There are all kinds of bloggers out there. Even within the military community, there are various kinds. There are the actual milbloggers who are serving or have served. There are the spouse bloggers, like the fine ladies at SpouseBuzz. And then there are the family bloggers.

I recently found out about a blogger named Laurie Tishler Mindlin. Laurie didn’t serve in the military, but her son does.

This blog helps Laurie Tishler Mindlin understand her son’s new world. She named the blog after her son, who enlisted two years after he graduated from Needham High School. It is called Corey Mindlin US Army.

Oct. 18, 2009: Today we had some team-building stuff that went well, and we’re starting to come together. I am trying to take on somewhat of a leadership role, and it’s going well. My feet are killing me from breaking in 3 pairs of boots, my legs are shot, and all I want is a Wendy’s spicy chicken sandwich and a Coke.

When the son started thinking about enlisting, he broke the news to his mother in installments. First he told her that he was meeting a recruiter. Then he said he was getting a physical. Finally, he sat down with her and told her he wanted to join the Army.

Check out Kathleen Burge’s Boston Globe story. To any of you mothers out there, does this sound familiar:

She loves his letters and she is proud of her son, proud that he has found the strength to get through these grueling months, proud that he has stuck with his choice. But she is a mother, so she worries.

She worries that he does not get enough to eat. She worries because he has been sick. But mostly, she worries about what will happen after he finishes basic training, and medic training, and gets deployed.

You can also read more about Corey Mindlin on the blog.

You Served is pleased to welcome Katie Dyer, founder of the Heroes at Home blog. Mrs. Dyer is the first guest in our new series – “On Loan at You Served” as we introduce and promote those in the milblogging family.

Mrs. Dyer said she felt “like she had been punched in the stomach” when her husband, Army Capt. Paul Dyer left for Afghanistan in Dec. 2007. As she worked through her emotions, the certified life coach decided she didn’t want anyone else to feel like that when faced with a spouse leaving for combat, so she started the Heroes at Home blog in early 2008.

“I want to reach out and help as many people as I can,” Dyer said.

Don’t miss Mrs. Dyer on the You Served podcast May 21st.

On Saturday, I had the pleasure of going to the weekly protest one of the corners in Huntsville, AL. Unlike the big city protests, these are generally attended by fewer than 20 people on both sides combined. It wasn’t until Israel retaliated for Hamas rockets and mortars that the normal corner exploded with dozens of Hamas and Palestine and anti-Israeli supporters. It has since trickled back to the normal 6-10 war protesters.

This weekend, I decided that instead of just standing there waving, I was going to speak to a gentlemen that stood out to me a few weeks ago during the whole anti-Israeli silliness. An older gentlemen wearing a “Veterans For Peace” silly hat and carrying a sign with the same language on it stuck out to me. I decided that I’d interview him and find out about his history.

With Chris in tow, I approached the man and explained that I was a military blogger, told him my name and website, and asked if I could interview him. His name is Ed Hart and he gave me permission to record the conversation. I’m going to cut out snippets of the conversation for the purposes of this post, but I will make a complete, unedited copy available so no one thinks I’m taking things out of context.

Mr. Hart explained to me that he was in the Marine Corps during WWII. He fought in some of the more widely known campaigns in the Pacific as well as some lesser known ones. They include Guadalcanal, Bougainville, Rabaul, Green Islands and others. He claimed to have been a rear seater in the a dive bomber at the time. While he didn’t specifically mention it, but I would assume that meant he was in the Douglas SBD Dauntless since I think it was the only two seater diver bomber at the time. Most Marine Corps Aviation units in the Pacific theater had Corsairs during the campaigns he was in. The Helldiver didn’t ever really replace the Dauntlesses because they were produced so late in the war. But, I digress.

I wanted to get to the crux of why a WWII veteran was amongst a bunch of feminine hippies with “End The War” signs. I wanted to know which war they wanted to end.

Listen Here.

I asked him about going into Iraq and he couldn’t think of any reason for going into Afghanistan. A discussion ensued about whether we waged war against Afghanistan or the Taliban.

Listen Here.

Then things got really good. We started talking about authorizations for war and that he fought in the last war that was “legitimate” and “declared”. I tried tripping him up with his history because I was beginning to doubt he was really a veteran. You’ll see that this pissed him off a little.

Listen Here.

The fact is that more than 6,000 Marines fought in Africa and Europe. Some of those Marines even took part in the storming of Normandy. They augmented British forces in keeping Iceland from falling to the Germans. Marines planned the Canadian and British raids of Dieppe, a French port city. Marines went ashore in Arzeu, Algeria, and Oran – where they occupied a strategic Spanish fortress at the tip of the harbor. They secured an airport in Morocco. On Jan. 7, 1942, Brigadier General Lewis G. Merritt, a Marine Corps pilot serving as an observer with the Royal Air Force in Egypt, was aboard a Wellington bomber shot down by ground fire behind German lines in the Halfya Pass. Therefore, I look forward to going back to the good “veteran” and pointing out that Marines served a much more vital role than just sitting around in embassies.

The interview ended abruptly there and as I began to walk off he tried to plead his case with me, so I turned the recorder back on. Ed continued explaining to me that he isn’t there to convince me of anything or change my mind. Like most anti-war buffoons, he just wanted “hold his sign” and I was getting in the way (even though I specifically asked permission to interview him, which was granted). Then, a fellow combat veteran said the following:

Listen to this.

“I don’t give a damn about what you think…I really don’t!” This “Marine” combat veteran didn’t give a damn about what another veteran’s experiences were. Obviously, his feminine minder hadn’t prepped him that this wasn’t how “real” vets spoke with each other. During the interview, you can barely make her out in the background kind of prompting him to say certain things.

But, I’m a realist. I put words like “Marine” and “veteran” in quotes, but I don’t doubt that he is a WWII veteran. It’s interesting that all the WWII I’ve personally spoken to are bit more specific than “dive bomber” when speaking about what they did during that time. However, I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt. He was about the right age to have been a veteran and deserves respect. After I shut off the recorder and returned back to my car, I turned back around to shake his hand again. I thanked him for leaving me with a free country to which I am now dedicating my life to defending and thanked him for his service. I told him that though he doesn’t respect my service as a combat veteran, I still respected his. At that point, I walked off before he could try to backtrack.

Here’s the video from that:

Here is the video in its entirety: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTUCg6Vc5Bk

Back in 1989, when I was a wee tot of about 15 years old, I went to my first concert alone with my sister and friends. I paid for the tickets with my own cash and felt the true rocker. The concert was the Damaged Justice Tour and the headliners were Metallica and Queensrÿche.

I can still hear the pounding drums and sweet guitar licks of the opening chords of “Revolution Calling”. Then, Geoff Tate’s sonic pipes would kick in and you were in another world entirely, hanging on every word of the lyrical stories he would tell. In my mind, Operation Mindcrime is the one of the best albums in history! Even today the lyrics to Revolution Calling speak to me:

Got no love for politicians
Or that crazy scene in D.C.
It’s just a power mad town
But the time is ripe for changes
There’s a growing feeling
That taking a chance on a new kind of vision is due

I used to trust the media
To tell me the truth, tell us the truth
But now I’ve seen the payoffs
Everywhere I look
Who do you trust when everyone’s a crook?

It was my first foray into politics and I was listening closely. When I lived with my father in Texas, I’ll crank up the LP (that’s a vinyl record to you yung’uns) while my father was at work. I just can’t get tired of Mindcrime and Empire!! Who doesn’t love “Silent Lucidity”? They recently released Mindcrime: Live and I was 15 again.

The band is about to release its next full-length album honorably titled “American Soldier” on March 31st. The band is teaming up with Jamsbio.com to celebrate the strength and courage of those who serve our country. Interviews with troops are laced throughout the well-produced album.

Probably the most emotional song on the album for me is the song “Unafraid”, the second track on the new album, that pretty much epitomizes the American Soldier!

I’m unafraid,
I fear nothing.
I’m unafraid,
I hope for nothing.
I’m unafraid,
I fear nothing.
I’m free! I’m free!
I’m unafraid,
I hope for nothing.
I’m free – you can believe in me.

The song will give you goosebumps of pride from start to finish. The problem with it is that you won’t want to continue on and listen to the rest of the songs on the album!! It’s that good. But, if you succumb to that temptation, you miss out on the rest of the gems from “American Soldier”.

“Hundred Mile Stare” encapsulates the essence of the combat Soldier trying make sense of what he’s just survived. “Middle of Hell” starts you on the edge of your seat with the whispered “wake up” and then gets your heart pounding as you experience combat through the eyes of a hero who at first thinks he’s dreaming only to find out he really is in the middle of hell. The reassuring “you’re gonna be alright” almost sounds ironic to the backdrop of a Soldier “just trying to hold on to whatever is left” of himself. “Man Down” is the musical version of the opening scenes of “Saving Private Ryan”, with heart pounding drum beats and combat hardened guitars piercing your soul as chaos reigns. “Home Again” will bring tears to your eyes. That’s all I’m going to say about that one.

JamsBio.com is hosting dozens of touching memories and dedications to soldiers, from servicemen and women and their loved ones about service, sacrifice, life on the frontlines and home front.

The project doesn’t officially kick off until next week. But, you can now enjoy early access to HONORING THE AMERICAN SOLDIER. As an important member of the military community, they’re letting us know first about this exciting opportunity to contribute to this unique project and pay tribute to our servicemen and woman by sharing music memories, song dedications and top-5 lists.

JamsBio.com is already host to dozens of touching memories and dedications to soldiers, from servicemen and women and their loved ones about service, sacrifice, life on the frontlines and home front. Here are just a few:

* My Soldier, a memory from armywife704 of Fort Bragg, NC
* My Brother Comes Home, a memory from kwalz of Kansas City, MO
* Radar Love, a memory from wedge of Redmond, WA
* 3-9-66, a dedication from Dave030966 of Inverness, FL
* Far Away in Korea, a dedication from lovelogan of Olney, IL
* Songs about Soldiers & Service, a JamsBio user-generated top-5 list
* Songs about Freedom, a JamsBio user-generated top-5 list

You too can leave dedications or leave behind your memories of how you tie service to music. As you all know, I’ve done many interviews about how music played a huge role in my combat time and throughout my military career. I can almost make a soundtrack of my life in the military.

Tomorrow, I will be interviewing Geoff Tate for a special edition of the You Served Radio Show and Podcast. The interview will be live at 1200 CST. If you miss the live interview, you’re out of luck for about a week. The show will not be listed as a podcast until next week. We’ll talk about the new album, their connections to the military, and this new Honoring the American Soldiers project.

Also, next week we’ll be talking to Matt Williams, co-founder of Jamsbio.com during our regular Thursday evening You Served Podcast. So, don’t miss it! We’ll also air our interview with Queensrÿche frontman Geoff Tate during the show for those that miss the live interview.

You Served and VA Mortgage Center.com are proud to announce the MilBlog Bailout of 2009.

As you know, we love reading what every soldier, veteran, friend, and family member has to say about their lives in the military. In recent years, milblogs have become one of the strongest and most popular forces in driving that communication. That’s one of the reasons we started You Served – we wanted to become an active part of the conversation.

So what is this MilBlog Bailout? It’s an opportunity for any military blogger to blog for free in 2009. We’ll reimburse you for your hosting bill. With hard times falling on many in our country with the economy (etc.), it would be a shame if even a single milblog shut down this year for financial reasons.

If you currently blog on a free service such as Blogger, we’d be happy to help you move to your own domain. The associated costs are eligible to be completely covered through our MilBlog Bailout.

Please note that if you choose to participate, you are in no way obligated to endorse our blog or our company. No advertising agreement or requisite ‘pat on the back’ is necessary. We are offering this program because we love military blogs. We love reading them, we love having bloggers on our podcast, and we love working with some of the best out there in CJ, Troy and Claire.

Sign up today for the MilBlog Bailout Program and spread the word to anyone who may be interested. The program is limited to the first 25 bloggers who sign on so please respond quickly!

Via the 2009 Milblog Conference website…

“As you know, we experimented with moving our annual conference to Vegas in 2008. We had a great time in Vegas – how could you not have a great time in Vegas – but, Washington is a better venue for our official conference, so the 2009 MilBlog Conference will be held in

Washington, DC. Milbloggers will continue to have a presence in Vegas at the annual Blog World Expo, which recently made some news, but the big conference will move back to Washington.

Going back to the successful model of 2007, all events will take place at The Westin Arlington Gateway on April 24-25.

Read the entire story here and learn about room reservations and more.

For most American, the 4th of July means BBQ, fireworks, vacation, and long weekends. It’s a time for catching up on “honey-do” lists, relaxing, and shooting bottle rockets at your neighbors. But, for some patriotic Americans, the 4th of July is a time to honor and welcome home troops returning from combat. Paulette is one of those patriots.

I know for myself this 4th of July was different from years past. I usually have my family over for a cookout and we have fireworks. This year though it didn’t happen. I’m not sure why, but it didn’t. I remember grumbling because it just “didn’t seem like the 4th.” It was a little disappointing. Even though I had 3 of my soldiers, my friend John, my kids and my husband with me..it just didn’t seem like the 4th.I’m not sure how I managed to do it, but I overlooked what I had been doing July 1st, 2nd and 3rd. It had slipped my mind that over those three days I had brought home several HUNDRED soldiers from Iraq. I had helped reunite all these families, yet it hadn’t occurred to me. It wasn’t until the night of the 6th that it all hit me. I, along with my other volunteers are standing on the tarmac waiting for a plane to come in. It’s about 10 PM and as clear a night as you could ask for. I can see the lights of the plane..here it comes. As if on cue, just as the planes wheels touch the ground off in the distance, miles away, someone is setting off fireworks. But they hadn’t been until the plane came. What an awesome coincidence!! A plane with 250 plus soldiers coming home from war and fireworks going off in the background. I was in awe.

Read the rest over at Paulette’s Rambling Mind. Please leave her a comment of appreciation.

The latest book about blogs put together by David Stanford and G.B. Trudeau of Doonesbury fame comes out on September 1st. This book features a collection of blog entries from over 90 different forward deployed troops, You can pre-order it NOW or even just order it after the 1st of September at Amazon.com. Just search for “The Sandbox” and you will find it. Since several of my stories are in it and I know many of the authors that are also listed in it, I can tell you that it is a great book. I follow most of their blogs and can re-read some of these stories many times over.

Sgt Stryker profiles Any Soldier, Inc., a company that sends letters and care packages to service members who aren’t receiving much mail.  You Served did a similar spotlight on Any Soldier a few months back.