This article on the General blogging, by Noah Shachtman, was interesting to me. Mr Noah Shachtman links technology with national security. He is a contributing editor of Wired magazine and the editor of "Danger Room," its national security blog.
One interesting comment from Major General Michael Oates was captured in this paragraph:
Ironically, Oates had to wait until he got over to Iraq to start his social media push; a lumbering military bureaucracy kept him from blogging, while his troops were stationed at Ft. Drum. "We did not get anywhere with it while we were in the United States because the rules, procedures, policies, and regulations are extremely inhibiting to doing that sort of thing."The General then comments on the "security issues" that have been raised about the military use of blogs and other venues:
Oates finds the security concerns overblown. "I think its a normal institutional reaction, conservative reaction to information," he tells Danger Room. "But I tend to think that's a very minor thing; most soldiers don't have critical, national-security-sensitive information. They just don't possess that kind of information, so I don't see that as a problem."I think that is spot on. Sometimes security concerns are more of a hindrance than a help.
I noted while reading the article that families were part of the 10th Mountain Division blogosphere.
In a related item, all the students at the US Army Command and General Staff College, at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, are required to run a blog. These are Majors, attending an "intermediate" service school. (Later, many of them will be selected ot attend one or another of the Service and joint War Colleges. For the Army that would normally be the Army War College, at Carlisle Barracks, PA.) These blogs are out on the NIPRNET--the unclassified net, so to speak, and not behind some classified firewall.
And for those who want to follow a general blog from the Army's Combined Arms Center (CAC), there is this.
This is all good news.
Regards -- Cliff
3 comments:
I am the media relations officer for Major General Oates. Thank you for recognizing his effort using blog technology to communicate with Soldiers, Family members and the local communities that support the 10th Mountain Division and Fort Drum.
Please feel free to visit our site at www.taskforcemountain.com
We welcome recommendations on ways to expand our blogging and live chat features.
Best,
Major Daniel Elliott
Boy am I thrilled. I went out to have my teeth cleaned and when I returned I already had a comment on this post. And, by the media relations officer himself. Getting comments is part of the thrill of being a blogger.
Thank you Major Elliott and good luck to you and the 10th Mountain Division.
Regards -- Cliff
Blogging is a great tool, one that is not only recognized by Major General Oates but our new President. Naturally when blogging from here in Iraq one has to be mindful of OPSEC and what can and can not be discussed. If you think about it, a blog in a commanders hands is an excellent way to pass routine information, thoughts, etc. In the 'old days' (Pre-Internet for a good number of us older guys) this would have been via newsletters and the Stars and Stripes.
-Specialist Charles Cranford
Iraq
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