Fire Bad!

Registan: The Army’s Woeful IT Policies Poison the War Effort:

BAGRAM AIR BASE, AFGHANISTAN — In January, when I first arrived here, I made an alarming discovery about the state of IT in the Army. Practically all of the blogs and other online tools I use to stay informed and connected to my colleagues (see here, for example) did not work.

Given the great strides forward the Army has made in embracing blogs and blogging I'd be a bit surprised at this report - but I'm not.

Here's why: Air Bases are run by the Air Force, not the Army. And the Air Force has been looking at blogs with fear and superstitious dread from the day they first heard about them. (And I also can tell from the websense screencap that you can see at Registan that it's an Air Force block - that's the service the USAF is paying to determine what sites are "bad" and should be kept away from USAF eyes.) Imagine a tribe of cavemen eons past whose neighbors had discovered 'fire' or 'sharp sticks' and who were worried they might be scorched or poked in a confrontation with those neighbors and therefore decided "fire bad" and you'll have a good idea of the Air Force policy on blogs (or the internet in general). Imagine what the future held for those who ran from fire and you'll have a good idea of the future of the Air Force, too.

Surely it can't be that bad? You might ask. Surely it can:

Airmen may still access information sources outside official Air Force outlets, but only "primary, official-use sources."

"Basically," said Maj. Henry Schott of the command’s plans and requirements section, "if it’s a place like The New York Times, an established, reputable media outlet, then it’s fairly cut and dry that that’s a good source, an authorized source."

So here's some good news from the New York Times - they've figured out how to lower the defense budget: "We would start by killing off the Air Force’s F-22 fighter":

Cutting weapons programs takes political courage — that is why so many have survived so long after their military rationales evaporated. President George W. Bush was not willing to face down industry lobbyists and their carefully cultivated Congressional allies. The F-22 program, backers claim, sustains more than 25,000 jobs in 44 states — jobs that will be fiercely defended in the current economic environment. But cutting unnecessary programs is essential to help pay for more critical defense needs and more cost-effective economic stimulus.

And surely you know what waits below!...

I can't resist.

All done!