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May 11, 2007 By Hook
Posted in Guest Blogger
SUPPORT- MORE THAN JUST A BUMPER STICKER, Moderator- Chuck Z of From My Position… On the Way!
Chuck Z spoke earlier in the day at lunch and I can guarantee there was not a dry eye in the room. He told his story of when he was injured by an IED in Iraq and how he awoke in Landstuhl, Germany first, then later at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. Each time surprised to find he was being watched over by Angels, Soldiers’ Angels. His personal story of courage made him the perfect moderator for this powerhouse panel.
Sandra Edens of Sew Much Comfort impressed me with her dedication to sewing special trousers and shirts for our wounded warriors. The duds are often complete with velcro in places you’d never think of because you’d never faced an IED. She and her volunteer seemstresses are Angels indeed.
Roxie Merritt of the OASD (PA) joined the panel helping to shed light on how the Department of Defense has picked up on the power of Milblogs and more specifically, organizations like Soldiers Angels and Sew Much Comfort, and working to support them through official channels. I was pleased to see such involvement by the DOD.
Two phenominal ladies from Soldiers’ Angels rounded out the panel, MaryAnn Phillips of Soldiers’ Angels Germany, and Patti Patton-Bader of Soldiers’ Angels. These two ladies and their volunteers have made sure that each and every of your wounded warriors is greeted, hugged, cared for, clothed, connected, and loved during each stage of their evacuation and treatment. They are my heroes and let us all not forget, SUPPORT for our Troops is so much more than slapping a bumper sticker on our SUVs.
Sgt Hook out.
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By Hook
Posted in Guest Blogger
RAPID-FIRE ROUNDTABLE, Moderator- John Donovan of Castle Argghhh!
Noah Shachtman of Wired’s Danger Room provided a perspective from someone who is inside the mainstream media. He took some heat from the audience as the discussion seemed to move into a Milblog v. MSM arena. Personally, I thought he did a good job of explaining just why it is MSM reporters focus on explosions as opposed to schoolhouses.
Lex of Neptunus Lex balanced the discussion with a Milblog perspective not only on the MSM question but on blogging as an active duty member. Of course I couldn’t help but envy his day job as an F-18 driver.
Murdoc of Murdoc Online sat proudly and unapologetically as an American patriot and staunch supporter of the military. He impressed this old soldier.
Rounding out the panel were Eagle1 of Eaglespeak and CPT Anthony Deiss of CENTCOM providing more input into the value of Milblogs and the potential effect of the Army’s recently updated OPSEC regualtion. The discussion became so lively that Jack Holt of the Office of the Secretary of Defense Public Affairs took the microphone and answered questions regarding the how the DOD planned to embrace Milblogs rather than shut them down. Once again, a fantastic panel with lively discorse.
Next up, Panel #4- Support- More Than Just a Bumper Sticker.
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May 10, 2007 By Hook
Posted in Guest Blogger
ALL IN THE FAMILY, Moderator Andi of Andi’s World
My personal favorite panel as it was composed primarily of those I consider to be America’s real heroes. I’ve often commented that though our men and women serving in the armed forces are the foundation of this nation, the families of our servicemen and women are the cornerstone.
Rachelle of ArmyWifeToddlerMom is an amazing woman who married a Soldier several years ago and shared her experiences with the audience. I found most moving is that her Soldier spouse was deployed during both births of their children and yet they stand ready to survive yet another deployment for our sake.
Sarah of Trying to Grok is also married to a Soldier and damn near brought me to tears with her compassionate plea for all deployed servicemen and women to please remember that their families back home live from phone call to phone call or email to email.
Becky of Military Families Voice of Victory provided thoughtful insight into what our military families go through, herself with 3-sons serving and having survived 22 straight months with them deployed.
Another mom, Carla of Some Soldier’s Mom captivated the room with her recount of how she reacted to the news of her son being wounded in Iraq. Amazing women all and a fascinating panel adding just the right flavor to the overall conference.
Next up, Panel #3- Rapid Fire- Roundtable.
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May 9, 2007 By Hook
Posted in Guest Blogger
FROM THE FRONT, Moderator: Matt of Blackfive.
I had the honor of being asked to participate in the Milblog Conference 2007 Panel #1, From the Front. I of course jumped at the opportunity. Sitting on the panel with me were Bill Ardolino of InDCJournal, Bill Roggio of The Fourth Rail, yours truly of Sgt Hook, and last but certainly not least, Sean of Doc in the Box.
The panel was able to provide insight on milblogging while deployed. This unique perspective raised several questions regarding limitations on content and access and a discussion ensued regarding the new Army regulations concerning OPSEC.
Bill Roggio did a good job of answering questions comparing, actually contrasting, Milblogs and the Main Stream Media as they report from the field. The consensus from the panel seemed to be that Milbloggers on whole do not resent the MSM, nor try to compete with them, but recognize that Milbloggers don’t feel the need to have explosions and casualties to publish a post, and are quite content with that. Most of the panel was hopeful that they are able to fill in the gaps that are missed by the MSM.
As the first panel was wrapping up, an audience member approached the microphone and shared a story of how while on his way to the conference he had met a young soldier (in uniform) in the airport and stopped to thank him for his service. A moment later he noticed a lady hugging the same soldier and saying loudly to him that she was doing everything she could to bring him home. The audience member asked our panel how he should respond to such comments. Feeling my blood temperature rising I quickly answered, “that’s an easy one, I’d tell her that we don’t want to come home until we’ve won.”
Next up, Panel #2, All in the Family.
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May 7, 2007 By Hook
Posted in Guest Blogger
Andi stood at the podium speaking into the microphone introducing the guest speaker with a simple statement along the lines that he needed no introduction and that though she had made the request months ago, never really thought he’d accept and she’d introduce the President of the United States, George W. Bush.
There were a few chuckles, undoubtedly from those thinking that she was kidding. She wasn’t. The two large video screens on stage came to life and the Commander in Chief of the United States of America opened the conference with a short videotaped speech. I probably wasn’t the only one, but I was floored. Here is some of what the president had to say…
“America’s military bloggers are also an important voice for the cause of freedom,” Bush said in the taped message to the group, which was gathered in Northern Virginia for the 2007 MilBlog Conference. “You understand that defeating the terrorists requires us to defeat their ideology of hatred and of death with a more powerful vision, a vision of human liberty.”
Following President Bush was a live feed from Iraq with MNFI Commander Admiral Fox and then Matt of Blackfive read a note he had received from General David H. Petraeus via email…
…I wanted to offer my thanks to you for what you’ve done and also to thank, via you, the bloggers who have worked to provide accurate descriptions of the situation on the ground here in Iraq and elsewhere. Milbloggers have become increasingly important, of course, given the enormous growth in individuals who get their news online in the virtual world instead of through newspapers and television. So please extend my appreciation to them for performing this task — and, of course, for doing it in ways that does not violate legitimate operational security guidelines. Best from Baghdad — General Dave Petraeus.
The conference certainly got a lot of attention from some very senior and respected people. Next up… Panel #1, From the Front.
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By Hook
Posted in Guest Blogger
Sgt Hook here, just returned from Arlington, VA where I attended the 2007 Milblog Conference. I’ll be posting about the conference and sharing some thoughts here at You Served throughout the week.
The first official event was a social held on Friday evening at the Westin Hotel in Arlington. There were quite a few big names in the blogosphere in attendance. I was honored to meet many of them and impressed by the conversations we had. I came away with a sense of awe for the attendees as each has been a part of something fundamentally good, whether blogging themselves or supporting the troops through various groups like Soldiers Angels. The room was filled with some amazing people and I found myself humbled to be among them.
The evening closed with an award ceremony sponsored by Milblogging.com, recognizing the best of the milblogs, otherwise known as the Milbloggies. Next up… The Conference Begins.
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February 5, 2007 By Hook
Posted in Guest Blogger, Why We Serve
[The next guest blogger up in our “Why We Serve” series is none other than Sgt Hook. Sgt Hook will be attending the MilBlogging Conference in Washington DC and will be providing updates and reports about the conference on this blog, so be sure to check them out on the days surrounding May 5. We are sure you will enjoy his post in the “Why We Serve” series.]
I was born the son of a United States Coast Guardsman. His father an immigrant from Scotland who at age 14 arrived to Ellis Island and quickly went from the coal mines of Pennsylvania to the halls of a big city newspaper in Connecticut. He left Scotland after losing his father to the war, a proud warrior in the famed Scottish Black Watch Regiment.
My dad, my hero, the commander served some 28 plus years in the uniform of the United States Coast Guard first as an enlisted man, and later as an officer before retiring. As I moved towards maturity and my high school graduation, he tried to talk me into joining the service, any branch thereof, but at 18 years of age, having moved every three years while growing up, I wanted nothing more to do with military life.
Four years later, after dropping out of university and bouncing around from bartending job to bartending job, I joined the Army. I think it is important to note that why I joined is a bit different from why I serve. When I sat down with the recruiter, I was looking to put some direction into my life after leaving school and was very concerned with making enough money to pay on my student loans. I was adamant though in that I wanted a job that offered training in aviation so that I could use those skills as a civilian someday down the road.
Admittedly, patriotism and a sense of serving my nation were not upper most in my mind as I entered the Military Entrance Processing Station (MEPS); food, shelter, and bills most certainly were. I do think, however, that a sense of duty contributed to my decision in joining the Army (and not the Coast Guard is a post in itself). I say that because though I quite deftly negotiated for an aviation job with the Army counselor charged with drawing up my contract, the moment I stood flanked by our national colors with my right hand raised and swore an oath to defend the Constitution against all enemies, I felt my heart swell and I can sincerely say that it has not shrunk since, in almost 20 years.
“I, Sgt Hook, do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.”
But that was when I joined and why I joined, this post is titled Why We Serve. I have taken that very same oath 4 times over since that 21st day of May, 1987, re-enlisting and re-affirming my commitment to serve.
I think it safe to say that I continued to serve for a myriad of reasons over the years. Foremost was/is that I absolutely loved my job. I mean how cool is it to get paid a decent wage to fly helicopters all over the globe, learn to shoot five or six different weapon systems, meet women from several different countries, attend military schools that challenge your soul, forge friendships for life, and make a difference in the lives of others? It truly isn’t just a job, it is an adventure (at least I didn’t throw in “being all one can be”).
As I grew up, both personally and professionally, I found that I continued to enjoy serving. I relished in teaching young Soldiers the lessons that I had learned and found pride in watching many of them rise up and meet challenge after challenge.
I eventually settled down, a little, married and started a family and my reasons for serving became firmly entrenched within who I am. When my son was born and I held him for the first time I was instantly overcome with just how heavy of a responsibility I faced in raising him. It was not lost on me that my chosen profession, the profession of arms, protected his future, defended a way of life that would provide him, and all the other babies in the hospital nursery, with freedoms and opportunities not found anywhere else in the world.
We serve not for ourselves, but for others; our children, family, loved ones, and friends. We serve for those that served before us, desperate to not allow their sacrifices be for naught, determined not to let them down. We serve for those unable to serve themselves, offering hope and help that they may one day know liberty. We serve in hopes that those we serve will be proud of us. We serve with honor. We serve in victory. We serve. Sgt Hook out.
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