening parades.

In 2011, the MSOY Awards were honored by the attendance of Senator Kay Hagan (D-N.C.), Senator Richard Burr (R-N.C.), Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wa.), Medal of Honor Recipient Major Drew Dix and the spouses of all 10 senior officers and senior enlisted in every service branch. 2011 also marked the first year the Gabriel Giffords Award for Courage was announced and will be an annual part of the MSOY Awards ceremony.

The Military Spouse of the Year represents the millions of past and present military spouses who continue to thrive in a wartime environment, dedicate their lives and families to service of a grateful nation and give back to a community in need.

“As America’s warriors have honorably served our nation this past 10 years in deployment after deployment, military spouses have dutifully served here at home,” said Lieutenant General Garry L. Parks (U.S. Marine Corps, Ret.), Chairman of Armed Forces Insurance (AFI). “AFI is delighted to once again sponsor the Military Spouse of the Year Award, which appropriately recognizes both their personal sacrifices and overall contributions to military families and units that span the world.”

You can read the full press release here.

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A gripping panorama: World War II pilot is military museum's 2,000th Veterans Oral History Project subject (with video). Charles P. Evans got a bird’s eye view of Normandy the day before D-Day while on one of 30 harrowing bombing missions he was assigned to during World War II. The 94-year-old Wilton resident recounted those missions and other incredible stories during a fascinating Veterans Oral History Project session at the New York State Military Museum on Lake Avenue. An Army Air Corps pilot, Evans was the 2,000th person interviewed for the program that began 12 years ago...
(Saratogian)

Long-distance couples rely on technology. A military wife-to-be and a country romance, a future preacher's wife and an international bond. These couples are in a variety of relationship situations but despite their differences, they use technology to help maintain their love and remain connected. The continuous changes in technology are redefining the way relationships can work. Increases in online dating and the social media available are just a few ways technology plays a role in the dating scene...
(The Ball State Daily News)

US Seeks to Mine Social Media to Predict Future.  The U.S. government is seeking software that can mine social media to predict everything from future terrorist attacks to foreign uprisings, according to requests posted online by federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies. Hundreds of intelligence analysts already sift overseas Twitter and Facebook posts to track events such as the Arab Spring. But in a formal "request for information" from potential contractors, the FBI recently outlined its desire for a digital tool to scan the entire universe of social media -- more data than humans could ever crunch...
(Military.com)

Daughters tweet support for Zardari. After keeping a low profile on micro-blogging site Twitter for a while, president Asif Ali Zardari's two daughters are out to defend their father at a time when the PPP-led government is facing challenges from the judiciary and the military. Bakhtawar and Aseefa Bhutto-Zardari , who have focused on 'safe' tweets in the past year or so, are back with a bang by saying things such as, "PPP is not a party of cowards" . "People cry over immunity but forget my father spent 11-and-a-half-years in prison without a single conviction," Bakhtawar said in a tweet...
(The Times of India)

Two Officers Counter Bleak Assessment of Afghan War. A week ago, The New York Times (and At War) published pieces about an Army lieutenant colonel, Daniel L. Davis, who felt that the war in Afghanistan was not going well and that senior American military officials were not being honest about it. Lt. Col. Davis’ assertions, detailed in an unclassified report and an essay in Armed Forces Journal , have prompted much debate, pro and con. Below, two special forces officers, one an American who spent last year working with Afghan forces, and the other an Afghan, offer a different view...
(The New York Times)

TacticalGear.com Partners with The Mission Continues. TacticalGear.com has partnered with The Mission Continues, a St. Louis-based nonprofit that challenges post-9/11 veterans to rebuild purpose through community service. The online superstore for tactical gear joined forces with the service organization in order to bring donation opportunities to its customer base, which is comprised of military and public safety professionals.Through the partnership, customers of TacticalGear.com have the ability to make a donation during the checkout process. Customers can select a donation amount with all proceeds going to The Mission Continues...
(PRNewswire)

Jolie’s film about Bosnia touches off deep divisions there.  Angelina Jolie’s new movie — a love story set against the genocide of Bosnia’s war — will be shown in Sarajevo for the first time on Tuesday, but it already has touched off anger left over from the conflict. Muslim Bosniaks have said they expect “In the Land of Blood and Honey” to focus on their plight during the brutal 1992-1995 war. But the distributor in the Serb part of Bosnia said he won’t show it there because it portrays Serbs as the villains and they wouldn’t put up with that...
(The Washington Post)

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LLMW or Veteran Military Wife as she goes by online, has compiled a big list of all the overseas military Facebook support groups and pages in Europe.

The list was posted to her blog Life Lessons of a Military Wife at the end of January and continues to grow.

While the DoD Social Media Hub that I've written about several times is certainly comprehensive, you have to scroll through hundreds of entries to find information and the online database only includes official DoD social media sites. For the military and their families in Europe, LLMW's list makes it easy to find the information you need by country like Germany.

LLMW writes:

I’ve been compiling a list.  It is a list of Facebook groups and pages.  Many of these Facebook support groups and pages I am a member of but not all.  I thought I would take the time to share the ones I know, in case you are headed to Europe or are already here and looking for an opportunity to connect or share information.  It has been amazing to me in just the last six months or so, many of these groups didn’t even exist. 

Through the effort and willingness of these group owners, spouses and military folks (and even some expat Americans and travelers), we are sharing a wealth of information you can’t get anywhere else.  I’ve noticed if you have a question or concern about something, many times, someone else has already addressed it and can point you in the right direction….sometimes within minutes. 

I still remember reading about a young lady who was so frazzled after her car skidded into the ditch on one of our narrow European country roads, her first thought was to post for help on her local military spouse Facebook group page rather than hunting for the local police telephone number.  Or the military wife who absolutely needed an important ingredient from the grocery store to help make her concoction for dinner guests when both the commissary and local stores were closed for the day.  Someone offered the item up almost immediately.  They just happened to have it on-hand at home and were willing to assist.  That’s the kind of thing I’m talking about. 

Without further delay…

Check out the big list here and submit suggestions to help keep the list current.

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VIEWPOINT: Military's Social Media Rules Cross the Line. A recent Army News Service story out of Fort Benning got me thinking. It got me thinking about what liberties soldiers give up to serve their country -- the liberties they willingly yield, and the liberties they shouldn't have to give up no matter what. It seems that if you're a soldier, you aren't free to express your opinions even in the comfort of your own home -- because according to the ARNEWS article, posting the wrong thing on Facebook can get you punished under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Let's be clear here: We're not talking only about posting sensitive material that could violate operational security. Of course that's prohibited, and of course it should be...
(Fort Stewart Patch)

Kim Jong Un still alive: Officials deny Twitter claims that North Korean leader is dead. What do Eddie Murphy, Drake, Scott Baio and now Kin Jung Un have in common? They’ve been prematurely killed off on Twitter.vU.S. military officials have shot down rumors that Kim, the newly installed North Korean leader, was assassinated during a visit to China.vOfficials told CNN.com late Friday that they found no evidence that the "supreme leader" was dead, despite what the unsuspecting masses were busy tweeting...
(NYDailyNews)

In ‘Act of Valor,’ a Secret Military World, Approved for Public Viewing. The film “Act of Valor” in which active-duty members of the Navy Seals more or less play themselves, had its New York City premiere on Thursday and is scheduled to open in nearly 3,000 theaters nationwide on Feb. 24. Rarely has a movie created as much buzz in the military community. The project began in 2007 as a recruiting film for Naval Special Warfare after the Pentagon had ordered special operations across the services to expand their ranks...
(NYTimes)

US Seeks To Mine Social Media To Predict Future. The U.S. government is seeking software that can mine popular social media networking sites to predict everything from future terrorist attacks to foreign uprisings, according to requests posted online by federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies. Hundreds of intelligence analysts already sift overseas Twitter and Facebook posts to track events such as the Arab Spring...
(CBS Washington)

Kenya army is on Twitter, but it’s not sharing much. If you are a journalist, of all the East African armies, Uganda’s is the one you have to like. The Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) loves to either leak or officially provide information — especially if it has won a good victory or wants to demoralise the enemy with propaganda. The Rwanda Defence Forces (RDF) will, typically, set up an efficient information operation and give you lots of material, but it will not be dramatic news. However, it will also establish a good leaking network. The problem is that it will be an arms-length operation, so that it can credibly deny it if necessary...
(The East African)

Scam strikes military family. The Tuscola County Sheriff’s Office issued a warning to residents this week after receiving a report of a fraudulent scam. “Deputy Robinson took a report of an elderly woman in Tuscola County who was scammed out of (a large sum of money),” said Undersheriff Glen Skrent. “She had received a call that her grandson was in jail and she needed to send the money...
(Tuscola Today)

Egypt: SCAF’s love letter to its supporters. CAIRO: Egypt’s Supreme Council for the Armed Forces (SCAF) issued a love letter Sunday to the Egyptian people who did not take part in the general strike Saturday and published it on Facebook. “You great people proved these days and through the ages that you are the teacher and you are our inspiration,” the statement began...
(Bikya Masr)

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By now this story of an Army spouse blogger who goes by the name Catie has been told many times. 

I tweeted about it yesterday and also sent out a newsletter, but I figured I'd post something quick about it here today, being that I served in the National Guard until 2010 and did two deployments, one to Afghanistan in 2004 and another to Iraq in 2007.

If you're not familiar with what happened, a military spouse blogger whose now defunct blog "Army Wife, Army Life" is no longer online, posted a story on her blog called "Stirring the pot..." this past Wednesday.  You can still read her blog through the nifty Google webcache.

And she made some zany claims like:

"The Vermont National Guard is just that, they are State Militia. The Hubs is a federal soldier. The National Guard spouses around here like to refer to themselves as 'Army Wives'. They aren't. I respect their significant others for the things that they do, but they are not, by any stretch of the imagination, soldiers.

 That being said, the Hubs is not a Marine, he is not a Sailor, he is not an Airman. He is a Soldier. A dog is not a cat, it'll never meow."

Talk about insulting. 

I mean, she might as well have said she hates the National Guard and the only thing they’re good for is filling sand bags to prevent flooding.  

It probably would've been nicer. 

What normal person says this stuff? 

If you haven't paid a visit to SpouseBUZZ, make sure to check out the related articles.

Amy Bushatz's story over at SpouseBUZZ that was published on Friday has over 100 comments from spouses, supporters, veterans and soldiers expressing their opinion.  It’s got lots of good commentary and updates.

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Kim Jong-Un Death Rumor Sparks Twitter Frenzy. Rumors of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un’s death took Twitter by storm Friday. The report, which originated on the Chinese microblogging service Weibo, has not been substantiated by any formal press. But that didn’t stop it from going viral on the Internet. “Kim Jong-Un” is currently trending on Twitter and ranks sixth among Friday’s top 10 Google searches...
(Mashable)

1st AFP chief joins Twitter; soldiers not followers yet. Now that he’s getting the hang of it, will he now communicate with his Commander-in-Chief via Twitter? Upon the prodding of his children, the head of the 125,000-strong Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has joined the social networking craze. On Friday, AFP Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Jessie Dellosa opened an account on Twitter...
(Inquirer.net)

The Afghanistan Report the Pentagon Doesn't Want You to Read. Earlier this week, the New York Times’ Scott Shane published a bombshell piece about Lt. Colonel Daniel Davis, a 17-year Army veteran recently returned from a second tour in Afghanistan. According to the Times, the 48-year-old Davis had written an 84-page unclassified report, as well as a classified report, offering his assessment of the decade-long war. That assessment is essentially that the war has been a disaster and the military's top brass has not leveled with the American public about just how badly it’s been going."
(Rolling Stone)

U.S. Air Force May Buy 18,000 Apple IPad2s for Flight Crews. The U.S. Air Force may buy as many as 18,000 iPad2s in what would be one of the military’s biggest orders of computer tablets, accelerating Apple Inc.’s inroads into the federal government. The service’s Air Mobility Command plans to issue a request for proposals to buy between 63 and 18,000 “iPad 2, Brand Name or Equal devices” to lighten the load of flight crews, according to a notice posted on the Federal Business Opportunities website...
(BusinessWeek)

Victim calls fake Iraq War vet scam 'Disgusting'. 11Alive News has brought you many heart warming stories about the generosity shown to wounded war veterans. Unfortunately, this story will probably make your blood boil. It's about a wanted man who is taking advantage of that generosity. Even worse, he's a man who doesn't deserve it.  "This guy needs to be caught and put away for a while 'til he learns his lesson," said Richard Dain of Duluth...
(11alive.com)

Egypt’s military junta Facebook page admin accuses AUC of incitement. The administrator of the official Facebook page of Egypt’s ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) posted a message on Thursday dedicated to the American University in Cairo (AUC), questioning the university about its role in the country. The page questioned that AUC was “one of the tools” used by the American government its security forces “in toppling and destabilizing Egypt.”
(Bikya Masr)

Iran allegedly cuts off Internet access. Iran has cut off access to the Internet, leaving millions of people without email. A source inside the country confirmed this morning that Gmail, Hotmail, and Yahoo email is no longer available. Ditto for Facebook. So far, the government has not made any announcement about the service interruption. But cyber-sophisticated Iranians are still able to circumvent the government by using proxy servers over VPN connections...
(CBS News)

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Notable military blogger Colby Buzzell, who is the author of My War: Killing Time in Iraq and once wrote a highly acclaimed blog from Iraq in the mid-2000s called My War, has published an opinion piece in The Washington Post this past week called, “Don’t throw veterans an Iraq victory parade”.

If you’re a fan of Colby, this piece is very much written in the style of Colby that many have enjoyed over the years.

Here’s an excerpt from the article:

The Iraq war is over. Should we throw a parade?

After all, the Super Bowl champion New York Giants got one this past week, complete with 30 tons of confetti falling from the Manhattan sky.

The event made many wonder whether a similar celebration should be held in honor of our soldiers who served in Iraq. Some veterans groups started asking, hey, wait a minute, where’s our confetti? But the top brass smacked the idea down: “We simply don’t think a national-level parade is appropriate while we continue to have America’s sons and daughters in harm’s way,” said a spokesman for the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

I’m not all that concerned with parades, not in a big city or a small town, at halftime or any other time. What concerns me is the day after the parade, the day after the Sept. 11 anniversary events, the day when the flags are put away and America stops cheering and it’s back to business as usual. That’s what scares me.

Less than 2 percent of Americans serve in the military, and for them, a parade would be just another superficial acknowledgment of a sacrifice that has not been shared and certainly not celebrated.

Full story here.

Thanks to Jennifer Lee for the tip.

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Facebook users receive computer virus over fake WWIII news stories. Has Facebook alerted you to World War III breaking out? The good news is, it's not true. The bad news is you probably now have a computer virus. A fake news page saying "US attacks Iran and Saudi Arabia, the begin (sic) of World War 3" is the latest virus scam to circulate on Facebook. The story uses CNN's logos, and appears to offer video footage of a breaking news story, but says users need to upgrade their Flash video software to watch...
(Herald Sun)

New military chief sends first tweet. MANILA, Philippines—It’s not just celebrities and news personalities who are now using the popular micro-blogging site Twitter, even the new chief of the Armed Forces is tweeting out his thoughts. Armed Forces Chief Lieutenant General Jessie Dellosa opened his Twitter account, @CSAFPDellosa Friday morning. His first tweet read: “This is the official twitter account of the Chief of Staff, AFP. Thank you to the first followers.”
(Inquirer.net)

Social Media Misuse Punishable Under UCMJ. FORT BENNING, Ga. -- Soldiers who use social media must abide by the terms outlined in the Uniform Code of Military Justice. "Commenting, posting or linking to material that violates the UCMJ or basic rules of Soldier conduct is prohibited," said Staff Sgt. Dale Sweetnam of the Online and Social Media Division, Office of the Chief of Public Affairs. "Talking negatively about supervisors or releasing sensitive information is punishable under the UCMJ. It's never appropriate to be disrespectful of superior officers or NCOs, no matter if you're in the company area or posting to Facebook at your desk at home."
(Military.com)

U.S. Marines Photographed With Nazi Symbol in Afghanistan. Ten U.S. Marines were photographed in Afghanistan with a flag bearing a symbol associated with the Nazi SS in World War II, in a case the Marine Corps called a naive mistake. Reports of the incident followed the Internet release last month of a video showing Marines urinating on dead Taliban fighters, a case that brought condemnation from U.S. officials and a military investigation...
(Bloomberg)

Former Khmer Rouge Prisoners Sell Story of Their Lives. The United Nations-backed war crimes tribunal in Cambodia has ordered the Khmer Rouge’s main jailer to spend the rest of his life in prison for crimes it says were “among the worst in recorded history.” The tribunal said Kaing Guek Eav, better known as Duch oversaw a “factory of death” in the 1970’s at the feared Tuol Sleng Prison, where an estimated 14,000 people died...
(Voice of America)

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Troy Steward a military blogger and veteran who has a lot of military experience, is offering up his own personal opinion on the MEDEVAC debate in a story titled, “Why are members of Congress listening to idiots like Mike Yon?”.

“I have been largely silent on the recent topic in the news about arming MEDEVACS and removing the red crosses painted on them. This all started with a self-loving douche named Mike Yon.

Let me be clear, Mike Yon was in the Army. He was in Special Forces for a short-time period. Actually his time in the Army was short. He also killed a man in bar-fight right after earning his Green Beret. Good for him for his short service, at least it was service. Shame on him for bringing embarrassment to the Army for killing a civilian in a bar-fight. He never served in combat, but that is ok. There are many that have never served in combat.

So lets look at these credentials. He knows good military training, from back in the day. He also knows how to take another person’s life, granted not for good or justifiable reasons.”

Full story here.

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There's a Part 2 to the "Where Have All the Milblogs Gone" by military blogger David Marron.

In response to my post yesterday there has been some reaction.

The Armorer believes that “[s]ome of it is fashion - blogging is old hat now, and has been impacted both by ubiquity (gone are our days of 10K+ visits) which lead to niche choices - just like the proliferation of cable channels reduced the no-other-choice artificial numbers of the big TV nets. Social media has changed dramatically, with Facebook and Twitter being much easier to use (and tailor who receives the data) than maintaining a blog.” But he also goes on to say that, “So, many of the more prominent voices... are negative. Even when they are also positive. DoD can't really impact those of us not drawing active duty pay. But they can act on the voices in the sandboxes.”

John Lilyea of This Ain’t Hell writes that “[t]his must be a recent phenomenon, because under the Bush years, it was encouraged.”

But I can’t say that it was encouraged under the Bush Administration because by 2006 the first Social Media policy was released by the Army. At the time Blackfive said in an interview with Fox News, “The regulation was either poorly written or intended to crack down on bloggers…”

Full story here.

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On Navy Warships, the Web Slows to a Crawl. ABOARD THE U.S.S. WASP — This 40,000-ton assault ship can launch deadly sea and air attacks against enemies ashore and afloat. Just don’t expect it to load a website in under three minutes. The big-deck ship is a formidable floating base for sailors and Marines — who had better prefer to stay in limited contact with the outside world in their off-hours. The communications infrastructure onboard is a reminder that the Wasp began its service to the Navy in 1989: the flight control station has a big, black telephone with a big, black spiral cord attached...
(Wired.com)

Pro-military Facebook page falsely claims Ahram Online reporters are 'paid' ElBaradei partisans. A pro-SCAF Facebook page posted a photo of six people sitting at computer screens in a couple of desk partitions, saying they were “paid followers of former presidential hopeful Mohamed ElBaradei, as well as other presidential candidates”. Ahram Online stress the allegation is completely baseless. As a matter of fact, the six people are Ahram Online reporters as the posted photo was taken in the portal’s office over a year ago by the socialist activist and journalist Hossam El-Hamalawy, who used to work for Ahram Online. The photo was taken 2 December 2010, a few hours before Sepp Blatter, FIFA president, announced that Qatar would host the 2022 World Cup...
(Ahram Online)

Sources: HPD questions hired veteran’s war hero story. Houston police thought they hired a war hero to help officers handle troubled vets suffering from post traumatic stress, now sources say the FBI is investigating whether the man ever went to war. KHOU 11 News first met Paul Schroeder in February of last year when we featured him in a story about PTSD, post traumatic stress disorder...
(kbou Houston)

Occupy Afghanistan. In an essay for Armed Forces Journal, Army Lt. Col. Daniel L. Davis writes that after traveling across Afghanistan and speaking with more than 250 soldiers in the field,  “What I saw bore no resemblance to rosy official statements by U.S. military leaders about conditions on the ground.” Further down he continues, “I witnessed the absence of success on virtually every level.” It’s hard to disagree. Davis’s essay comes weeks after the top-secret 2011 National Intelligence Estimate on Afghanistan finds that security gains in the Afghan war are unsustainable, and that pervasive corruption, government incompetence, and militant safe havens in Pakistan have undercut progress...
(Cato @ Liberty)

Egypt bloggers, journalists come under fire in recent clashes. CAIRO: Journalists and bloggers have come under fire in Egypt, the most recent spate of media directed violence and attacks carried out by the country’s security forces. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemned the attacks on media personnel attempting to cover the recent clashes between police and protesters in Egypt, which began last Thursday...
(Bikya Masr)

Media Comment: The future of army radio. Military broadcasting services exist in many countries, and all share the common dilemma of attempting to serve military interests without losing credibility with an audience accustomed to civilian broadcasting. In the UK, there is the British Forces News, with three radio networks broadcasting, at present, to 23 countries and two television channels with satellite broadcasting to 17 countries...
(JPost)

Channel 4 to look at the real story of the War Horses. War Horse: The True Story will show the extraordinary and deeply moving story of the million British horses who served in WWI. The true story is, Channel 4 say, even more epic than the new Spielberg feature film. The documentary will tell the real life stories of the horses as seen through archive footage and rare testimony from World War One veterans who worked with horses. There will also be sequences with experts such as former RSPCA Chief Vet Mark Evans, historian Richard van Emden and British Army expert Dr David Kenyon, combined with the latest historical research...
(ATV Today)

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VIA American Forces Press Service:

WASHINGTON, Feb. 7, 2012 – For 45 minutes yesterday, Pentagon Press Secretary George Little traded a range of 140-character questions and answers with hundreds of users of the online social networking service called Twitter.

Topics included the situation in Syria, Defense Department energy-saving efforts, cooperation between the military services and international development organizations, unmanned aerial vehicles, wounded warriors, tensions with Iran, military benefits for same-sex partners, cyber threats and many more.

“I thoroughly enjoyed the first DOD Twitter town hall,” Little told American Forces Press Service, adding that he appreciated engaging with the “Twitterverse.”

In 2011, Twitter estimated that it had 300 million users worldwide.

“Social media is now an important forum for addressing topics of concern to troops and family members and the American public,” Little said, “so it makes sense to engage not just in traditional formats, but on the Internet.”

Difficult topics can be a challenge on Twitter because of the 140-character limit, the press secretary acknowledged. “But you can do multiple tweets, and you can also point people through Web links to other sources that have more material,” he said.

Little, whose Twitter handle is @PentagonPresSec, said he needed some help to keep the rapid-fire session efficient. “I decided which [questions] to answer,” he said. “I had some colleagues helping me manage the inflow of questions, but the answers were my own.” Participating tweeters marked their questions with the hashtag #AskDOD.

Following is a sampling of Little’s answers to questions posed during the session:

-- @13monsters asks about Libya v. Syria. Each difficult situation, but approaches to dealing with crises must be case-by-case.

-- @BrandiMaples asks about PTSD. #troops screened on redeployment and 3-6 mos after return. Committed to diagnosing & treating.

-- @antman311 asks about unmanned systems and Global Hawk. We will continue to invest in UAVs. Key intel and targeting tool.

-- @moberhoffner asks about #energysecurity. DoD has major efforts underway led by @ASD_Sharon Burke to improve battlefield energy efficiency.

-- @scott__diller asks re: wounded warriors. We do everything possible to support WWs. Visited WWs in Ger on Fri. Many want to return to serve!

After several people asked about DOD energy conservation efforts, Sharon E. Burke, assistant secretary of defense for operational energy plans and programs, leapt in to help.

“@ASD_SharonBurke DOD Energy / DoD energy security means better defense, less risk, lower costs, from geostrat to tactics see @pentagonpressec #askDOD,” she tweeted.

“There were several good questions,” Little said. “They varied widely, but I certainly after this experience see the power of this format. On certain issues you can connect people to other organizations. You can address very briefly a national security issue, and you can dialogue directly with people without filters.”

Little said he may do more Twitter town hall events. Today, a few of the questions from yesterday's town hall are being answered through the @DeptofDefense account on Twitter.

More here.

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The ‘Stan: An officer’s unvarnished view. An Army officer is fed up with “rosy official statements” that paint Afghanistan as a picture of progress, and he is demanding military leaders come clean about the “absence of success on virtually every level.” “How many more men must die in support of a mission that is not succeeding and behind an array of more than seven years of optimistic statements by U.S. senior leaders in Afghanistan?” Lt. Col. Daniel Davis asked in a four-page essay titled “Truth, Lies & Afghanistan: How military leaders have let us down.”
(Army Times)

Pentagon opens ‘Tweet’ offensive in cyberspace. The Pentagon on Monday launched a new campaign — in bursts of 140 characters per message. The Defense Department (@DeptofDefense) held its first Twitter town hall, and the nearly hour-long session addressed questions from “don’t ask, don’t tell” to the Middle East to cyber security...
(Washington Times)

Military to screen all mobile apps. The Ministry of National Defense said Tuesday that it would screen all smartphone applications and renew the blacklist of pro-North Korean or anti-government mobile apps. It will be the first full-scale crackdown by military authorities on smartphone programs. The ministry said it would base its list on the Korea Telecommunications Commission’s guidelines...
(Korea Herald)

FRYE: Complaining on social media sites fails to incite real political change. It's not like they haven't had things to be upset about. This past year, we saw the American government nearly collapse during the budget debate, and the deficit talks over the summer left much to be desired. Occupy Wall Street burst onto the scene in the fall...
(Daily Nebraskan)

Last Briton to serve in WWI dies at 110. Florence Green never saw the front line. Her war was spent serving food, not dodging bullets. But Green, who has died aged 110, was the last known surviving veteran of World War I. She was serving with the Women's Royal Air Force as a waitress at an air base in eastern England when the guns fell silent on Nov. 11, 1918...
(USA Today)

Military museum seeks hundreds of stolen wartime relics. Many were relics paid for with the blood of Canadian veterans: hundreds of medals and other military artifacts stolen from a Calgary war museum and sold for profit. Although a recent police investigation recovered some of relics stolen from the Military Museums of Calgary, most of nearly 600 items stolen from its collection have not been found...
(Calgary Herald)

Facebook Reunites High School Sweethearts After 43 Years. An Ashland City couple has credited Facebook with a reunion more than 40 years in the making.  David and Jeanne Boyd were high school sweethearts in the 1960s. "She was the prettiest girl on the dance floor," David said about the day they met.  "And I said oh, that's my girl."
(News Channel 5)

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