Military Blogger Speaks His Mind
Oct. 31, 2006 — -- There are hundreds of blogs maintained by U.S. soldiers in the world's war zones known as milblogs.
As the military works hard to ensure that service men and women have the ability to express themselves in this way, it's also a concern that sensitive or classified information could inadvertently be disseminated to the enemy.
Finding a balance between the two isn't always easy, and Army policies about milblogs have generated some strong opinions from those who think they're too restrictive and those who think they're an absolute necessity.
Here's an interview with "Master Gunner," an armored cavalryman and one of the two brothers who run and blog on TankBrothers.com:
Interviewer: Why and how did you start TankerBrothers.com?
Master Gunner: We started Tanker Brothers back when we were deployed for Operation Iraqi Freedom 2. It was right around the 2004 elections, and we were starting to get a little concerned that the American public was starting to show a drop in morale for the War effort, while soldiers' morale was way up. We saw the mainstream media starting to look the other way when we had good news to report to the American Public, but literally jump on any "bad news." The part that really set me off was the morbid "count" of American casualties. The Associated Press, in particular, would give daily updates on how many soldiers we were away from a set milestone. 1000, 1500, 2000, etc. … We saw what happened to our Dad back in Vietnam, and that led to his request for a second tour. He told us: "At least in Vietnam, you could shoot the people that were trying to get you killed." We have some of the same factors in common with that war: a hostile media, a rabid anti-war movement, a violent insurgency that targets civilians, and some members of the American public that try to aid and abet the bad guys. Just like back in Vietnam, we would make so much more progress in the country that we're fighting in, if we didn't have to win the hearts and minds of the people right here in our own country. But even if there are many similarities, there are some pretty significant factors that are in stark contrast: an all-volunteer Army, new tactics, better equipment, etc.
Interviewer: Tell me a bit about yourself and your brother -- interests, what you want to do in the future, and why you joined the military.
Master Gunner: We are both Texans. We're both Hispanic, grew up comfortable middle class. Both went to private schools, we both played sports, as well as academic extracurricular activities. I joined up when I was 17 -- I needed my Mom and Dad's permission. I wasn't ready to go to college, and turned my back on a national Hispanic scholarship. I wanted to not only read about History, I wanted to live it. I wanted to make history. I enlisted as an M1 Tanker. In the 14 years I've been in, I've done just that: I've deployed all over the world, spent 10 years stationed in Germany, and got a chest full of ribbons to go with all my experiences. My brother was a little bit older when he joined, just as things were starting to heat up in the lead-up to the War in Iraq. He'd seen what I'd done, and he wanted to be a part of that. So he turned his back on a lucrative job in Dallas, and joined up as an M1 Tanker like his big brother. We deployed to OIF 2 together, and we're going to deploy together again. To be honest, I wouldn't want it any other way.
As for what we want to do in the future. … I want to stay in the Army as long as the Army will have me. I love what I do. We both do. We are both 100 percent committed to retiring from the U.S. Army.
