AllMilitary.com

Badger 6 talks about his Milblog: Badgers Forward.

Question: What are three things your readers probably do not know about you?

Although I mention it occasionally, many readers seem to miss that I am an attorney (albeit unemployed) in civilian life, I am a huge Bruce Springsteen fan (sort of on hiatus from that though with the war and everything)

Question: How long have you been blogging and why did you get into blogging?

I started the blog last summer but did not really get it to take off till November. I started it beucase I wanted to keep my writing skills sharp and beleive that we are doing well in Iraq, but are not getting the credit for it. I wanted to bring that story.

Question: What is your military experience?

I was enlisted for several years, 11B, served in teh Old Guard; atteneded OCS and was commissioned in 1996 as a Field Artillery officer, went in the IRR in 1999, came out in 2004 to help fight the GWOT. Volunteered for assignment with the Engineer unit I am for assignment to Iraq.

Question: What are some of your other favorite Milblogs?

Blackfive, Acute Politics, From My Postion . . . On the Way, Mudville Gazette , Jack Army

Question: What has been the biggest factor in helping you create and publish a successful blog?

Taking the time to come up with good stories, tell the truth, and be open to input from others.

Question: Do you have anything else you would like us to mention about you, your blog, or your readers?

I hope people keep coming back and give me feedback about what things they would like to know about Iraq.

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Cpl M talks about A Soldier’s Perspective.

Question: What are three things your readers probably do not know about you?

Wow. Good question.

1. Well, a few of my readers know this one, but not many. I was an honor graduate and was offered a great scholarship for college that I gave up in favor of joining the Marine Corps. I grew up in Arkansas and graduated from high school there, but my first three years of high school were spent in a suburb of Atlanta.
2. I’m very proud of my little brother. He has overcome great obstacles in his life, and he is now attending college majoring in English Education. The kid has a talent for writing like none other I’ve ever seen.
3. Um. I’m really racking my brain for this last one, but the only thing I can come up with is that I’m a lefty. It makes shooting rifles, pistols, and shotguns rather interesting since a big majority of the Corps is right handed. I end up having to learn a lot of things backwards.

Question: How long have you been blogging and why did you get into blogging?

I’ve been blogging for two and a half years. I started out as a political commentator and was able to work up a pretty good following before I went on a guard duty and stopped blogging. I joined CJ on ASP after coming off the guard duty. I was already looking at converting my political blog into a MilBlog at that point and joining ASP seemed like the best option.

Question: What is your military experience?

My military experience is rather boring compared to a lot of other guys in the Corps these days. I’ve spent my entire career thus far in beautiful Camp Lejeune. I was an admin guy by training, but I was moved to the computer section to maintain the consolidated admin center’s assets since I was very tech savy. I reenlisted in 2006 and became a Career Retention Specialist. I am the guy everyone goes through when they want to go on any type of special duty assignment or want to reenlist. It’s a pretty rewarding job so far and I’m really enjoying it.

Question: What are some of your other favorite Milblogs?

Some of the other MilBlogs I really enjoy are some that a lot of people may not be aware of. In no particular order I have a couple of Marine Combat Artists that I read. Fire and Ice (http://mdfay.blogspot.com) and Sketchpad Warrior (http://kjbattles.blogspot.com/). There is also a Marine with History Division that is a great writer. He is Marine Historian (http://marinehistorian.blogspot.com). Some of the more well known MilBloggers I like are SandGram (http://sandgram.blogspot.com/) and One Marine’s View (http://www.onemarinesview.com/).

Question: What has been the biggest factor in helping you create and publish a successful blog?

I have CJ to thank for creating A Soldier’s Perspective. I joined him after he had a great base of readers. Those readers accepted me pretty much right off the bat. I think all of us at ASP maintain a pretty good blog because we write how we feel, we try to keep things as civil as we can, and we reach out to our readers and include them in a big portion of our online lives.

Question: Do you have anything else you would like us to mention about you, your blog, or your readers?

I would like to mention that all of the support for the troops coming from Americans, especially those who are regular MilBlog readers, is awe inspiring. I have never met a bigger group of people who care so passionately about those who serve in the military. I want to tell them all thank you from the bottom of my heart for everything they do!

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Maj Pain talks about his Milblog: One Marine’s View.

Question: What are three things your readers probably do not know about you?

1. I use to ride bulls (short career).
2. I like Elvis music.
3. Im a board member of http://www.anysoldier.com/.

Question: How long have you been blogging and why did you get into blogging?

I began blogging before there blogs really. On http://www.anysoldier.com/ we left daily sitreps on the site when we could while in Afghanistan and then when I went to Iraq several people began telling me to start my blog. One of them was Matt at Black Five.

Question: What is your military experience?

I was enlisted in 1993 then applied for an officer program. Becoming a grunt I traveled all over to include Okinawa, Korea before deploying to OIF & OEF.

Question: What are some of your other favorite Milblogs?

All of the “ring” sites are good because they are countering the “media” by getting the good word out to America.

Question: What has been the biggest factor in helping you create and publish a successful blog?

The biggest factor was that I was sick and tired of the communist News Network (CNN) pushing out bad news about things we were conducting in theater. That alone drove me to post. Then we started getting ambushed a lot (especially when I went to get into the shower).

Question: Do you have anything else you would like us to mention about you, your blog, or your readers?

The biggest thing is don’t for one second forget that young Marine, Soldier, Sailor or Airman out on the pointy end of the pear kicking butt! They need you and we need them. Stop by, have a cigar and tell me what’s on your mind! Semper Fi-Maj Pain!

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The VAJoe.com Blog features interviews with today’s most popular and respected Milbloggers. Get into the minds of today’s true sources of news, post comments and questions to their interviews, and frequent their Milblogs. Help keep the Milblog community strong.  

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General Says He Will Oversee Repair of Soldiers’ Lodging

A top Army general vowed yesterday to personally oversee the upgrading of Walter Reed Army Medical Center’s Building 18, a dilapidated former hotel that houses wounded soldiers as outpatients.

Gen. Richard A. Cody, the Army vice chief of staff, used terminology similar to that of a military campaign to describe his plan to overhaul the broken building, including giving it a more “appropriate” name, and the sluggish bureaucracy for outpatient care.

Read more on WashingtonPost.com

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(This blog just won the Best Military Blog Contest sponsored by VA Mortgage Center.com )

The darkness of the Pacific on 19 February 1945 was broken just before 0200 hours as naval gunfire started beating the island of Iwo Jima. The gunfire lasted for an hour and left the island smoking. Bombers then picked up where the gunfire left off. The bombers dropped their ordnance on the already battered island and then returned to their base ships. Naval gunfire would once again pick up again after the planes where clear of the airspace. The bombardment of Iwo Jima lasted for nearly six and a half hours before the Marines were sent in to secure the island. Forty-five days later, the Marines declared Iwo Jima secure.

I remember the fierce fighting of my Marine brothers this day sixty-two years ago. They ate, slept, and breathed heavy fighting for forty-five days, and they sustained the largest number of casualties in any Marine Corps battle in history; a bloody record that still stands today. Twenty-seven Marines and Sailors of Iwo Jima were awarded the Medal of Honor for their actions. Fourteen of those gave their lives in the actions that lead up to the award. The sacrifices of those men and all of the other Marines on Iwo Jima will never be forgotten.

Read more on SoldiersPerspective.us.

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BAGHDAD, Feb 21 (Reuters) - A U.S. Black Hawk helicopter with nine people on board made a “hard landing” north of Baghdad, the U.S. military said on Wednesday, citing initial reports.

It was unclear why the helicopter made such a landing, but Iraqi police captain Mahmoud al-Mashhadani said he saw some type of projectile hitting the aircraft before it came down on Wednesday in a rural area known as the Line, 30 kilometres north of Baghdad.

“I saw a ball of fire hitting the aircraft and smoke coming out of the helicopter as it came down,” Mashhadani told Reuters.

Read more on Reuters.,

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Over 40 percent of the fighting forces in Iraq and Afghanistan at present are members of the National Guard and the Reserves and despite that, their education and health benefits are far less than the enlisted personnel.

Senator Charles Schumer came to Newburgh, Kingston and Cortlandt Monday to announce he will introduce legislation to equalize that disparity. Schumer said the United States would be nothing without its soldiers and they deserve more.

“President Washington wouldn’t have been president; President Lincoln wouldn’t have been president; I wouldn’t have been senator; Bill Larkin wouldn’t have been senator; our mayor wouldn’t have been mayor, if we didn’t have from the day this country was founded, men and women who would serve us, who would drop what they are doing and serve us,” he said.

Read more on CatskillsNews.com.

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I’ve always liked letters from people in military service. One reason: They tend to be brief, well-organized and “mission oriented.”

Another reason is that service is their primary motivation. The money stuff is just part of making it possible, and I like that.

A recent letter, however, triggered some thoughts and comparisons that all of us should consider. A career officer wrote to ask about the dilemma that virtually all military people face: Long before people realized that IBM stood for “I’ve Been Moved,” military personnel were being moved with great regularity.

The first move is often exciting, particularly if you are single and in your 20s. The second move is OK. The third is harder.

Read more on SeattleTimes.com.

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(This blog is a 2005 MIlBloggies winner.) 

Urban combat often devolves into a series of actions that traverse winding streets and narrow alleys–sometimes for hours. That was certainly the case for Sgt. 1st Class Stephens on June 24, 2004, in Baqubah. That morning, Stephens and his platoon were called in to assist another platoon taking heavy fire from insurgents. Stephens’s platoon helped the others fight through the engagement and then proceeded further into Baqubah. And then they ran into the first ambush of the day. His company commander was severely wounded, and elements of the company disengaged to evacuate him–leaving an even slimmer force. Undaunted, Stephens’s platoon fought through the ambush and continued the offensive as it wound through the city.

Read more on OneMarinesView.com blog.

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