The Air Force has determined that airmen will find no useful information on blogs. Thus, from this point forward the Air Force will block all websites with “blog” in the name. A spokesman for the Air Force explained that sites such as the New York Times will be authorized, because it is a reputable media outlet. Reputable? Does anyone remember Jayson Blair?
To suggest that any site with “blog” in its name has no useful information for servicemembers is preposterous. Take for
example CAAFlog, a blog administered by a Marine Corps colonel dedicated to news and opinion on military justice and the latest developments in case law from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces. No useful information there.
Also there is a bit of irony in the Air Force’s move vis-à-vis CAAFLog. The Marine Corps colonel who administers CAAFlog is employed by the Air Force as a civilian working for the Air Force Appellate Government Division representing servicemembers during their criminal appeals. Just to keep things straight, the Air Force has hired Col Sullivan, precisely for his education, experience, and opinions, yet members of the Air Force are prohibited from accessing a blog he administers, which relates to the subject matter for which he was hired. Is there a disconnect?
Let us hope that this does not spread to the other services.
yojoe (in protect-blogs mode) out
Filed under: Air Force, Army, Blog, Law, Marine Corps, Military, Military Law, Military Technology, Navy |
Dreadnaught 
The Army has the opposite view, at our Intermediate Level Education class we are required to post to a blog. The Army Combine Arms Center views blogs as a means to usher a change in culture and as a means to understand the internet as a media outlet to “share our story”. Stories about Soldiers and the Military are often written by detached media personnel who may not have the emotion to go along with the actions. Blogs offer Soldiers the opportunity to share first person experiences. I previously had not been involved in Blogging, but as a result of this requirement I have found several sites that provide meaningful opinions that provide a wider sample of opinions than just mine. A blog is like the global coffee shop and we are just sipping coffee and chatting about things of interest, challenging ideas and sharing opinions. Blogs and video posts provide a source for unedited sources of information, which if viewed as such add value to the topic.
MAJ Joseph Roberts, U.S. Army
Student, Command and General Staff College
The views expressed in the post are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Department of Army, Department of the Defense, or the U.S. Government. (required language when using my official title in a post)
MAJ Roberts – Thank you for the post. USMC does not have a policy. Go look at the blog Kaboom: A Soldier’s War Journal, it would be great to get your take on this.
yojoe
Please let me know if you’re looking for a author for your weblog.
You have some really great posts and I believe I would be a good asset.
If you ever want to take some of the load off, I’d really like to
write some content for your blog in exchange for a link back to mine.
Please blast me an e-mail if interested. Thanks!