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I like having visitors to my house. I hope you are entertained. I fight for your right to free speech, and am thrilled when you exercise said rights here. Comments and e-mails are welcome, but all such communication is to be assumed to be 1)the original work of any who initiate said communication and 2)the property of the Mudville Gazette, with free use granted thereto for publication in electronic or written form. If you do NOT wish to have your message posted, write "CONFIDENTIAL" in the subject line of your email.
Original content copyright © 2003 - 2008 by Greyhawk. Fair, not-for-profit use of said material by others is encouraged, as long as acknowledgement and credit is given, to include the url of the original source post. Other arrangements can be made as needed.
Contact: greyhawk at mudvillegazette dot com
Veteran's Day 2005 marks the second anniversary of the formation of the MilBlogs Ring, a group that has since had over 500 members join (some, unfortunately, no longer online). For good or bad, the past two years has seen an explosion in first-person accounts of life on the front lines and life on the home front told by those who live it. Besides that notable contribution, in just a few years time military bloggers - whether a part of the ring or not - have helped raise funds for Iraqi children and wounded veterans alike, brought attention to efforts to support the troops, inspired songs, helped launch film projects, and signed book deals.
Still, most simply want to tell the story of their war. But by design or happenstance, in doing so they've written their part of the history of these times, documenting a war that many feel the traditional media has failed to capture, denying others the opportunity to speak falsely "for the troops" without concern of being exposed.
None of that has come without controversy. As the military struggles with the idea of open and instant communication from the battlefield the number of milbloggers choosing to shut down their sites is growing almost as swiftly as the number of those starting new ones. As might be expected, the Army's scrutiny of the bloggers in their midst has resulted in attention to them from other sources - media coverage of milblogs has exploded worldwide.
This Veteran's Day seems an appropriate time to begin documenting the history of the milblogs. I'm proud to have played a part in the above story, but although I was on the scene fairly early Mudville was by no means the first. Several got started before me, and two of those fine folks recently took some time out to help me set the record straight. Sgt Mom of The Daily Brief - the first widely read milblog (originally known as "Sgt Stryker's Daily Brief"), and Smash from Citizen Smash, the first widely read milblog from the war zone (then known as "LT Smash"), graciously contributed their stories to launch this effort.
This is just the start. This history will grow. For now, here's Sgt Mom on the early days of The Daily Brief:
Sgt Stryker did an interview about how he got started; basically, he was a Star Wars geek, and liked to play around with the up and coming thing, and after 9/11 got so annoyed with the way the military was portrayed in the media, that he began blogging about it.
Like I said, it was initially supposed to be about Star Wars, but after September 11th, it changed. I was disappointed by the media coverage, and especially the opinion I was hearing, because it seemed anachronistic compared to what had just happened. As I was surfing the web, I happened upon Instapundit. I figured I could do what he was doing, so my blog changed from a Star Wars geek site to Sgt. Stryker?s Daily Briefing. I created Stryker to be a purposefully over-the-top character reminiscent of a few people I had seen on Usenet and in the movies. I thought most people would get the joke (and they did), but some actually took it seriously. They didn?t realize that the whole Stryker persona was intentionally made to make fun of the mouth-breather types in the military who couldn?t rub two brain cells together to spark the fire of intellect. Given that, the content of what I was saying was close to what I actually felt, because I was angry and disappointed at how these professional opinion people, and the media itself, kept going through the same motions as if nothing had happened.Four years--- it makes it seem like ancient history, doesn't it?
I've only been in it for three years, and I am not a techno geek, in the least. Computers and the internet are tools for me. I'm a writer, with a background in public affairs, (and a total news junkie); I use the tools available. I didn't even know about blogging, or usenet or any of the other internet fora. I started going to the internet for news on 9/11. I spent all day at work reading the updated postings at Slate and Salon, and wandering amongst the comment threads. I started to notice that the Slate "fray" took about six comments before descending into name-calling, inanity or just plain insanity. I think there was a regular commenter who I really thought to be insightful, and he posted that he was starting his own web log, and gave a link... which led to Instapundit...which had Stryker on his blogroll... which I began reading because he was as funny as hell, and wrote about all the stuff that I had put up with for 20 years. After I had been following for a couple of months, Stryker put out an audition call early in August 2002, and I posted for the first time on 8/16/2002. Sparkey, Lionel Mandrake (who already had a blog, and still does) Grognard and a couple of others signed on. Kevin Connors liked my nostalgia stuff about growing up in California, and he asked to be a contributor, six or eight months after that. I looked back in the archives, at who was on our blogroll then as a military blog: DavidMSC, Citizen Smash, Lionel Mandrake (now at Across the Atlantic) and Weck Up To Thees (Fusilier-Pundit).
I carry on with it, because I think the military world has been too insulated from the various media and political elites, and the larger American scene is too damn ignorant about what the military is like. Do you remember what it was like to be in the military in the mid-80ies--- it was like we were freaking invisible. It was even worse in the 1970ies. Ah, well, I think we're making a difference, now!
Anyone who's been around the blogosphere a while needs no introduction to Citizen Smash. In the weeks leading up to the invasion of Iraq and for quite a while thereafter he was the information pipeline for those who were plugged in to blogs. Take it away, Smash:
Was I the first? No. Sgt. Stryker's Daily Briefing was around long before "LT SMASH." There were others, as well.
I haven't verified this, but I've heard that others were blogging from Afghanistan as early as 2002. Military LiveJournals have been around for a while. And before the blogging explosion, many military folks had simple do-it-yourself personal websites.
Prior to that, mass e-mails were circulated. I had a mailing list that included about 25 people when I served on the Nimitz '97-'98. My father forwarded my messages to probably 50 or so of his active duty friends, and they made the rounds at the Pentagon.
So it's not really a new thing, so much as an evolution of publishing technology. But I think LT SMASH was the first widely-read blog from a war zone -- which is somewhat ironic, because I was really "back in the rear with the gear." Yeah, we had some close calls with a few Iraqi missiles, but basically we had it pretty easy where I was living.
Here's a basic outline of how I got started. I discovered the world of blogging via Glenn Reynold's "Instapundit" in May of 2002, while surfing through some Internet bulletin boards. I immediately thought, "what a cool site!" Which was quickly followed by, "Hey, I could do this!"
With some help from my wife, we launched "The Indepundit" in June, 2002. It enjoyed a moderate degree of popularity, maybe 500 readers per day. I got a big boost early on when I broke a story about Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney receiving a big influx of campaign contributions on 9/11. But I mostly avoided mentioning my affiliation with the Navy Reserves.
Around November of that year, we started hearing rumors that my unit might get mobilized for an overseas mission. Of course, we all knew that meant we were getting geared up for a possible invasion in Iraq, but nobody said as much in public -- and I certainly didn't mention it on my blog.
We got word in early December that we would be receiving orders soon. A fellow military blogger, Kevin of "Primary Main Objective," volunteered to join our unit for the deployment, but we didn't have an open billet for him.
Kevin and I did talk, however, about whether we should continue our blogs if we went on deployment. There were obvious OPSEC issues, of course. I had to be particularly circumspect, as our unit's primary mission was anti-terrorism, and I didn't want any terrorists to be able to use my blog as an intelligence asset to plan a strike against the port we would be protecting. But I had been blogging for six months under my real name, so I was faced with a real dilemma.
When the orders to mobilize came down, I decided to put "The Indepundit" on hiatus. My "farewell post" made no mention that I was being mobilized, but only hinted at it in a very subtle way:
"MY EMPLOYER has offered me a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to take on a leadership role in a major international venture. This project would bring a significant increase in pay and benefits, but would also involve incredibly long working hours and extensive travel; in other words, I would be 'living out of my luggage' for the next several months."
The entire post can be found here:
Surprisingly, the only person who guessed what was going on was Meryl Yourish. She would later become my primary "confidential" lifeline to the blogging world.
Within a few days of learning that we definitely would be mobilized, we had a new site up and running. I kept it basic, for a quick upload. I stole the name "L.T. SMASH" from a Simpsons episode, featuring an unscrupulous Navy recruiter/musical producer who sticks subliminal messages into the tracks of a boy-band fronted by Bart.
Once I got into the Sandbox, however, I ran into a sticky problem: extremely limited Internet access. For the first month, I basically had nothing. Then we set up a headquarters building, where I was able to piggy-back off of their network drops.
Since the military didn't have any regulations that specifically addressed blogs, I decided to set up my own very strict guidelines. I didn't use real names. I didn't name my unit, describe our mission, or even say what branch of the service I was in. I didn't say what country I was in, although it wasn't hard to guess. Mostly, I wrote about day-to-day life in a military camp.
My "fame" happened very quickly. I sent a note to Meryl, saying that my new blog was up and running. Glenn saw the post at Meryl's site, and linked to me. He was quickly followed by CNN, MSNBC, Reuters, the Washington Post, Time, etc. Rush Limbaugh crashed the server -- over 200,000 hits in a single day.
It was, in a word, unreal.
Most people assumed that I was a Marine. I refused to answer requests for more information about myself, and would not talk to the media at all. From this, some people accused me of being a fraud, perhaps in an effort to get more information about my identity. I didn't bite.
Early on, my Dad told me that Mom worried when I didn't post for a day or two, so I promised him that I would post every day, if I could. That helped to keep my readership up, and my popularity high. Sometimes I only had time for a couple of lines, but that was usually enough to keep them coming back.
Eventually, things calmed down for me when I moved from a watch officer position to a staff job. Then I was able to really start writing longer stuff. Blogging was a good way for me to maintain a lifeline with the world back home.
It wasn't long before other people started following my lead. Some of them were less careful about violating OPSEC, and got shut down rather abruptly. But most managed to walk the fine line between telling a good story and giving away valuable information.
When I came home, I decided to keep the "SMASH" persona, but go back to my old "Indepundit" format. Thus, "Citizen SMASH" was conceived.
Thanks again to Smash and Sgt Mom - two trailblazers who still lead the way.
The Mudville Gazette was launched in March, 2003, as war in Iraq was looming. Here are some links to fellow milbloggers from those days:
Andrew Olmsted, 19 Mar 2003, Stateside: It would appear that the liberation of Iraq has begun.
Greyhawk, 18 Mar 2003, Germany: A united world could have, just maybe, brought down Saddam without firing a shot. We will never know. 19 Mar: We'll never know what a united world could have achieved... the UN could not agree on anything, the situation degenerated, and here we are. Status quo was not working. The French were too desperate for oil and trade at any cost. Well-intentioned Americans were led into the streets by Communists (and others) with an agenda. The media distorted the split. Many in America and abroad thought they could manipulate the situation to their personal gain. They miscalculated. The fire is lit.
Pontifx ex Machina, 18 Mar, undisclosed location: Rolling out the gate, the guard gets a quick ?hook-em, horns? sign as we weave through the barricades. Then we?re off, cruising through the desert in a battered-up SUV. On the eve of war, only one thing passes through our minds: is there going to be any appropriate music on the radio?
Lt Smash, 19 Mar, undisclosed location: Read the President's speech today. The clock is ticking.
Chief Wiggles, 22 Mar, Kuwait: The war started Wednesday morning for us right after the president gave a speech to the American people that lasted about 4 minutes. We were all very anxious for this whole thing to be either over or get it on its way.
Will, 22 Mar, en route: I am going to Baghdad to personally shoot that paper hanging son of a bitch!
Lt Smash 20 Mar, undisclosed location:
From: Public Works Department
To: Saddam Hussein
Subj: BLASTING OPERATIONS IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD
Sgt Stryker, 20 Mar, Stateside: Iraq to File U.N. Complaint About Attack
Primary Main Objective, 30 Mar, undisclosed location I Dare Kofi to Come Get Me.
(The following tribute to deployed milbloggers from the first year of OIF was originally posted in August, 2004. Some may have since vanished from the web.)
The Ghost Battalions
A reminder found while housecleaning the blog this weekend: Just Another Soldier. Interesting in light of this week's discussion on the fate of military blogs in general.
Closing Blogs is nothing new. So many site's owners just give up on their own. They come and go, you know, these MilBloggers do. Like any other sort of blogger. Many post in the lonely down hours far from home, spill their guts for the world, then abandon their spots when the tour of duty is up. They have lives again somewhere in the world, and no need to share the details. So it goes.
Many are truly gone - no site left at all. "The page cannot be found." Other blogs remain, like abandoned defensive positions in shifting desert sands. Once some bold soldier was here, now no more. The ghost battalions of the web. How you doin', Major Pain? And look, here was Thor. And here stood Moja. Farewell, Will.
They are more than the thoughts they left behind, but now only those orphaned thoughts remain, left for any to see. Museum pieces, like tombs, offering something to the scholar or the scavenger, or enjoyed in passing by the casual traveler.
Here Tim waited for Patti. Is Chromedome's Zone next?
Zeros and ones you know. On one level that's all they ever were. Enjoy them while you can.
(The following acknowledgement of the earliest members of the MilBlogs Ring is from April, 2005. Some may have since joined the Ghost Battalions... or vanished altogether.)
The First Platoon
Looking back at the earliest days (and by the way, we're still in the early days) I'm happy to note the number of folks who are still going at it. I tend to focus on new blogs and newly deployed bloggers here these days, but I want to take a minute and acknowledge the early adopters that made the MilBlogs Ring what it is today. The Ring started on Veteran's Day 2003 - and now without further ado, here's the gang that joined in the first month of ops (and who continue blogging to this day):
Chromedomezone (hurry - going fast!)
Musings From the Imperial Senate
Countercolumn (formerly Iraq Now)
All in all, a pretty good start. Thanks gang.
As noted, this is a growing document. If you're a milblogger you're invited to contribute - whether you're in the ring or not, you've already earned your way into history. Send me your blog's name, date began, and what blogs inspired you to begin. Tell us where you've been; Iraq, Afghanistan, elsewhere - especially if you've blogged from there. Include a couple links to posts that you think best represent your work. Format it all in an html pragraph or two - it will be my pleasure to add it here.
We'll continue to develop this comprehensive history of MilBlogs. In the meantime, please visit the front page of the Mudville Gazette for the latest. Our daily feature The Dawn Patrol picks up where this page left off, bringing even more of the latest news of the war and other topics from military bloggers in Iraq, Afghanistan, and all around the world.
MilBlogs is open to any blog operated by a current Active Duty, Guard or Reserve member of the US military. Veterans, spouses, or other close relatives of eligible participants are also welcome if a significant amount of their content is devoted to military issues. Sites devoted to military issues but not operated by people in the above described categories may also be considered for membership. Non-blog web sites are also eligible if they meet the same criteria. Non military sites are not left out. You're invited to join our "Friends of MilBlogs" Blogroll.
One purpose of the MilBlogs Ring is to promote awareness of the individuality and humanity of the members of the US Armed Forces. Members are aware of the liklihood of difference of opinions between fellow members, and although we may not agree with each other on everything we say we will fight for the rights of each other to say it.
We mean that literally.
If you would like to Join go here. Please read carefully and fill out form at the bottom of page.
After you have recieved your Ringsurf code, this Banner Code (below)...
<a href="http://www.mudvillegazette.com/archives/000359.html" target="_top"><img src="http://photos1.blogger.com/img/286/3763/175/milblogsa.jpg" border="0" /></a>
...can be copied and pasted in your side bar.
The instructions below will help you post pictures to your blog HOWEVER 'Hello" doesn't let you link a banner to MilBlogs Home which is part of the requirement to join MilBlogs. The code above is the only free hosted image that will allow you to do this. I have tried to work with several other free image hosting sights to no avail. If anyone finds one Please let me know.
Please No hotlinking images from Mudville. Special exceptions are made for deployed soldiers with e-mail permission.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you'd like to be able to upload images to your site follow these instructions:
Blogger.com/blogspot.com User Template Edit Steps for New MilBlog Recruits:
1. Download and install Hello
2. Select the image you want, save it locally to YOUR OWN COMPUTER. (rt clk
save as)
3. Open Hello and pull down ?Tools? menu and select ?Edit Profile?. Enter url to
your blogger.com blog. Click OK.
4. Click ?SEND PICTURES? button in Hello (upper left). Click ?Use Explorer? (pops
up) to navigate to the banner you downloaded in Step 3.
5. In lower right of Hello windows, click ?Publish?.
6. Open Blogger Dashboard to Edit Posts. ?Edit? the post you just published.
Copy all of the HTML code and paste it into a text document. Leave the
document open and save the post as a DRAFT (this prevents it from
appearing as a post on your published blog).
7. Edit Template. Paste into the Template the html text provided below these
instructions. Replace the img src=(URL to blogger.com JPG file) statement
with the corresponding statement that is now in the text document you just
created. (NOTE: You need only replace the URL that appears after the img
src=? tag.)
8. Click ?Preview? and ensure the banner appears on your blog page. If so,
congratulations, you have just outgrown Blogger.com. Time for your own site
& domain name!
9. You are done. Have a relatively uneventful stress-free military day.
Thanks for supporting MilBlogs, the Banner Code (below) ...
<a href="http://www.mudvillegazette.com/archives/000359.html" target="_top"><img src="http://photos1.blogger.com/img/286/3763/175/friends2.1.jpg" border="0" /></a>
...can be copied and pasted in your side bar.
Don't forget to Email us advising us you've linked with banner and we'll include you on our "Friends of MilBlogs" blogroll.
The instructions below will help you post pictures to your blog HOWEVER Hello doesn't let you link a banner to MilBlogs Home which is part of being "Friends of MilBlogs". The code above is the only free hosted image that will allow you to do this. I have tried to work with several other free image hosting sights to no avail. If anyone finds one Please let me know.
Please Do Not Hotlink images from MilBlogs. Special exceptions are made for deployed soldiers with e-mail permission.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you'd like to be able to upload any pic in your computer to your site follow these instructions:
Blogger.com/blogspot.com User Template Edit Steps for Friends of MilBlogs:
1. Download and install Hello
2. Select the image you want, save it locally to YOUR OWN COMPUTER. (rt clk
save as)
3. Open Hello and pull down ?Tools? menu and select ?Edit Profile?. Enter url to
your blogger.com blog. Click OK.
4. Click ?SEND PICTURES? button in Hello (upper left). Click ?Use Explorer? (pops
up) to navigate to the banner you downloaded in Step 3.
5. In lower right of Hello windows, click ?Publish?.
6. Open Blogger Dashboard to Edit Posts. ?Edit? the post you just published.
Save as a draft. This lets you acquire image html. Copy all of the HTML code and paste it into post where you would like picture to appear in your post.
7. Place <(center)> tag before and <(/center)> after if you want it centered in your post. Subtract ( )'s
8. Click ?Preview? and ensure the picture appears on your blog page. If so,
congratulations, you have just outgrown Blogger.com. Time for your own site
& domain name!
9. You are done. Have a relatively stress-free day. :-)
One purpose of the MilBlogs Ring is to promote awareness of the individuality and humanity of the members of the US Armed Forces. Members are aware of the liklihood of difference of opinions between fellow members, and although we may not agree with each other on everything we say we will fight for the rights of each other to say it.
We mean that literally.
To join MilBlogs Ring fill out form at bottom of this page. This will register you with Ringsurf.
You can go here to pick out a banner [do a save as]. Once Banner w/ link to MilBlog's home and html code that formulate the ring are in place, I can accept your membership.
Note: if Blogspot hosts your blog and you cannot upload pictures to your site go here for link to hosted MilBlog banner (default banner only). Bloggerbot hosts pics for blogger customers for free
The "roster" will be listed alphabetically.
The webmaster will initially determine qualification of a site requesting inclusion on this ring. Once a sufficient number of members has been obtained a quorum can be used for review of any disputed applications. Said quorum will reach a decision by majority vote.
Additional rules can be developed as needed. But hey, this ain't the military, okay?
Here's how:
Saving to your computer any of our Friends of MilBlog banners on a sidebar area of your weblog or web page then link image to this URL: http://www.mudvillegazette.com/archives/000359.html
PLEASE DO NOT FILL OUT THE MILBLOGS RINGSURF APPLICATION, THIS IS FOR MILITARY ONLY (See criteria above)
Note: if Blogspot hosts your blog and you cannot upload pictures to your site go here for link to hosted Friends of MilBlog banners. Bloggerbot hosts pics for blogger customers for free
Then email greyhawk at mudvillegazette dot com or leave a comment here advising us you've linked with banner. We'll include you on our "Friends of MilBlogs" blogroll. (Yes - you can make your own banner if you prefer, we only ask that you use the text "Friend of MilBlogs". Let us know if you do, maybe others will prefer it too.) PLEASE DO NOT FILL OUT THE MILBLOGS RINGSURF APPLICATION, THIS IS FOR MILITARY ONLY (See criteria above)
The original/default MilBlog banner
These are the original/default banners for "Friends of MilBlogs"
Please note that the section below here is the entry form to submit your site to MilBlogs. Once you fill out this form you must then use the password you created to login to Ringsurf and retrieve your ring code. You should recieve an email shortly after filling this form out with the login information needed.
If you need help with this contact Mrs G (MilBlog Ring Manager) and she will gladly assist you.
Talk Radio host Hugh Hewitt, in his book If It's Not Close, They Can't Cheat lists his "starters kit of the most powerful blogs worth a visit every day: Lileks, Powerline, Kaus Files, Andrew Sullivan, Instapundit, Talking Points Memo, Evangelical Outpost, The Mudville Gazette".
Why Mudville? Here's Hugh in the Weekly Standard:
AS THE WAR enters a phase where most of the fighting is far removed from the networks' cameras, it gets harder and harder to find reliable news on the conflict's many fronts.Unless you read the milblogs, that is. "Milblogs" is short for "military blogs"--online journals run by active duty military (some currently deplyed in a war zone) or reservists who have returned to civilian life for the time being...
The ability of the civilian world to access the news and views of the military directly is a sea-change in media. At the conclusion of his wonderful 1998 book, Making the Corps, Washington Post writer Thomas Ricks worried aloud about the increasing distance between the civilian and military worlds, and the divergence in the values of both. Part of that problem was that the world of the warrior was increasingly remote from ordinary Americans who don't have much contact with the military.
MILBLOGS ARE CHANGING THAT CONDITION, and having other far-reaching effects as well...
The mainstream media is noticing - Mudville has been mentioned on Fox News, USA Today, MSNBC, WaPo and CNN, as well as in a cover story in Army Times.
Blogs?
A recent Gallup Poll reports that over 40% of Americans age 18-49 read web blogs - and that number is growing rapidly. Based on surveys of readers most of that 40% are typical 'early adapters' - young, professional and influential individuals. According to the blog tracking site Technorati, there are nearly 8 million weblogs in the world today. The Truth Laid Bear's Blogospheric Ecosystem, the premier site for determining 'popularity' of blogs, lists 21,000. Mudville is in the top 100, and is the number one site in the world run by an active duty military member.
Greyhawk - pseudonym of the founder and main author - has over 20 years of service in the armed forces. (Note disclaimer in right side bar - this is a personal site and does not reflect official DoD policy, opinions, etc!) He has lived in several countries and many states throughout the US. Currently residing in Europe, His most recent deployment was to Baghdad in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
In November 2003 Greyhawk founded the MilBlogs Ring - a group that has grown to over 1100 members (and is growing more rapidly than ever before) reporting from all around the world, including Iraq and Afghanistan. As the 'home' of the MilBlogs, The Mudvile Gazette is generally regarded as the place to go to see what's happening in the world of the military blogs.
Though fellow military members (from young people considering a military career to veterans of America's past wars) are probably more frequent visitors to Mudville than most other web logs, the site is (as Hugh Hewitt noted) more popular among civilians looking for insight into the military or reports from the frontlines of the war on terror. In fact, based on comments and emails received, Mudville's readership is representative of blogs as a whole. Run by a husband/wife team with three teenage kids, still another segment of readership 'tunes in' for commentary on books, movies and other aspects of American culture. Links from Mudville have sold thousands of dollars of merchandise at Amazon.com.
Global Reach, Global Power
The Mudville Gazette has experienced steady growth since it's founding in 2003. Well past the five-million visitor mark, the site has experienced over 1,466,013 page views in 07 alone, and we expect that number to increase significantly in the upcoming year. The vast majority of readers are from the US, but significant numbers are from other English-speaking countries around the world, and a growing number of readers visit from other nations as well. Over 150 countries have sent visitors to Mudville so far this year. (Other visitor statistics are available at the link.)
What others say:
Glenn Reynolds, MSNBC: "If you want a different perspective on these issues, you might look at some of the military bloggers, who often offer things that you won't get on the nightly news. Check out The Mudville Gazette for commentary and links to other military bloggers."
Michael Ledeen, National Review Online: "Greyhawk on the Iraqi elections. A masterpiece."
Jonah Goldberg in NRO on the Abu Ghraib prison scandal: "By the way, as far as I can tell the blog Mudville Gazette has done the best job following all of the timelines, developments, issues etc."
Glenn Reynolds, Instapundit.com: "IF YOU HAVEN'T BEEN READING THE MUDVILLE GAZETTE LATELY, well, you should be.
Roger L Simon, mystery novelist and screenwriter: "...But over in Iraq now, Greyhawk is doing some thinking for himself... Who owns Greyhawk, btw, has anybody asked him? Oh, he owns himself."
Charles Johnson, LGF: "Greyhawk?s essays and photographs from Iraq are highly recommended, as an antidote to mainstream media?s constant drumbeat of doom and gloom."
Hugh Hewitt, on his blog: "Mudville Gazette --the blog of freedom" and "Mudville Gazette is the go-to guy"
K. J. Lopez, NRO: "Thanks for your service--both on the frontlines and online (to Mrs. Greyhawk, too)."
The Mudville Gazette advertising rates (US dollars):
Premium (the 'top spots' on the page):
One week: 50
Two weeks:90
One month: 175
Three months: 350
(To place an add click here)
Bargain (just a little bit below):
One week: 35
Two weeks: 65
One month: 130
Three months: 255
(To place an add click here)
Or contact Greyhawk -at- mudvillegazette.com
Welcome to the MilBlogs banner page. Feel free to browse our collection and find the one that's right for to your website. If you find one you like save to your computer and upload image to your site and replace the line <insert banner img here> in the Ringsurf code. If it's not here, by all means make one! Let us know if you do, maybe others will use it too.
Here's the original/default MilBlogs banner:
(Note: if if Blogger host your blog and you can't upload pictures to your site go here and link to hosted MilBlog banner (default banner only). Bloggerbot hosts pics for blogger customers for free).
We'll include you on our "MilBlogs" blogroll on MilBlogs home page and soon on Mudville's main page.
If you're linking as "Friends of MilBlogs", place your banner as a link on a sidebar area of your weblog or web page. Link the following url (not the current page!):
http://www.mudvillegazette.com/archives/000359.html
If you like to make your own please use the phrase "Friends of MilBlogs"
These are the original/default banners for "Friends of MilBlogs"
(Note: if Blogger host your blog and you can't upload pictures to your site go here and link to these images. Bloggerbot hosts pics for Blogger customers for free)Then email greyhawk at mudvillegazette dot com or leave a comment here advising us you've linked. We'll include you on our "Friends of MilBlogs" roll here and on our main page.
If you're a MilBlogs member and want to substitute one of these for the default image then simply download the image to your site and replace the line <insert banner img here> in the Ringsurf code.
And I've made a few variations on that basic theme:
American Soldier had this design specially made.
It has been brought to my attention that some non-military folks feel that having the link to MilBlogs could be seen as a form of false advertising that the host blog of that link is a military member. Though I don't agree with the sentiment I still understand it and thus present these alternatives for those folks:
For the women warriors:
For those Military wives that want something a little more Chick-ish, compliments of LorelieLong
Some for everyone.
 of submarine.jpg)
We certainly hope to see our link on your Blog and your Blog on our list soon!
In light of recent quotes from the honorable Sen Kennedy, I've been asked for a stand-alone re-post of the following excerpt from the Democracy, Whiskey, Sexy? series. Hope you enjoy.
Today is National POW/MIA Recognition day.
If you've never attended a ceremonial banquet or luncheon for this event you should. It's quite moving. If you live near a military installation there's one being held near you today. I'm not sure how what importance is attached to that outside the military. I am sure it is important to the families of those who are not forgotten.
When my grandmother passed away some years ago the family spent long hours sorting her lifetime's accumulation of things. My wife found a bible that belonged to my uncle - he did not want it. It's hardcover, but showing it's age, and probably signs of the rigors of it's journey to that house. It's English language, King James Version...
And stamped on the inside cover is the imprint of the Stalag where he spent the latter part of WWII, having been shot down over Germany on a fighter mission.
I've brought that book back to Germany where it sits on a shelf in my living room. near a picture of my father in his army uniform from WWII and my Grandfather in uniform from WWI.
In my living room in a house in a small town in Germany; surrounded by hills and forest and tranquil beauty. What would be the thoughts of those who made this possible, at such high cost, to look upon this now?
My uncle came home. I can only imagine the pain felt by those families for whom some one did not, those whose status is MIA.
Read more about those families here.
The US Air Force turned 56 today. A lot of folks think it doesn't look a day over 30.
How the Air Force stays looking young:
1) Amongst other things the Air Force runs a marathon on or around it's birthday every year at Wright Patterson AFB in Ohio (the birthplace home and future of aviation huaah.). It's way too hot to run a marathon in Ohio in September, so the course gets pretty grueling. For long stretches the only shade is provided by the thin shadows of the electric wires overhead. I've run the full 26.2 mile course, and ran in those shadows to fool myself that it was cooler. Fortunately a ton of volunteers come out and support this event, so there are great water/ aid stations every mile or so along the way. And a cool medal and shirt.
The marathon course runs in and out of the gates of the sprawling Wright-Pat complex. In September 2001 the race was cancelled at the last minute due to security issues; 2000 runners lining up for ID checks at every gate would really suck the fun out of marathoning. The Marines came through, and in a gesture of supreme magnanimity offered free entry to the Marine Corps Marathon (generally considered one of the world's finest) for everyone who had entered the AF Marathon that year. Semper Fi!
This past year, as a gesture of appreciation, an Air Force Captain won the Marine Corps Marathon.
This doesn't stop the other services from making fun of Air Force physical fitness standards. That's why the USAF will soon adopt:
2) New Fitness Standards. This will make the other branches stop laughing at the Air Force for using stationary bike riding to determine individual fitness. There was a great e-mail thing going around a while back that listed things to do during cycle ergometry. "Wear a helmet" "bring rolled up newspapers and deliver them", "stand up and claim you're climbing a hill" etc. Hah! Those days are gone! Nobody will ridicule the manly mile-and-a-half run! With push ups and sit ups!
3) Another way the USAF stays looking young is new, slimming uniforms. This will also give the Army, Navy and Marines something to make fun of so the Air Force folks can avoid being the butt of fitness-related jokes.
4) After exercising and showering and putting on new uniforms, Air Force guys sit around and think up stuff like how to put 80 500-pound JDAMS on a B2 Stealth Bomber. (If you think that's nothing less then the absolutely most high-tech dose of non-nuclear lethality ever conceived by the human mind, you're right! This enables one B2 to deliver the firepower of every bombing mission ever done in World War II combined, or something like that. On a stealth bomber! (Disable pop-up stopper for video clip)
Now as a gesture of goodwill I will translate the preceding paragraph into French using the Google Language tool.
Quatre) Après avoir exercé et versé et mis dessus de nouveaux uniformes, les types de l'Armée de l'Air s'asseyent autour et pensent vers le haut de la substance comme la façon mettre 80 500-livres JDAMS sur un bombardier de B2 Stealth. (si vous pensez qui sont quelque chose moins puis absolument la plupart de dose de technologie de pointe de létalité non-nucléaire jamais conçue par l'esprit humain, vous avez raison! Ceci permet à un B2 de fournir la puissance de feu de chaque mission de bombardement jamais faite dans la guerre mondiale II combiné, ou à quelque chose comme cela. Sur un bombardier de stealth! (neutralisez le taquet instantané pour l'agrafe visuelle)
5) "Shaping the Battlespace" - No one thinks up cool terminology for stuff like the USAF! Shaping the battlespace is what you do with 80 JDAMS on a Stealth bomber, or any of the other cool flying explosive stuff the guys at Wright Pat think up. Here's a reprint of a post I did a while back on the topic:
QUAGMIRE PREVENTIONHey, Kim Jung-Il, you may enjoy this Washington Post story on how the US Air Force "shaped the battle space" in Iraq. Here's an excerpt:
"We were surprised when they [the U.S. pilots] discovered this place," said Khalidi, 28, a Republican Guard captain from a military family. It was late at night, a strong sandstorm was blowing, the vehicles were hidden under the trees, and the soldiers thought they were safe, he said. But two enormous bombs and a load of cluster bombs hit their targets on a tract of agricultural land in the Sabaa Abkar ("Seven Virgins") area of northern Baghdad, killing six members of Khalidi's unit and destroying much of their equipment.
"This affected the morale of the soldiers, because they were hiding and thought nobody could find them," he said. "Some soldiers left their positions and ran away. When the big bombs hit their target, some of the vehicles just melted.
See that? We affected their morale. That's the secret. Affect their morale.
And I think that the idea of melted enemy tanks should bring a tear of joy to any combat veterans eye. Like the view of A-10's, the only aircraft ever designed around a cannon, diving in on enemy armor; it's just a damn pretty thing to see.
Happy Birthday, USAF! Keep 'em Flying!
I've had my next serial blog planned for a while. Here's a preview:
I sat there at the traffic light pondering how foolish the situation was; no one else but me in the southbound lanes, while the northbound side of the road was a parking lot. Folks that waited too long to flee. Glad I wasn't in that mess.In telling the story later folks would always ask why the southbound lanes weren't given over to the northbound traffic too. It didn't seem wrong at the time; perhaps the lack of traffic signals facing the wrong way? Perhaps the need for police would exceed the supply? Whatever the case it still strikes me as a defining statement about small town Americans in the south - they would do this in an orderly manner, without needless panic. They looked at me, the south-bound lunatic, with curious gazes, those who looked at all. But they remained law-abiding citizens and stayed in their lanes. For my part I didn't run the red light, even though there was no cross traffic.
The light turned green and the light in my head came on: the reason there was no one going this way was because this way led to possible death. Likely death even. I didn't hit the gas right away. I looked longingly at the now-attractive seeming refugee caravan. I thought about joining it. I had the go-ahead to run.
The wind rustled the leaves in the trees. Bits of paper blew along the gutter. Other then the line of cars I was in a ghost town. The real likelihood of death in front of me.
I drove forward. I didn't want to wait through another red light. Duty calls.
The Democracy Whiskey Sexy post below has been updated again. I'd have finished it a few days back if it weren't for unexpected good things changing my plans.
True story: I'd been planning that post for a long time. Then with 911 approaching and with my long running serial about to be completed I thought I might have a little heavier then usual traffic here. So I posted the Rescorla story in hopes that a few hundred people might see it and sign that petition.
Two days the site crashed from traffic. And I haven't had time to finish the Democracy, etc. thing. But that's okay. A worthy cause takes precedence.
Since then I've spent most of my writing time on e-mails of one sort or another regarding the Rescorla story. And slowly chipping away at some improvements to the site (multiple and reciprocal blogroll - link me and you're automatically linked back. Also some other things I'm working on; stay tuned) along with keeping track of who's linking the Rescorla post - I'm going to acknowledge them all one day soon.
And trying to gat a handle on what's new with the drive to get that medal awarded. Stay tuned, there will be follow up.
Not to mention the National Defense thing.
I'd be remiss though in not acknowledging Wallace Craig, a fine American, for his efforts regarding the Rescorla story. Visit him here.
Will is not, and is understandably not happy, and could use encouragement.
Chief Wiggles is not home, and here recounts his recent trip through Baghdad .
And read this from Streams. A touching story on homecomings from a very interesting point of view.
Smash was home for his birthday on 911.
And here's a 911 remembrance via Mrs Chromedome.
Strangely enough I envy the homebound guys. I'm not in the sandbox and I'm with my family, but I'm not home either. I'm in Germany, and at least two years from coming home for anything other then a short visit. In a great many ways I'm glad to be here, it's not a bad place to be and I'm certainly not complaining - it's just not home. Many American military folks stationed in Germany are deployed to Iraq. Their wives and kids wait in Germany. Their "homecomings" have been to Germany, in some cases in a flag-draped coffin.
Think about it.
You can substitute a lot of other foreign countries for Germany.
It's what we do.
Welcome. You've reached the Web Log of an American GI.
The days are getting shorter here in Mudville. Within a few short weeks the forests will begin that spectacular show of color...
On weekends, if I post at all, I like to post non-controversial things. You may have seen my entry below about the forest that is my back yard. This weekend I had intended to put up some pictures too, and I still might, but not today.
I'll tell you about my mundane day: Quick trip into work. Then daughter's soccer game, a blowout win for our side. One of those where you start to feel for the other team. Where the coach subs out players but it doesn't matter, everything is going right.
Big hail and farewell party. Folks headed stateside get lovely parting gifts. Thanks for playing National Defense!
Bike ride with son through the countryside. Stopped for water on a hill top with spectacular view on a beautiful day. Church bells started ringing in the valley. Awesome. Got home tired at sunset.
Time to write...
One thing I'd never thought I'd write about would be another blog entry, but the Rick Rescorla post below has generated a bit of traffic this way, and now has stories surrounding it that I'd like to tell. That will have to wait too.
I may create a blog roll just for blogs that have linked it.
Blogs like this one, this one, and this one, to name a few. I think it's safe to say that this story transcends politics.
I'd list them all the links right now, but time won't permit. I will eventually acknowledge all of them.
And here's the link that wasn't, from Lileks:
At work I was talking to a colleague about a story I’d read, a piece on a man who perished in the towers. He was the solider on the front of the Vietnam history “We Were Soldiers.” The piece has been going around the blogosphere, and even if I could find the link the site’s bandwidth has been exceeded for a while so I’m not sure a link would be helpful today. Anyway. I’m relating the tale, how the man helped to evacuate everyone in his office, and cheered them with lusty old British war songs - and at that point I couldn’t talk anymore. That was it. You make some gestures to indicate you’ve lost your handle for a moment; you turn away and get your grip. Didn’t happen when you read the story; didn’t happen when you thought about it the other day; but it’s happening now.If anyone can contact him, please tell him the bandwidth problem is fixed. I've been trying to e-mail him but ironically I get a delivery failure "over quota" message from his server.
Oh by the way the Democracy, Whiskey, Sexy, post below has been updated again. You can read it while waiting for Bill Whittle to put up his promised essay for this weekend.
And now, my time is up. Here it's 10PM, Saturday night, and time for me to don the uniform once again for another few hours of service to you all.
I hope I don't let you down.
Sleep well. See you at dawn.
Welcome. Sit ye doon... a chill is in the air outside my door. Forgive me a moment and I'll throw a log on the fire.
You have arrived at the weblog of an American GI, who is currently stationed overseas (not on sandy soil at this time.. in fact you can visit my backyard just a few posts down) with his wife and family and a big dumb dog who also has a smaller dog all his own.
If you want to get acquainted you can read Democracy, Whiskey, Sexy? Posted just below. It's my partly autobiographical blog entry. I still haven't entered the final chapter, but I did just add one more to it. Compared to some people my life is quite mundane.
If you would like to meet a real hero visit Rick Rescorla just a bit further down. Be sure you add your name to the petition to get this man his Medal of Freedom.
I've also recently reposted (below) an earlier piece called Sacred Words in which you'll meet several heroic people. Those who wonder where my paypal link is (don't need one - not wealthy, but I'm okay) will find alternatives in that post. Make a donation to the fallen heroes fund or some of the other fine charities I've linked there benefiting the survivors of the fallen from the war on terror.
The color choice for this site is meant to evoke the red, blue, white, and grey colors of battle flags from both sides of the American Civil War. The one from the 1860's. Perhaps the last one we'll ever have. The logo at the top is a reminder not to take myself too seriously.
And if you want something light, try Ooglay Hussein's Diaries from the archives list in the right hand column.
Hope you enjoy your visit.
Oh, and should you want something inexplicable, visit the website of long-time ScrappleFace commenter Bambi Stokes-Hymington. Just don't ask me to explain it.
As the death toll in Iraq continues to rise and refuses to fall, Ramsey Clark's hard working anti-war moms of deployed GI's have apparently gained a valuable ally as Osama Bin Laden and his chief lieutenant Ayman al-Zawahri called on them to continue to protest the American presence in Iraq.
The pair, suspected of participating in the planning of something that happened in New York that we should all really just move on from, recently released a video depicting them walking around a hillside not saying anything.
According to the Christian Science Monitor
The video is silent, and in total runs for over an hour. Audiotapes released at the same time provide a narration of sorts.Bin Laden's words are more general, and [he] praises terrorists for doing "great damage to the enemy." He also names five of the Sept. 11 hijackers. [Greyhawk notes - Weren't five of them named Mohammed anyway?]
Dr. Zawahiri's audio track is more specific. He denigrates U.S. efforts to mediate peace between Israelis and Palestinians, saying that "Palestine will only be liberated with jihad." And he calls on resistance fighters to "bury [Americans] in Iraq's graveyard."
"We advise the mothers of the crusade soldiers, if they hope to see their sons, to quickly ask their governments to return them before they return them in coffins," says the voice alleged to be Dr. Zawahiri.
A senior intelligence official says that the U.S. has concluded both voices were recorded at the same time, in the same room. Background noise, tone, and clarity were identical.
However, controversy swirls as media "experts" remain fiercely divided over the video:
According to CBS/AP:
The experts are still unable to determine when the video was taped but observers have noted that bin Laden appears to be younger looking and less haggard than the image seen in much earlier tapes.
In one shot, bin Laden, in his late 40s and more than 6 feet tall, is assisted by a walking stick in his right hand and wears a blanket over his left shoulder. He shows signs of age since his last video image two years ago; his beard is whiter.
Regardless of its questionable authenticity, most media accounts of the video inexplicably fail to mention Osama's boy's shout out to his American allies. And most film critics agree that this video should not only give courage to anti-American freedom fighting mujahadeen everywhere but also simultaneously strike fear into the hearts of Americans, who should question whether they are safer now then two years ago when 3000 died due to Bin Laden's intense hatred of everything about them.
As if to further reinforce this thought, in yet another newly released video Al Queda attacks the Twin Towers once again.
Upon learning of this new attack "New York Senator" Hillary Rodham Clinton immediately launched an investigation into air quality at the site.
"This president has failed," she announced mere moments later, along with all nine Democrat Presidential candidates in an eerily simultaneous voice. "We are not safe, the US has not turned Osama into a stain on a cave wall, and Bush is a big fat liar!"
Their relentless, mindless chanting of the above refrain appears to be working, as no one in America supports the President any longer.
Meanwhile a federal judge has granted United Airlines permission to sue the surviving relatives of passengers of Flight 93 for malicious destruction of a perfectly good airplane.
Read this via Streams. A touching story on homecomings from a very interesting point of view.
Carnival of the Vanities is up at Solport this week. Check it out.
For visitors to my site who may be unfamiliar with the world of Web logs ("Blogs") the Carnival is a moving web site that compiles links to various blogs' submitted "favorite posts" of the week. Stop by, you'll see what I mean.)
From Instapundit
He also links to this discussion of the media's role in war. Excerpt:
In Somalia, the Somalis took over 30 casualties for every American killed or wounded. That was done through the use of superior American training, firepower (on the ground, and in helicopters overhead) and situational awareness (helicopters and more radios.) The battle in Mogadishu is only considered an American defeat because the American government considered 18 dead G.I.’s a defeat, even if over 500 Somali fighters died as well. At the time, the Somalis considered themselves defeated, and feared the return of the Army Rangers the next day to finish off the Somali militia that was terrorizing Mogadishu. The media declared the battle an American defeat, and that’s how it became known.
Which brings to my mind the quote from the College Professor (whose name I don't care to remember) who around the onset of hostilities in Iraq tried to make what I'm sure he believed was a witty and disparaging comment to the effect of "hoping for a million Mogadishus."
At the time I thought wishing for 500 million enemy dead was a bit excessive, but the media (and the Blogosphere, it should be noted) took him to task for the crass anti-American aspect of the comment.
Michele at A Small Victory has a great project under way called Voices. It's an incredible collection of peoples' thoughts and reflections on 911. Varied and interesting, and you too can contribute. Given that the national media will largely ignore this anniversary this becomes one of those great answers to the question what are blogs good for? The image below links the site. Check it out.
Place holder. Post moved here http://www.mudvillegazette.com/archives/000561.html......
I think the title of this post would be a great title for a blog.
Have you ever have the experience where for no apparent reason words to a song start running through your head, then you get to a certain passage and the words click home; they relate directly to something that's been on your mind. Every once in a while words from this song pop into my head. And this is perhaps surprising, because there aren't many words.
Well, I went home with the waitress
The way I always do
How was I to know
She was with the Russians, too
I was gambling in Havana
I took a little risk
Send lawyers, guns and money
Dad, get me out of this
I'm the innocent bystander
Somehow I got stuck
Between the rock and the hard place
And I'm down on my luck
And I'm down on my luck
And I'm down on my luck
Now I'm hiding in Honduras
I'm a desperate man
Send lawyers, guns and money
The shit has hit the fan
And I know others know this one too, there's a comment somewhere in one of my Democracy Whiskey Sexy posts where someone referenced it. So there's another one of those odd human things; you hear some reference to someone or something you haven't seen or heard for a while, and shortly after you hear or see more.
Warren Zevon, the brilliant songwriter who crafted those lyrics above, died today at age 56 from mesothelioma, a somewhat rare form of cancer caused by asbestos exposure.
Here's another brilliant lyric from the talented Mr Zevon, from a song made famous by Linda Ronstadt. This one spins in my mind when for some reason or other I really feel like a loser. These are Zevon's lyrics, switch gender for the Linda Ronstadt version:
Well I lay my head on the railroad tracks
Waitin' on the Double E
But the train don't run by here no more
Poor, poor pitiful me
Poor, poor pitiful me
Poor, poor pitiful me
All these girls won't let me be
Lord have mercy on me
Woe is me
Man, you had to have had some low points to craft a lyric like that! From the accounts of his life though, Warren Zevon did not feel like a loser, even at the end. Still for some reason songs like this one resonate and uplift, just by giving that human connection to others who've had their down time
