Well, this will be my last post on here.
As fun as it has been, we have been ordered to give the web address to any myspace, or blog that we have so that it can be monitored. While I understand the intent, and agree that operational security is EXTREAMLY important, I do not believe in the way with which this concern is being addressed.
I want to thank everyone who read and posted comments to my ramblings.
For those of you with friends and family in the 173rd Abn Bde, know that the Kiowas and the finest Cavalry Scouts in the United States Army will do everything in our power to keep them safe and secure until their return.
Thank you again for your comments, and kind words.
Eric
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5 comments:
Well I'm just NOT happy about this. I realize you have to do what you have to do but....well, my "but" doesn't matter.
Please email me, if you wish, at tankerbabelc@gmail.com. I would like to stay in touch in case any of you need anything.
Regards,
tankerbabelc@gmail.com
I'd like to share this link with you (ur those "with" you) regarding milblogging:
http://blog.wired.com/defense/2008/01/a-leading-gener.html
You can read the entire article about Lt. Gen. William B. Caldwell IV and his thoughts about blogging but in part he says:
First, we need to Encourage Soldiers to “tell/share their story”. Across America, there is a widely held perception that media coverage of the War in Iraq is overwhelmingly negative. We need to be careful to NOT blame the news media for this. The public has a voracious appetite for the sensational, the graphic and the shocking. We all have a difficult time taking our eyes off the train wreck in progress - it is human nature... [B]ut when it comes to their men and women in uniform, they also have a very strong desire to hear their personal stories. They want to know what it is like, what the Soldiers are experiencing, and how the Soldiers feel about their mission. That is why we must encourage our Soldiers to interact with the media, to get onto blogs and to send their YouTube videos to their friends and family. When our Soldiers tell/share their stories, it has an overwhelmingly positive effect.
Just playing lip service to encouraging Soldiers is not enough. Leaders need to not only encourage but also Empower subordinates. A critical component of empowering is underwriting honest mistakes and failure. Soldiers are encouraged to take the initiative and calculated risk in the operational battlefield because we understand the importance of maintaining the offensive. However, once we move into the informational domain, we have a tendency to be zero defect and risk averse. Leaders have to understand and accept that not all media interactions are going to go well. Leaders need to assume risk in the information domain and allow subordinates the leeway to make mistakes. Unfortunately, the culture is such that the first time a subordinate makes a mistake in dealing with the media and gets punished for it, it will be the last time ANYONE in that organization takes a risk and engages with the media...
Finally, we need to Equip Soldiers to engage the new media... [W]e need to trust them enough to give them the tools to properly tell/share their stories. The experience of trying to gain YouTube access in Iraq and even back in the United States is a prime example. A suggestion for consideration might be equipping unit leaders with camcorders to document operations but also daily life. The enemy video tapes operations and then distorts and twists the information and images to misinform the world. What if we had documented video footage of the same operations which refuted what our enemies say? ... If we wait until we see the enemy’s images, we are being reactive and we have already squandered the opportunity.
Well..... THIS sucks!
Tia
Somehow I am not surprised. Funny how fighting for freedom comes with censorship. Guess the old-fashioned journal will have to do. Love ya, hon.
Okay, I'm pissed too. Write a book while you are there, and when you retire you can have it published and make a mint.
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