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Paul Lynn talks about his milblog Worth My Salt

Question: What are 3 things your readers probably do not know about you?

1. I was enlisted Air Force right out of high school, stationed at the Pentagon during the late days of the Cold War. Riding my skateboard home one day I crashed it in the center court of the Pentagon, earning a few stitches above my eye and a potential Article 15 for damaging government property, myself.
2. I wanted to go Army right out of high school, and go to Ranger School. But, my older brother talked me out of it in order to go to college at night in the AF. I took an Admin. job, and was able to get a jump start with the AF paying for much of it.
3. I took a military hop to Germany with a friend, and toured Europe on a first class Eurarail pass. It was a real bargain by American standards. I was there in October of 1989. One month later I would have been able to witness the Berlin Wall come down. Bummer.

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

I will answer the second question first. I’m a news junkie; pretty much always have been. How far back shall I answer this question? Well, since 9/11 my patriotic ire has been up for obvious reasons. I was glued to the news when we assisted and invaded Afghanistan. And likewise Iraq.

I’ll never forget an email I got from a Chaplain in Iraq in 2003/04. We attended college and seminary together. I walked down the steps from second floor and told my wife that I wanted to do what he was doing. I wanted to hear more about what was going on over there, first hand accounts. I heard about Colby Buzzell’s blog, “My War.” I searched for it, and read it. It was riveting. I was hooked.

I started blogging when I was a civilian pastor. I attached a blog to our Church’s website as a way to make it more alive and interesting. This was probably 2004/2005.

Question: What is your military experience?

As stated above, I enlisted in the Air Force. 3 years active duty. Then I went to college full time. After college I went back into the AF Reserves for 2 years until Seminary. I became an Army Reserve Chaplain in September 2005. I went active this past February. Actually, counting IRR time, over 15 years.

Question: What are some of your other favorite Milblogs?

 I was hooked on Michael Yon for a while. How could you not check out Black Five every once in a while? But, Gentle Whisper is a site where she has a collection of active Chaplain blogs, several of them I personally know. It’s interesting for me to keep up with my fellow Chaplains.

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

I’m flattered that you consider “Worth My Salt” a successful blog. I’m not sure I do, yet. But to answer the question in one word, “Discipline.” It’s like anything else that you want to improve upon–one must make it a priority, and have a desire to get better at it. That means coming back to it on a regular basis, whether you feel like it or not. I’m also inspired by others, not necessarily those who have a cool blog, but people who make it a priority to think creatively.

Question: Any other final thoughts?

This might sound strange, but I often think about deleting the whole thing. I worry about saying too much. As a Chaplain I take “confidentiality” very seriously. And, so, there are things that I would love to blog about, but it would definitely cross the line by writing more than I should. I’m also cautious about offending the Chaplain Corps. I would have to be naive to think that big brother isn’t watching. There are things that Chaplains should not say or do, and I want to be above reproach. One more thing. The reality of not only 9/11 is in the consciousness of many military members, but now there is also the reality of, “The Ft. Dix 6.” These are the latest Islamic radicals to try to make a statement by taking out service members here at home. The fact of the matter is . . . it’s too easy to find out where I live. Freedom of Speech is awesome, but loose lips, well, you know.

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