Readers of Defense.gov, the official DoD web site, may have noticed an article that appeared on the News page earlier titled "Social Media Shapes Markets, the Military and Life".  The article touts the use of social media by the DoD, which now maintains thousands of Facebook pages, Twitter and YouTube accounts, blogs and much more in the way of social media and networking.

Still skeptical about the DOD jumping on the social media bandwagon? 

Though the DoD was certainly slow to adopt social media just a couple years ago, that has rapidly changed in the past year. 

As the author of the story writes: "So to think that the Department of Defense is timid about the use of social media -- think again."

The story delves into the power of social media, particularly Facebook, and discusses milestones within the DoD, including the DoD's new policy on Social Media which was introduced in 2010, as well as the Social Media Hub which requires official DoD organizations running social media websites to register their web site with the DoD’s social media registry.

Even though the new DoD social media policy does not require organizations to use social media, it has an entire hub dedicated to social media. The U.S. Army alone has hundreds of official Facebook pages registered. Thousands more comprise the collection of Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines pages, mostly Facebook, Twitter and Flickr pages that are listed on the online registry.

Social media is so pervasive now that the DoD are marching to this new drum to make sure its voice is heard. USAG Schinnen's Facebook and Twitter page are open for business and is posted on the DoD registry. Just google "USAG Schinnen, Facebook" or "USAG Schinnen, Twitter" to find them and become a 'fan' or to 'follow' them. JFC Brunssum's Community Activity Section is also on Facebook.

Ever hope to serve next to someone who threatens to kill a bunch of college kids? Me neither.   

So basically Zachary Lambert posts a harassing Facebook message that essentially says he’ll kill more people than the Virginia Tech shooter (which leads to a campus lockdown in Alabama) and the judge orders him to join the Army as punishment.

While some people would argue that the military isn’t for everyone, I actually know hundreds of people who I have personally served with in Afghanistan and Iraq that absolutely love the military; men and women who have voluntarily joined because they want to serve their country, not because they were ordered too.

Listen, I’m all for having this guy join the military to better himself, if it means he’ll be the one cleaning toilets for his job specialty. 

But if you ask me, the whole situation is a bit insulting.  

You can read more here.

I received an email this week from Brian of the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia.  The Constitution Center is presenting an upcoming exhibition called Art of the American Soldier, being held September 24, 2010 - January 10, 2011.

The exhibition features artwork created by American Soldiers who served on the front lines and there’s even a gallery available online right now that allows you a sneak peek at frontline artwork over the past 100 years, spanning multiple wars.

If you served in a time of war and painted or sketched any part of your experience, you can even submit your own work online.

This exhibition looks to be amazing, and if you’re on the East coast, this is definitely an event worth attending. 

Here's some more information from the web site:

More than 15,000 paintings and sketches created by over 1,300 American soldiers in the line of duty have been in curatorial storage in  Washington, D.C. for decades, seldom made available for public viewing.  Art of the American Soldier will bring these powerful works of art into the spotlight at the National Constitution Center from September 24, 2010 through January 10, 2011.  The exhibition, featuring a never-before-seen collection, was created by the Center in partnership with the U.S. Army Center of Military History and the National Museum of the United States Army.

H/T: Brian.

The military blogger community continues to grow with the addition of a new, up and coming blogger:  Flying O. 

Flying O is a USAF Flight Nurse based in Kadena AB, Okinawa, who is deploying to Afghanistan soon. Flying O, who goes by an online name that describes her role in the military, is also a wife and mother of five kids according to the bio on her blogspot blog.

She's also seen 11% of the world, and has traveled to 33 countries, including support of OIF, OEF, and Northern and Southern Watch. One of her proudest responsibilities in the military she writes: "I love to fly and take care of Wounder Warriors, the bravest of the brave."

And now, she's inviting readers to follow her on her journey to Afghanistan. 

On August 22, she wrote:

In the beginning.....there was a Flight Nurse.  She decided to document her journey.  A small section of her life but a big part of others.  Maybe others will want to know as well.  Whatever comes, it will all be here in cyberspace.  On virtual paper and in my virtual and tangible mind as well.  This journey will be novel in some ways and repetitive in others.  The wounds may be the same but the patients, my troops, and the experiences will not be. 

You can keep updated with Flying-O's story on blogspot.

Military blogger Paul Holton (aka Chief Wiggles within in the online community) who became the first interrogator to publish a book based on his experience and his original blog from Iraq – is back in Iraq, and he’s blogging once again.

If you recall, The Military Writer’s Society of America recognized Paul Holton with their “Humanitarian Award for 2005” for his blog turned book: “Saving Babylon: The Heart of an Army Interrogator in Iraq.”

In addition to blogging, Chief Wiggles also runs Operative Give.

The mission of Operation Give is to bring hope and solutions to the deprived and disconnected people of the world, in many cases where the U.S. military operates. We will provide assistance to the U.S. Military men and women in winning the hearts and minds of the people in these regions where the military is serving, in order to ease their suffering, and prepare them for a brighter future.

Hat Tip to Elaine over at Operation Give.  Earlier this week, she alerted me that Chief Wiggles was headed back to Iraq.  He currently posts on the Operation Give blog, but Elaine has been busy setting up a separate WordPress blog so you’ll be able to follow his journey on ChiefWigglesBlog.com. 

If you know of anyone that is currently blogging from Iraq, please contact me at milblogging@gmail.com

Army Pfc. Paul O. Cuzzupe II was killed August 8, 2010 while serving in Afghanistan.  Cuzzupe, who was assigned to the 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment, died after suffering injuries in Akhtar-Mohammad-Khan when his unit came under attack with an improvised explosive device.

Cuzzupe occasionally posted blog entries on his MySpace page.  In his final entry titled "First Thanksgiving away from home" dated November 25, 2009, Paul wrote:

I have never spent and Thanksgiving away from home. It is weird how I am actually not going to be doing anything tomorrow on my favorite holiday. Life when you are training in the Army is boring to say the least. I had this grand vision that I would always be doing soething, but that is not the case, not yet anyway. It will pick up greatly when I leave AIT to go to my duty station. From there I have no idea what is in store for me, but I am sure that I will get to see the shit that has had our country bogged down for the last 8 years. I find myslef not scared, just trying to be mentally prepared. I have faith in my skills and my ability to do my job. I ve always thought that I would carry on the tradition in my family being in the Army. It is my turn. I only hope that my father and grandfather are looking down me and watching me. I feel their presence quite frequently and I know that the will be with me always, especially when times get tough.

God bless Paul for his courage and sacrifice.  My thoughts and condolences go out to all his family and friends. 

The St. Petersburg Times based in Tampa, has more information about Paul, his family and the military style procession he received after his body arrived in Tampa.

Military personnel, law enforcement officers, strangers and friends saluted the white hearse as it passed. Car dealerships and restaurants on S.R. 60 hung their flags at half-staff.

You can read the full story here.

Congratulations to SSG Jack who writes the Military Blog Texas Music.  He's returning home. On August 11, he posted a story from Camp Virginia, a transient camp where he spent his last few days before flying home. 

Jack arrived in Iraq in December 2009 after being mobilized with the Texas National Guard in September. 

Here's an excerpt from his most recent post:

I just spent the last three hours, literally three freaking hours, uploading a mess of pictures from our time in Iraq. I painstakingly went through and edited out all name tapes, access badges and the like, then went through and arranged them in chronological and subject matter order, then loaded them. It took three hours because the connection here is slow. And after all that, inexplicably, they didn't load. So no pictures for you. Sorry.

So that's what's up with me. Standing by to stand by.

For the last year, the number of military bloggers in Iraq has been diminishing and with the September 1 deadline for withdrawing combat troops from Iraq, that means finding military bloggers in Iraq is going to be even harder. 

Keep in mind, there will still be 50,000 troops even after September -- so there will be more blogs written, more messages tweeted, and more in the way of soldier-journalism and social media, just not as much as in the past.

At one point, the number of military blogs written from Iraq greatly outnumbered the number of the military blogs written from Afghanistan.  When I first blogged in 2004/2005, a USA Today reporter who contacted me for a story called Milbloggers Typing their place into History, told me he had a very hard time tracking down any bloggers from Afghanistan where I was deployed at the time.  Iraq, was a different story. 

That has certainly been changing over the years....

If you have a tip on troops blogging from Iraq, please drop me a line: Milblogging@gmail.com

The Twitter world is buzzing with the news of North Korea tweeting @uriminzokkiri.  Location: PYONGYANG.  The feed according to The Hill, links to speeches by North Korean premier Kim Jong-il. 

North Korea has nearly 3,000 followers.  Not including myself.  Of course, I'm a sucker for people to follow me back.  But as tempting as it is, @uriminzokkiri follows exactly 0 people back.

You can read more over at The Hill.

By now you have heard about the attack on the group of aid workers in Afghanistan that left 10 dead.   It’s been front-page news since August 5th, when the group was ambushed returning from a medical mission after traveling through the Hindu Kush mountains.  Dr. Karen Woo, one of the aid workers killed in the attack, also blogged for Bridge Afghanistan, a group with members in Afghanistan and Europe. 

The group's slogan: “Doing Something is better than nothing”. 

While Bridge Afghanistan isn’t a military blog, it is a blog written from the frontlines.  You can read the Bridge Afghanistan blog at (bridgeafghanistan.blogspot.com). 

In an AP Exclusive, the last moments were detailed in a story just released 1 hour ago.  This is an excerpt from the story:

The first sign of danger was the crackle of gunfire over their heads. Ten gunmen, their faces covered, rushed toward terrified humanitarian workers and began shouting "Satellite! Satellite!" — a demand to surrender their phones.

Moments later, 10 of them lay dead, including two women hiding in the back seat of a car the attackers hit with a grenade, according to an Afghan official familiar with the account the sole survivor gave police.

It is the first detailed narrative of the slaying of six Americans, two Afghans, one German and a Briton on Aug. 5 in remote northern Afghanistan. They were ambushed and shot Aug. 5 after journeying about 100 miles — much of it on foot and horseback — through the Hindu Kush mountains, giving eye and other medical care to impoverished villagers.

The other fallen aid workers in the attack include:

Mahram Ali Afghan
Cheryl Beckett USA
Daniela Beyer German
Brian Carderelli USA
Jawed Afghan
Dr. Tom Grams USA
Glen Lapp USA
Dr Tom Little USA
Dan Terry USA

Tom Sileo, author of The Unknown Soldiers blog and winner of the 4th Annual MILbloggies in the U.S. Reporter category, has partnered up with Vets for Freedom, a nonpartisan organization established by combat veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.  The group’s mission is to educate the American public about the importance of achieving success in these conflicts by applying their first-hand knowledge to issues of American strategy and tactics in Iraq and Afghanistan. 

Visitors to the Vets for Freedom web site will now be able to read all of Tom's posts directly on the VFF site. 

Tom had worked as a copy editor for CNN and worked at other news organizations including the AP, Tribune, WSPA-TV and WTVM-TV, before making the leap into blogging on his own in late 2009.

His stories are amazing, if anyone is looking to learn more about our troops serving on the frontlines.  Stories you won't necessarily find covered in the mainstream media.  The headline on Tom's site reads: "This blog is about valiant U.S. troops who do their duty - largely without media attention or fanfare – and how a nation at war cannot afford to stand idly by." – a motto he has lived up to in his daily stories.

Tom attended this year's MILblog conference and gave a great speech about his reasons for blogging about our troops.  You can watch the video here.

Here's a copy of the email sent out by Pete Hegseth to VFF members, earlier today.  Pete Hegseth is the Executive Director of Vets for Freedom. 

As we labor to keep politicians honest on the home front, VFF never forgets about the warfighters overseas, and the critical mission they are fighting for. The troops and their mission remain--in every way--the central focus of our organization. To that end, I'm honored to announce our exciting new blog partnership.

This week, Vets for Freedom launches our partnership with Tom Sileo, and his Unknown Soldiers Blog. Tom started this blog on the last day of his career inside the mainstream media, which he believes has failed to adequately cover the post-9/11 war effort. Since then, Tom writes daily about battlefield developments, acts of valor, and fallen heroes.

And now, his blog is an official partner of VFF. All of his original content is posted on our website, and updated daily. So, from now on, to get the latest information on our warriors--and their mission--make sure to check out The Unknown Soldiers Blog on our website every day. You can also become a fan on Facebook and follow @SoldiersBlog on Twitter.

VFF is fortunate to have such an accomplished journalist leading our effort. Tom, a Phillips Foundation Journalism Fellow, will also author a nationally syndicated weekly column about America's battlefield heroes for Creators Syndicate beginning in February 2011. And before becoming the editor-in-chief of an award-winning military blog, Tom spent more than eight years in local and national newsrooms, most recently at CNN.

Tom's blog already has an extensive following, and we believe VFF's membership is the perfect audience to expand his readership. We know you'll find his writing compelling, informative, and a breath of fresh air.

Also, if you have suggestions for stories Tom should be following--or heroes he should write about--please send suggestions to unknownsoldiers@vetsforfeedom.org.

Congratulations to Tom!

Military.com has posted some amazing photos taken by Susan Weiss, a photographer and artist, who lives in Georgia.  The photos are of the deployment of the 2nd Bridgade, 3ID out of Ft. Stewart, Georgia.  According to Military.com, Weiss began to take the photos as part of a community project, but it grew into something much bigger.

I found Susan Weiss’ website online, which showcases photos she has taken of people going about their everyday lives. 

The military photos tell the story of those serving on the home front, but her collection includes photos of people living in Papua New Guinea, a Puerto Rican Parade, and other dazzling photos.

To see the slideshow on Military.com, click here.

The United States Air Force announced this week that the official Facebook page of the Air Force hit 100,000, a notable accomplishment considering the page has only been online since mid-2009.  As of today, the number of supporters has topped 104,000 Facebook members.

The reluctance by many services within the DoD to jump on the social media bandwagon has seen a big shift from just a year ago.  The National Guard who was an earlier adopter of social networking tools like Facebook, aggressively extended its reach online with a number of websites that engaged visitors.  How successful has their campaign been?  The National Guard Facebook page has over 500,000 supporters.

In 2010 and 2011, we’re about to experience the next big shift, as the DoD spends more time online with social networking – at all levels. 

As others have been hitting milestones, I thought I’d share with fans and readers that my account on Twitter hit 90,000 followers today.  Now, 90,000 followers isn’t a big deal considering I follow people from all walks-of-life, but having a lot of followers (including @FOXNews who follow less than 50 people) is key if you’re trying to build an audience and grow traffic to your website. 

A lot of followers are also good if you have a low self esteem. 

Not that I have a low self esteem, but days when I could use a little cheering up, I simply log on to Twitter and start giggling.  My wife says I sound like a 13-year old schoolgirl.

The AP is reporting that the Rolling Stone writer, Michael Hastings, who "torpedoed General McChrystal's three-decade Army career" was denied an embed request to join U.S. troops serving in Afghanistan. 

Which let's be honest, who cares.  What, were there not enough troops stateside for Michael Hastings to write about?  It's time to face the facts, if you cause these types of events, what do you expect? 

Further investigation is required by the Pentagon behind the Rolling Stone story.  Here's an excerpt from the AP story posted over at Military.com.

"There is no right to embed," Lapan said. "It is a choice made between units and individual reporters, and a key element of an embed is having trust that the individuals are going to abide by the ground rules. So in that instance the command in Afghanistan decided there wasn't the trust requisite and denied this request."

Lapan did not say what unit Hastings had asked to accompany or whether he had spelled out his assignment. He is a freelance reporter currently working on a story about helicopters in Afghanistan, but also has signed a book contract that grew out of the McChrystal story.

Maybe Michael Hastings actually thought the Pentagon would welcome him with open arms, they'd all hold hands, and sing Kumbaya - while sharing more stories with him.

Sumit Agarwal, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (PA) for Outreach and Social Media, will be answering the top ten questions from commenters on Reddit this Friday – that’s according to the latest post over at one of my favorite new DoD blogs Armed with Science. 

As described on the Reddit page - Sumit, who was appointed in January 2010 and is a former Google employee, works in the Department of Defense's Public Affairs department developing policies on how to utilize new media technologies to promote more citizen participation, dialogue, and openness in government.

There are dozens of questions already posted on the Reddit page, some good questions like "I've heard they don't allow soldiers in Iraq or Afganastan to use facebook or other social media site. Is this true?".

But some of the questions already posted, are not so good. Like:

"With your position you can probably leak more than Bradley Manning. Will you step up to the plate and be a true hero?".

One of the most ridiculous twisty questions left by a Reddit user was (be warned, not for the fainthearted): "MR. AGARWAL, WHY DON'T YOU GOOGLE MY BALLS? WE NEED MORE HOT CHICKS FOR THESE THINGS". 

It's a myth that there are only a few military bloggers writing from the frontlines of Iraq and Afghanistan.  Because of policies that confused some, including the news media, many thought troops weren't allowed to blog or didn't have access to computers to post stories.

I regularly receive email inquiries from reporters asking me about military blogs written from the frontlines, and whether troops are still allowed to tell their story - and they're often surprised, when I reply back with: "Of Course."

AfghaniDan, written by Major Dan, is a blog written from Kabul, Afghanistan.  And this isn't the first time Major Dan has written a blog from the frontlines. Major Dan blogged in 2006 about his first deployment to Afghanistan - including amazing photos of his journey in Afghanistan.

If you haven't read AfghaniDan, then I encourage you to do so.  In 2006, I featured Major Dan's (who was a CAPT at the time) AfghaniDan in my Milblogger of the Week series (a series I plan to start up again).

In mid-April, he wrote about reviving his blog, years after returning home from his first deployment, and years after posting online.

I debated starting a new blog to document my second deployment to Afghanistan, but was encouraged by friends to resume this one. I hope readers come back...it was inspiring how many of you followed the last time, and that motivated me stay up all night posting photos on lousy connections.

In a recent post, he writes about his arrival into Qandahar:

So I finally made it to the south of Afghanistan, albeit briefly.  In my head all along was the idea that I just couldn't NOT see Qandahar (preferring the Q spelling over the K, as it sounds more like how Afghans say it), and I even tried every lever I could to serve down here for the last couple of months of my last deployment.  This time I traveled for an advisory mission, and wish I could have stayed longer for the 3 days I squeezed in.  Above is my first view of the area beyond the gigantic airfield: an expensive-looking foot bridge I deemed the area's own "bridge to nowhere" and the Soviet era apartments beyond, which are used for senior officer (+ families) housing...despite still being visibly bomb-damaged from the war.

Captain Marc Rassler, a Blackhawk pilot in the MN Army National Guard is deployed to Afghanistan.  And he’s publishing a blog to share his story. 

In January 2010, CPT Rassler received a phone call by his Commander, asking him whether he would like to deploy to Afghanistan – three weeks later he posted his first blog entry that described his conversation and thoughts.  The post was titled Instant Karma.

By late May, CPT Rassler had arrived in Afghanistan, to begin his 9-month tour, and now he’s keeping an online diary of his thoughts and observations.

His frontline military blog is titled To Afghanistan and Back; my journey with OMLT 47 training Afghan Soldiers.  Here’s a brief bio:

I am a Captain in the MN Army National Guard, and Blackhawk pilot. Spent 04/05 deployed to Kosovo and Bosnia, 07/08 deployed to Balad Air Base Iraq. Currently on a deployment to Afghanistan with an Operational Mentor Liason Team from MN to work to train the Afghan National Army.

You can click here to check out Captain Marc Rassler’s military blog.

Thanks to Kathi for submitting the link to Milblogging.com.

Armed with Science, one of many blogs on the DOD Live blog network, that highlights the importance of science and technology to military operations, has published its Hitchhiker’s Guide to DoD Science and Technology blogs.

Among the listings are Army Technology Live, the official blog of the U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command - and Marines Magazine, the Marine Corps official magazine.  Admittedly, it’s pretty amazing what the DoD has done with its social media program in the last year alone, expanding its DoD Live network with dozens of new military blogs.

Here’s some more information from the post:

One of the unique aspects of Armed with Science is that most of our content is written firsthand by scientists, engineers, and other subject matter experts across the Department of Defense (DoD) and the federal government.

For organizations or programs without their own blog, such as HAARP or the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, Armed with Science is a great platform to build more awareness for their work, while also providing researchers an opportunity to get some blogging experience. Other organizations like the Environmental Protection Agency and the Defense Centers of Excellence maintain fantastic blogs, and together, we can highlight joint scientific endeavors and reach entirely new audiences that we might have otherwise missed. Over the last year and a half, we’ve partnered with more than 100 different organizations across DoD, the federal government, academy, and industry.

Thanks to @ArmedwScience (the official Twitter account for Armed with Science) for tweeting me the post.  You can read the entire story here.

I have to admit, I’m not a big science fan only because I never did well in school when it came to Biology or Physics and those types of classes.  My 9 year old asks me questions all the time for school like “Who invented the light bulb?” or “Who discovered DNA?” – and I can’t even count the number of times my answer has been: Daddy Did.