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Rise of Social Media in Service Branches – 2012 Milblog Conference

From the Arab Spring to the Twitter war between NATO and the Taliban; social media is the next emerging voice in covering world news and defense issues. Is social media a source for news? An extension of a blog? Is it the front lines of direct communication between entities, or just an information source? This panel will look at how the service branches have responded to the rise in social media and examine how social media is changing reporting and information dissemination in the defense arena.

Moderator: Frederick P. Wellman, Moderator (ScoutComms)

Panelists: LCDR Chris Servello (Navy), Brittany Brown (Army) Mark Fayloga (Marine Corps), Chris Lagan (Coast Guard)

Reality Check, Milwives: You Didn’t Earn Squat

One of my biggest pet peeves as a military wife? The entitlement mentality I see from other wives. The most annoying version of this attitude is among the wives who think that they’re equal to their service member simply by virtue of being their spouse. They talk about their sacrifice being equal to that of their husband, that they have “the hardest job in the military”, call themselves members of the silent ranks. The worst offenders are the ones who claim to have “earned” their title, because they go through just as much as their husbands have.

I find these attitudes to be so disrespectful to the sacrifice that our husbands actually make that it infuriates me. And earlier this week, I was lucky enough to see one example of this mentality on full display. Continue reading

Photo of the Day – Busted Big Time

Photo by 2LT Scott Murdock.
The Helmand Governor Media Center announced that nine tons of explosives were captured by the National Department of Security, May 15.

The Afghan agency discovered the explosives, allegedly brought from Pakistan by insurgents, in Lashkar Gah, Helmand province.

The views expressed by the author do not reflect the views, opinions, or endorsements of any branch of government or military unit.

Photo of the Day – America’s Battalion

U.S. Marine Sgt. Marcus Martin, a squad leader with Guard Force Platoon, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, and 32-year-old native of Charlottesville, Va., practices Pashto with Afghan boys while providing security outside the Garmsir district center here, Nov. 28, 2011. In November 2011, the Marines and sailors of “America’s Battalion” began their final Afghanistan deployment to Helmand province’s Garmsir district. After six combat deployments to Afghanistan and Iraq since 2004, they’re finally coming home. During their seven months in Garmsir, they advised and developed Afghan forces preparing to take the lead in providing security for the district. As the Afghan forces grew in number and capability, commerce expanded and successful district community council elections were held in April 2012. “America’s Battalion”€transferred control of coalition positions in Garmsir to Kilo Co., 3rd Bn., 8th Marines.
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U.S. Agencies Join Forces to Honor and Support Military Families

As part of the Joining Forces initiative to support our nation’s service members and their families, several U.S. government agencies announced an annual pass to active duty service members and their dependents, granting free access to more than 2,000 national parks, wildlife refuges, national forests, and other public lands around the nation in the coming years.

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My Personal Review of 2012 Milblog Conference Weekend (Saturday)

This is part II of my series reflecting back on the 2012 (7th Annual) Milblog Conference. Part I can be read HERE.

This post will cover the main conference on Saturday, to include my opinion of the panels. Let me emphasize that the opinions in this posting are mine, and mine alone. This is the 5th Milblog Conference (out of seven) that I have attended. So I have seen this conference grow and expand year after year.

The morning started very early after a late night before. As with year’s past, Marcus and I had our up-front spots so we could setup all the necessary hardware and get all the audio connections squared away. We typically do this why shoving down the limited continental breakfast that is usually served.

The day started with a speech by Congressman Randy Forbes from the House Armed Services Committee. Mr. Forbes talked for about 35 minutes about a variety of military related topics. Even though it was great that he took the time to come there and talk to everyone, there was nothing really “earth-shattering”, controversial or currently hot that he talked about. It was pretty safe and down the middle. Unlike last year where Congressman Rob Wittman talked directly about the Arlington Cemetery scandal and answered hard questions. Speaking of questions, I noticed there was very little time left for anyone to ask the Congressman any. In fact, that became a theme for most of the day which I will discuss later. Continue reading

Act of Valor Interview from Milblog Conference 2012

Scott Waugh talks about his film, Act of Valor, during the 2012 Milblog Conference in Washington DC.

Go “down range” with real, active-duty Navy SEALs in Act Of Valor, the adrenaline-fueled action-adventure that inserts you into the heart of the battle, alongside America’s best and bravest. When a covert mission to rescue a kidnapped CIA operative uncovers a chilling plot, elite, highly-trained U.S. SEAL teams speed to hotspots around the globe, racing against the clock to stop a deadly terrorist attack. Pulse-pounding combat sequences, cutting-edge battlefield technology and raw emotion fuel this unprecedented blend of real-world heroism and original filmmaking — a thrilling tribute to the skills, courage and tenacity of the world’s most revered warriors.

Act of Valor will be released on DVD and Blu-Ray on 5 June 2012.

The Thank You Speech I Wanted to Give

I honestly did not expect for You Served to win the Veteran Milbloggie this year. I didn’t even think about an acceptance speech. As usual, lack of planning completely bit me in the rear end.

The veteran category often proves to be the most competitive with many exceptional blogs like Blackfive, This Ain’t Hell, Bouhammer, and CDR Salamander making the finals year after year. Blackfive had a lock on the award for many years and I jokingly call the Veteran Milbloggie the Blackfive Award. We were also up against Neptunus Lex, an amazing blogger that was snatched from our community entirely too soon after a training accident. Carroll, thank you for providing a great example of what a blogger and Naval Aviator should be. You voice is missed in our community.

With all of that said, I want to thank the entire You Served team. This would not have been possible if not for the years of work CJ, Troy, Claire, and Wendy have put in. I’d also be remiss not to mention the new voices we’ve added in the last nine months or so. Thank you to Cassy Fiano, Kit Lange, and Rachel Porto for your voice and adding some extra spice.

I’d also like to thank You Served sponsor and my employer Veterans United Home Loans (Yes, Uncle Jimbo, I am a corporate sell out). They’ve allowed us to voice many of our opinions and views with almost zero oversight. That flexibility has given us the ability to call it as we see it and maintain our genuine feel.

Most importantly, we all owe a huge thanks to you people, the reader and voter. It doesn’t matter how much awesome content we produce if you aren’t hanging around to see it.

Here’s to another year of good times.

My Personal Review of 2012 Milblog Conference Weekend (Friday night)

It was a quick 24 hours, and very busy but now the 2012 Milblog Conference weekend is now over. So I thought I would write a review of my personal opinions and views of the weekend and all that happened.

The weekend started a little rocky as my original flight was cancelled and I ended up getting to the Washington, DC about 3 1/2 hours late. I walked in to the hotel, dropped off my stuff in the room, and then got into the Friday evening dinner and festivities. Marcus and I walked into the ballroom to a lot of unknown faces of media and bloggers I had never met. However there was a contingent of friendly faces of milbloggers and friends I have known for several years. There were a lot of great hugs and handshakes to start the weekend off.

The Guest speaker of the evening was COL (r) Charles McGee from the original Tuskegee Airmen. He was there to show a trailer from the awesome movie, Red Tails and talk to us about how the movie just showed one part of a five part history of the Tuskegee Airman history. For a man of his age, he was an eloquent and articulate speaker that I think moved everyone in the room with his tales from a period so long ago and until recently, a mostly unknown milestone in our nation’s military and civil rights history.

Me and COL Charles McGee

 

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Photo of the Day – Warrior Games

Lance Cpl. Levi Marshal of Covington, Wash., goes around his final turn as he cruises to a gold medal in the recumbent cycle 20 kilometer race at the 2012 Warrior Games aboard the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo., May 1. The Games continued through May 5.

Photo by Pat Cubel.

The views expressed by the author do not reflect the views, opinions, or endorsements of any branch of government or military unit.