The War Blogs: Stories From The Frontline & The Homefront

TODAY IS WEDNESDAY, MAY 16, 2012

Monday, May 30, 2011 at 10:00 AM EDT

The War Blogs: Stories From The Frontline & The Homefront

From the sands of Iraq and the mountains in Afghanistan to here back home, we mark Memorial Day with the phenomenon of blogging in the military.

US Army flight medic SGT Jaime Adame, right, and an unidentified United States Marine help Marine LCPL Chris Propst of South Carolina, center, who was wounded in an insurgent attack in Afghanistan, May 15. (AP)

Soldiers tell stories. They always have. For ages in ballad and poetry. In the Civil War and World Wars, Vietnam and Gulf War by letter and mail.

And now, by the web.

From Afghanistan and Iraq, battlefront and home front, military men and women and families are blogging, up on Facebook. Telling stories of war and after war. Bragging, griping, encouraging, explaining. Creating a real time window into war and military life – and death – like we’ve never had before.

Up next On Point: on Memorial Day, we’re listening to the voice of the American military blogger.

- Tom Ashbrook

Guests:

Jim Dao, national correspondent for The New York Times covering military and veterans’ affairs.

Matt Gallagher, creator of the blog, “Kaboom: A Soldier’s War Journal” and author of the war journal, “Kaboom: Embracing the Suck in a Savage Little War”. He’s a Former Captain from the US Army and veteran of the war in Iraq, currently acting as the Senior Writing Manager for the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America.

Lindy Kyzer, former Senior Social Media Maven and Public Affairs specialist for the US Army. She is currently working as a Public Affairs consultant for Lindy Kyzer Communications and Editor of ClearanceJobs.com.

Nancy Davin, blogger and the creator of the blog “My Yellow Ribbon”. Her son Sgt. Tyler Davin is currently serving in Afghanistan and her niece, Spc. Brianne Roe, in Kuwait and Iraq.

More:

Excerpt: “Kaboom: Embracing the Suck in a Savage Little War” (PDF)

http://richardsnotes.org Richard

At some point, no doubt, someone is going to post something to a blog that borders on wikileaks-class whistleblowing material. It may or may not happen intentionally but no doubt it will happen.

What are the limits to what an active duty soldier can blog?Given the newest Jane Mayer/New Yorker piece on Thomas Drake it will be interesting to see how this plays out.http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2011/05/23/110523fa_fact_mayer
Ellen Dibble

I used to correspond with many American military overseas from what I think is now at this site: http://www.fotal.org/booksforsoldiers.htm
. The time must have been 2003/2004, and the soldiers would post that they wanted such-and-such a book, or Reece’s pieces, or hygiene articles, things like that. Sometimes a fellow soldier or military imam or minister would post that such-and-such a soldier needed a penpal. So I had a whole collection of soldiers, who apparently were extremely lonely and in need of contact with the home front.
However, about the time of Abu Ghraib, I got to a point I couldn’t keep my qualms about our military out of my notes, and a primary correspondent was involved in that particular unit, and the particular responsibilities of interrogation in Baghdad, and he was trying to get his entire unit to regard Iraqis as human like us. It was a highly charged situation. And about that time, one could communicate by e-mail too, or start blogs. And I was feeling like a total klutz. I am multiples of the ages of these kids. And I had a deep need for information, which was not forthcoming from these penpals. �
It was astonishing how much some of them felt the need for a “thing,” a postcard, or a batch of cookies, or a wreath at Christmas for their mess-hall. �
I recall one who was having a break-up with his girlfriend back in the states, and there in Baghdad, he was totally derailed. I felt so helpless.

Tina

Ellen, Your letter is both moving and compelling and very appropriate for today! Thank you.

Tina

THANK YOU to all those who have served or are serving our country and very best wishes for your continuing health and happiness for you and for your families!
Pacaruso

Veterans Day and Memorial Days are worthy holidays, but there should be another important holiday created: INTROSPECTIVE DAY
where, instead of mindless lamenting, the entire thinking populous should openly discuss and expose the VESTED INTERESTS, REASONS, PEOPLE, CORPORATIONS AND THE POLITICAL ENTITIES that are CAUSING THESE WARS. Lets get past the patriotic facade and get at the TRUTH about why families have lost loved ones, and why many more are forever burdened with their disabilities.
Lilya

Why did we invade Iraq?

What was the real motive?

http://www.HumanGenome.org/iraq/reasons.htm

Ellen Dibble

These are huge issues, and when I was writing to the soldiers I would tell them that my role as voting, tax-paying citizen is to see that we do NOT fight unnecessary wars. �
However, the job of the military is not to make those decisions. The job there is to “serve.” Not to make decisions like what am I doing in Iraq. �
Consider, we do not have a draft. Perhaps if we HAD a draft, we would have young people a lot more active in opposing this or that military engagement. As it is, some people are glad to serve.
Imagine if that were not the case. Imagine if jihad did NOT think there were thousands of smart and able-bodied Americans ready to take them on. Remember what happened in Mogadishu, Somalia? bin Laden and his ilk got the decided impression that Americans were NOT willing to spill their own blood, that we were sissies, and we could be cowed, could be made to back down.
What do we know about the realities of human nature? The weak shall inherit the earth? As per Jesus Christ? �
Yes, but not this year.
Foothillsequestrian

I’m just wondering why your link did not include Hussein gassing the Kurds in 1988, invading Kuwait in 91, shooting at our jets patrolling the no fly zone to protect the aforementioned Kurds, attempting to assassinate our President (Bush 41), swindling the world with “oil for food”, violating 17 UN resolutions, the “Iraq Liberation Act of 1998″ where Clinton made regime change US policy, human rights abuses like rape rooms, torture chambers and public beheadings, supporting terrorist (no not Al Qaeda), all in a post 9/11 world. Are these thing irrelevant to you?

Lilya

If something has never ever happened (not even in hollywood), and then it happens the first time (three times) on the same spot on the same day at the same place, and it will never ever happen again …. don’t you think that there should be a second opinion regarding “why” the event has happened.
Dear Tom Ashbrook … please do your job and look into the Collapse of WTC#7
Hundreds of Millions of people are waiting for you to have some courage.
>>>>Jonathan Kay of National Post <<<<<<<Even if you are — like me — part of the majority that believes the "official theory" of 9/11, it's a mistake to ignore a movement as large and passionately championed as this one. Across North America (never mind Europe and North America), millions of people have decided that the leaders of the free world are actually murderers — or, at least, in league with murderers – who’d wantonly slaughter thousands of their own citizens as a means to advance a geopolitical agenda. Isn't that something that should interest us?++++++++++++++++http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/fullcomment/archive/2009/04/23/jonathan-kay-an-evening-in-montreal-with-richard-gage-9-11-truth-movement-prophet-extraordinaire.aspx
Leila

If something has never ever happened (not even in hollywood), and then it happens the first time (three times) on the same spot on the same day at the same place, and it will never ever happen again …. don’t you think that there should be a second [scientific] opinion regarding “why + how” the event has happened.

Dear Tom Ashbrook … please do your job and look into the Collapse of WTC#7

Hundreds of Millions of people are waiting for you to have some courage.

{{{{Jonathan Kay of National Post }}}}Even if you are — like me — part of the majority that believes the “official theory” of 9/11, it’s a mistake to ignore a movement as large and passionately championed as this one. Across North America (never mind Europe and North America), millions of people have decided that the leaders of the free world are actually murderers — or, at least, in league with murderers – who’d wantonly slaughter thousands of their own citizens as a means to advance a geopolitical agenda. Isn’t that something that should interest us?++++++++++++++++http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/fullcomment/archive/2009/04/23/jonathan-kay-an-evening-in-montreal-with-richard-gage-9-11-truth-movement-prophet-extraordinaire.aspx
Evelyman

Great show!
for tomorrow

Dress us up any way you want but the bottom line is humans
are territorial animals, if you are not willing to defend your territory it
will be taken. You can create any
cultural framework you want, but underneath it all, this territorialism is the
basic reality that we go to great extents to deny. I never forget the soldier
paid the biggest price, and yes, Americans have neglected to honor their
sacrifice by letting the American Dream slip away. We must all do our part, it
is not as simple as a soldier protecting borders, we must stay true to our
Dream, never let it go. There are many “fronts”
to defend, financial, moral, political, and psychological and it seems we all
need to step up the plate a little more considering our current status.

Tell me why it is that my son is now in Oklahoma guarding
the wreckage of a tornado ravaged household from night time looters, for any reason
other than that humans are innately opportunists, who breach moral boundaries given
the slightest chance. Isn’t that very lack of integrity, At Home, that which we
need to fix to honor our fallen soldier and maintain our values?
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