Middle East MilBlogs
There is a story about GEN Eisenhower pulling key reporters in to lay out the plans for the D-Day invasion. He then warned the reporters, that if a single word of this hit the papers, they (the collected reporters) would be shot for treason. Funny thing--the papers were mum all the way to 6 June, 1944.
Military Blogging ("MilBlogging") is an interesting phenomenon in Internet Age warfare. Soldiers now have access to internet cafes, set up by commanders concerned about soldier morale. Email, pictures, video, and even fiddle, mandolin, and guitar tunes bounce instantaneously from geosynchronous satellites to families and friends on the other side of the world.
In some cases, these cafes become bleeding sieves for vitriol, where "reports from the front lines" become little more than mean-spirited indictments against the chain of command. The same chain of command, incidently, providing internet access to let young troops tell the folks at home that they're ok. (It's almost as if the 5th Amendment were printed on a Kleenex, so these soldiers [sic] could staunch the flow from their collective noses.)
Complaining in war is nothing new. In fact, General Holland "Howlin' Mad" Smith said of his bitching Marines on the eve of Iwo Jima that they were ready for a fight. Had those same Marines been given an internet cafe to vent their collective spleens, however, it would have been bounced off a gazillion computer screens in Tokyo.
Should the military be accused of jack booted censorship when a Private or Specialist (typically under 9 years old when this trooper was buttoned up in a tank in Saudi Arabian sandstorm in January, '91) bumps his/her gums about everything from autoerotica in the portapotties to the miseries of having his/her leave delayed? The chain of command has a right to be concerned when remarks run contrary to good order and discipline, and can possibly give an adversary encouragement that he's having an impact on morale.
This is not some Pollyannish call to ignore all the bad circumstances in war (and believe me, there are plenty), but a reminder to all troops that we shouldn't crap where we eat and sleep.
--MAJ T (2.5 year Stryker vet, currently working Civil Affairs in Mosul, Iraq.)
Military Blogging ("MilBlogging") is an interesting phenomenon in Internet Age warfare. Soldiers now have access to internet cafes, set up by commanders concerned about soldier morale. Email, pictures, video, and even fiddle, mandolin, and guitar tunes bounce instantaneously from geosynchronous satellites to families and friends on the other side of the world.
In some cases, these cafes become bleeding sieves for vitriol, where "reports from the front lines" become little more than mean-spirited indictments against the chain of command. The same chain of command, incidently, providing internet access to let young troops tell the folks at home that they're ok. (It's almost as if the 5th Amendment were printed on a Kleenex, so these soldiers [sic] could staunch the flow from their collective noses.)
Complaining in war is nothing new. In fact, General Holland "Howlin' Mad" Smith said of his bitching Marines on the eve of Iwo Jima that they were ready for a fight. Had those same Marines been given an internet cafe to vent their collective spleens, however, it would have been bounced off a gazillion computer screens in Tokyo.
Should the military be accused of jack booted censorship when a Private or Specialist (typically under 9 years old when this trooper was buttoned up in a tank in Saudi Arabian sandstorm in January, '91) bumps his/her gums about everything from autoerotica in the portapotties to the miseries of having his/her leave delayed? The chain of command has a right to be concerned when remarks run contrary to good order and discipline, and can possibly give an adversary encouragement that he's having an impact on morale.
This is not some Pollyannish call to ignore all the bad circumstances in war (and believe me, there are plenty), but a reminder to all troops that we shouldn't crap where we eat and sleep.
--MAJ T (2.5 year Stryker vet, currently working Civil Affairs in Mosul, Iraq.)
posted by Glenn Tolle | 4:40 AM
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