AllMilitary.com

John talks about his milblog OPFOR.

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

I started in October of ’05. The Air Force stuck me in a dead-end desk job while I was waiting for my security clearance to process, and I needed something to occupy my mind. At the same time, I was keeping up with my college buddies on a blogspot blog that my heterosexual blogging partner Charlie Munn had started. We used it to talk about dude stuff, beer, video games, girls, sports…while Charlie used it to write long diatribes about the Shia crescent (he’s an intel officer, by trade). Charlie and I were the editors of our college paper, so I suggested that maybe we should start a real blog, a more appropriate venue for Charlie’s essaying. I think both of us missed writing, so the whole blogging thing was a good fit for us. And with that in mind, we started up the Officers’ Club. That blog seemed to do pretty well, and we attracted the attention of Military.com, who purchased Officers Club in March of 06. We redesigned and renamed it, and OPFOR was born.

Question: What is your military experience?

The military has always been part of my life, literally. I grew up a navy brat, bouncing around from base to base until we settled in the Washington, DC area when I was 8. By the time my dad retired, he had managed to serve half of his active duty career in the DC area, so I didn’t have to move again until my first PCS with the Air Force. That was nice. I went to Fishburne Military School in Waynesboro, Virginia and the Virginia Military Institute before I joined the Air Force, both school styled on the US Army. Great experiences, both schools. I like to think that I can speak Army, Navy, and Air Force, so I’m looking forward to that joint service tour. Still can’t speak Marine, but I figure all that grunting can’t be too complicated. As far as what I do in the Air Force, I tend to stay mum on the subject. The Pentagon is still being a little weird about milblogs, so I’ve always felt that it’s smart to stay somewhat incognito about the profession until the DoD comes out with some clear milblogging regs.

Question: What are some of your other favorite Milblogs?

It’s almost cliche to mention the giants these days, everyone loves Mudville, Blackfive, SMASH, John Donovan, Yon, etc etc. And for good reason, too. But just because a milblog doesn’t get 5,000 hits a day doesn’t mean that it’s impact isn’t appreciated. Different blogs bring different things to the table. One of my favorites, Eagle Speak, is published by a retired Navy Captain who digs up all kinds of interesting swabbie crap. Andis World and her brainchild Spouse Buzz are both portals for the growing ranks of internet savvy military spouses. Army Lawyer, as the name implies, is the milblogosphere’s boots on the ground guy for all things UCMJ. There’s also fighter pilots, tankers, submariners, you name it. Hell on OPFOR alone we’ve got an army intel officer, one of the USMC’s official historians, a Marine fire support infantry officer, a submariner, and one dumb zoomie — me. The strength of the milblogs is the variety, and I try to take in as much as that expertise as I can.

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

Enjoying yourself. The minute you stop having fun is the minute you should probably find another hobby. Being able to write also helps, I suppose. And networking is key. Don’t be that guy who reaches out to other bloggers just because you want a link. Email them, tell me that you like/hate what they are writing. Give ‘em feedback. The biggest payoff in blogging is having someone read what you are saying, and reacting to it. Give that to other bloggers, and they’ll return in kind.

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

Like I said before, the biggest payoff in blogging is having people react to your thoughts and opinions. We’ve managed to accrue a solid reader base, and for that, I’m incredibly grateful to the folks who stop by and comment. Our readers are what drive us, and what keep us going. I’m thankful for every single one of them.

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