If I had an office, these are the credentials I’d hang.

Before this all gets started I want to first thank the people at VA Mortgage center for giving me the opportunity to express myself in this forum. Mil-Blogging is not something that I’m normally associated with and the chance to express my opinions on some of these matters is a refreshing one. But before we get to my contributions – some serious and some bordering on the ridiculous and sophomoric – I thought it important to acquaint you, the Mil-blogging community with who I am and what my credentials are.

Yes, I am in the military – if you count being a part of the Air National Guard “military”. Most of the Mil-Bloggers I’ve met are battle hardened Marines and Soldiers and using the Air National Guard moniker in those ranks is like screaming, “I’m a tough guy too,” at a mixed martial arts tournament because at, almost thirty years old, no one has threatened to beat you up and take your lunch money in at least two weeks. What can I say; some of the geeks I work with in the civilian sector are mean S.O.Bs.

I’ve been writing online since long before the term “blog” was en-vogue and after I joined the military I was expressly forbidden from ever mentioning my “affiliation” with any government agency on my now infamous and defunct website. A rule that I firmly stuck to until I was exposed, in a very grandiose fashion, thanks to some reporters in Northern California. At the time of the story I was the enlisted aide to the Adjutant General of the California National Guard and I ran a comedy website – a website based around sophomoric humor and wiener-laden off color social commentary – called HowToKillPeople.com. After the story hit the mainstream media I was made a public pariah at the expense of my blossoming career. The name of my site – in and of itself, without viewing of the content – was used as a rallying cry around which sycophants and the socially inept could clamor in order to express their distaste.

pictured: the face of public outcry or just a guy who likes Transformers too much?

Blogging, as a military member, is a fundamental part of the new media experiment that the world is currently ensconced in. Never before has the Private on the front line had the same ability as the embedded reporter to bring to the masses the true stories of the ugliness and beauty of war. Some of you may be turned off by equating the words “beauty” and “war” in the same phrase but the fact of the matter is that even in the midst of a bloody war, beauty can exist. The mainstream media often salivates over the numbers of people killed and the number of road side bombs that have been detonated on any given day.  The Private working patrols outside the wire is the one who will bring you stories of children playing soccer in an arena that was once used by an oppressive regime for troop amassment. As such mil-blogging is an invaluable tool to connect the American public to the events that are happening half a world away. It’s one of the truest expressions of the first amendment, an amendment most in uniform will unhappily tell you does not apply to them because though they have volunteered to die in defense of the constitution they are not protected by its governance.

Recent events have forced the government to deal with the reality of blogging and its repercussions not only here on American soil but also abroad. Mil-blogging represents the truest form of military reporting; an uncensored, unwashed, direct to the public, view of life in service to our nation. Though they’re very rarely given the credit they deserve people like Troy, CJ and Marcus not only bring you untold tales of heroes who would normally be forgotten, they also risk the animosity and rancor of not only their superiors but the public at large as well.

I’ll be out of the military in a little over three months, having served six years, but I’ll always consider myself fortunate to be counted among the few who have donned the uniform and the even fewer who have spoken their mind during that tenure. Thank you for allowing me this opportunity to bring you my take on military events, though some of my opinions are patently ludicrous.  But thank you even more for giving these men the ability to bring you their stories. For history is no longer being written by a chosen few. And by visiting the mil-blogging community you are being given a front row seat to the stories that will populate the text books of your children and grand children. It’s an honor and hopefully I can rise to the occasion.

Travis
i am humbled

You can find more of Travis at his website – Whiskey For Breakfast or you can follow him on twitter .