Blogging Blackout!

The following is from David Marron, editor of The Thunder Run www.thunderrun.us blog:

Wednesday 16 December 2009,

Many if not most, fellow milblogs -- including This Ain't Hell, From My Position, Miss Ladybug, Boston Maggie, Grim's Hall, and those participating in the Wednesday Hero program -- are going silent for the day. Some are choosing to go silent for a longer period of time. This blog will resume operations on Monday December 21, 2009.

The reason for this is two-fold.

First, milblogs are facing an increasingly hostile environment from within the military. While senior leadership has embraced blogging and social media, many field grade officers and senior NCOs do not embrace the concept. From general apathy in not wanting to deal with the issue to outright hostility to it, many commands are not only failing to support such activities, but are aggressively acting against active duty milbloggers, milspouses, and others. The number of such incidents appears to be growing, with milbloggers receiving reprimands, verbal and written, not only for their activities but those of spouses and supporters.

The catalyst has been the treatment of milblogger C.J. Grisham of A Soldier's Perspective. C.J. has earned accolades and respect, from the White House on down for his honest, and sometimes blunt, discussion of issues -- particularly PTSD. In the last few months, C.J. has seen an issue with a local school taken to his command who failed to back him, and has even seen his effort to deal with PTSD, and lead his men in same by example, used against him as a part of this. Ultimately, C.J. has had to sell his blog to help raise funds for his defense in this matter.

An excellent story on the situation with C.J. can be found at Military Times: While there have been new developments, the core problem remains, and C.J. is having to raise funds to cover legal expenses to protect both his good name and his career.

One need only look at the number of blogs by active duty military in combat zones and compare it to just a few years ago to see the chilling effect that is taking place.

Milblogs have been a vital link in getting accurate news and information about the military, and military operations, to the public. They have provided vital context and analysis on issues critical to operations and to the informed electorate critical to the Republic.

On Wednesday 16 December, readers will have the chance to imagine a world without milblogs, and to do something about it. Those participating are urging their readers to contact their elected representatives in Congress, and to let their opinions be known to them and to other leaders in Washington.

Some milblogs will remain silent for several days; some just for the day. All have agreed to keep the post about the silence and C.J. at the top of their blogs until Friday 18 December.

The issues go beyond C.J., and deserve careful consideration and discussion. We hope that you will cover this event, and explore the issues that lie at the heart of the matter. Contact the milbloggers in your area or that you know, and hear the story that lies within.

A Partial List of Participating Blogs:

This Ain't Hell
Boston Maggie
Blackfive
Miss Ladybug
Drunken Wisdom
Grim's Hall
From my position
CDR Salamander
LL

Two cartoonists join in!

Private Murphy
Delta Bravo Sierra

Check them out as well...

If you wish to donate to CJ's defense fund, please use the following address, or click the link below. He's in a serious battle against a serious foe. Read the article to find out all about it.

Grisham Legal Fund
c/o Redstone Federal Credit Union
220 Wynn Drive
Huntsville, AL 35893

Please write "Grisham Legal Fund" in the memo line if you use this option.

Milblogs have been a vital link in getting accurate news and information about the military, and military operations, to you. Today, many milblogs are gone and others are under attack from within and without. Today, you have the chance to imagine a world without milblogs, and to do something about it. Make your voice heard by writing your congressional representatives and others, and by making donations as you see fit.

The battle for freedom of speech and the marketplace of ideas is fought on many fronts and in many ways. Without your help, the battle may well be lost.

For Nigel--Blackhawks at Sunset, Big Trucks in Iraq

Dust Clouds

Tonight I rode through clouds of dust to get to my office. I went to the office after the CSL book group. The night was absolutely beautiful when I left our living area. You can only see up where we live. Twelve-foot-high blast walls surround our trailer homes. So I looked up and saw Orion's belt and sword so clearly I almost thought the mythical warrior could step out of the sky and come to our base. So I looked up at the blue-black sky till my neck hurt then rode south to my office. On both dirt stretches the air was brown from long convoys raising dust. The front of the convoy was stopped and the back closing up to the front as they stopped and waited. Dozens of flatbed semis waiting to load with containers and drive to the port. It's strange how the sky can be clear and beautiful just a mile from where it is choked with a stagnant cloud of dust.

At my office I am trying to copy all of my photos off the hard drive of the computer I am using. The computer is cheap and sometimes quits. It is a PC and I am a very committed MAC user. Every time I use a PC I become more convinced that I love my MAC. I did not work very much. I have been up early and am too tired to work effectively late.

Eleven days till Christmas.

Flat Out of Luck

Not me for a change. David, my riding buddy got a flat on Wednesday, fixed it. Broke a spoke on Friday which warped his wheel right away. So he dropped his bike off with Larry the Bike Guy who was kind enough to give him a loaner. Today David wanted to ride 100km before he goes home on Tuesday--just to do it.

This morning the weather was cold but better than it has been, maybe 50 instead of low 40s. But if the weather was good, David was not. He is a former body builder and has been dong P90X along with 9-mile runs and biking about 50 miles per week. He hurt his back.

But he decided to go anyway this morning. About three miles into the ride as we passed the burn pit, it was clear this lap would be his last. He asked the shortest way back, then got a flat. One of our Apache pilots was driving to the other side of the base and picked David up. So I decided I could at least pass some solo milestones. I rode 50 miles today--enough that I am within 100 miles of 5000 in Iraq and within 200 miles of 7000 for the year. And no problems with the new bike. I went to the gym and did enough sit-ups so I am over 11,000 for the year, 9,000 pushups and 800 pull ups. I guess that means the shoulder surgery worked out well.

You Win!! Too Bad

At chow tonight I was sitting with a sergeant who just won NCO of the month. The prize is two days at Camp Victory near Baghdad, actually an interesting trip to see Saddam's palace and some other sights of the old regime. I am in aviation so I congratulated him. He didn't look so happy. He said he would rather have two days off here. I started to say how many of my friends thought Camp Victory was cool. He then said, "I'm infantry. If I take the prize I go in a convoy." Great!! He gets to roll for hours in an armored truck hoping he does not get hit by an IED.

He's right. If I were him, I would take two days in my room at Tallil before I took my prize-winning trip to Baghdad in the back of an armored truck. We were trying to think of a civilian equivalent. Maybe a trip to Florida by bus stopping in every major city from Boston to Miami--and never being allowed out of the bus.

Two Bikes Down, One to Get to 5000 Miles

Today the fifth spoke broke on the rear wheel of my single-speed mountain bike. The wheel is twisted. I put my last mile on it. So both of the bikes I brought here broke beyond my ability to repair them after 2700 miles each: 2721 on the road bike, 2767 on the mountain bike. So now I have a Giant mountain bike to ride until the end of December. I only need 162 more miles to get to 5000 in Iraq and 265 to have 7000 miles for the year.

And I have a buyer for the mountain bike at the end of the month. At this point I am not sure exactly when I will be leaving, but it should be sometime in early January.

This Sunday is my riding buddy's last day before he goes home on leave. If he is stuck in Kuwait for any more than a day, I may not see him again. He wants to ride 100 miles Sunday. I may go 100km. Either way, I will have most of the miles I need before Christmas.

Speaking of Christmas, I am going to be the emcee at the Christmas music night they will have here on Christmas Eve. It will be good to have something to do on Christmas Eve. Christmas will be just another work day except the lines in the DFAC will be longer.

And to continue on with yesterday's post on music--sometimes I ride for a mile or two with no hands, just to do it. Last night I was riding the 29er in the dark with my super bright light and singing as I rode with no hands for three miles. It can be boring riding here, but turning corners with no hands keeps my concentration up.

One more month and I should at least be in America.

Emotional Roller Coaster

Tomorrow is the goodbye ceremony for most of our Brigade. We will be the last battalion to go home in Pennsylvania's biggest deployment since World War 2. Not the distinction I wanted. Many of the soldiers who are going home very much wanted to stay. They came here because they wanted to earn tax free money and would rather stay longer than leave early.
A good indicator that I am over tired or in emotional disarray or both is my iPod. When I am healthy, happy and well rested, I listen to New Yorker podcasts, "Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me" from NPR, Books on Tape, Mars Hill Audio or Teaching Company courses. I am currently listening to a course on "Democracy in America" by Alexis de Tocqueville. But not tonight.
Everyone at home is happy, ending the semester, getting ready for the holidays. I had to tell my wife to tell everyone not to send anything because they will be sending our mail back home beginning some unspecified date before we leave. And since by Saturday, I will only have a duffel bag and a half to live out of, anything bigger than a pen will stay behind.
When I am a mess, I listen to music on the iPod. I bounced back and forth between Amy Grant, Toby Keith, Joan Jett and Aerosmith--Hey, it's my iPod.