thedrifter
10-03-06, 08:51 AM
The Blog of War
Contributed by George Mellinger
During the Second World War three American reporters achieved fame for their reporting from the front with the troops, and the books they wrote about the experiences. Richard Tregaskis wrote Guadalcanal diary. Bill Maulden, best known for his cartoons of the dogfaces Willie and Joe wrote Up Front, and Ernie Pyle, the most revered of all, wrote Brave Men. After surviving the war Tregaskis and Maulden returned home to the daily grind of civilian journalism. After surviving the campaigns form North Africa to Europe. Ernie Pyle was killed during the last days of the Pacific war. All three men were famed for focusing their attention on the lot of the common soldier, leaving the great matters of campaigns and strategy to others. However, even they could not capture the immediacy and intensity of the individual soldier’s life. For reasons of security and morale much had to be omitted, and more toned down, removing the grittiness which might shock back home.
During Viet Nam, the relationship was entirely different, as the politicized media appeared to have taken sides and mutual suspicion between troops and journalists was the rarely achieved "best" relation. This reviewer found that the war he was fighting and the war being reported were two totally unrelated events. To a great extent, losing the media battle was what lost the Viet Nam war. During the first Gulf War of 1991, military-media relations did not sink to the Depths of Viet Nam, but were still marked by mistrust.
During the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, something new has happened, the rise of the internet and widespread blogging. Deployed troops can take their laptop computers with them and communicate home directly on a realtime basis. But so long as this is done by email, the effect is no more than letters home. What has truly made the difference is the rise of blogging technology appropriated by the deployed troops for instantaneous communication. For the first time an individual warrior can aspire to tell his side of the story, not just to his immediate family and neighbors but to all the world. If today, Walter Cronkite were to report a litany of defeats, ending with a portentous "And that’s the way it is", even before the administration spokesmen could cobble together a clumsy defense, he would be hooted down in cyberspace by angry soldiers denouncing his lies and telling their stories for themselves. For some of us, the Bush administration’s greatest ineptitude has been its public relations effort, so lame it might have cost us the war under previous conditions, but saved today, by the troops themselves and their un-brigaded supporters back home. They are doing for themselves what Ernie, Bill, and Richard did sixty years ago, and arguably doing it even better.
The two largest and most important of these public milblogs certainly are Mudville Gazette and Blackfive. Not much is known of Greyhawk, the owner and commander of Mudville, save that he is a serving Air Force Officer living in Germany, and judging by the F-16s on his site banner, probably with the 52 Fighter Wing.
More is known about Blackfive. He is Matthew Currier Burden, who left the Army in 2001 with the rank of Major, after a long and active career, often at the pointy end of the spear. In mid 2003 he took the name Blackfive for himself and his new website expressly to report the news which he felt the professional media were ignoring; since then, the site has gained a large following and today is the twentieth ranked blog by visits. Rated by the more subjective measure of quality, Blackfive is easily within the top five sites (Though the Old War Dogs have picked up the scent and are baying on his trail.)
Now Blackfive has written a book, The Blog of War, published in paperback by Simon & Schuster. This book is the story of milblogging as told by the milbloggers in their own words, taken from their posts of the last three years. Extended selections are taken from fifty or more blogs, including a few which have subsequently suspended activity. Several of these blogs have contributed passages for more than one chapter.
The very nature of blogging tends to weed out the inarticulate and uncommitted, but Matt has selected the best of the crop. And he has done a further remarkable job of arrangement, choosing the order in which accounts appear, and linking them into a coherent and logical sequence. This is not as easy as it appears. I know; my books are also based on collating related, but discrete narratives, so I have a special appreciation for what Matt has accomplished. Frankly, he has succeeded better than I. And finding just the right passage from each blog, assuring that the most important milblogs are all represented is a task involving heroic research of a sort which cannot be accomplished by search engine. it requires eyeball examination of judgement of dozens of blogs, and thousands of discreet posts.
In the first chapter several of these bloggers explain to their families why they volunteered to go. Some of these accounts are heart-wrenching, and others inspiring.
The next chapter describes the living conditions, day-to-day, of troops stationed in the war zone. It seems that wars always take place in desolate and barely liveable places, and if the place, such as Italy or Northen France, were not intolerable at the start of hostilities, it quickly becomes so. Spartan living is a major factor which sets apart soldiers on active duty, all of them, including those assigned to non-combat duties. And the living conditions in Iraq sound to me particularly unpleasant, even more after reading these accounts.
The next three chapters are entitled "The Healers", "Leaders, Warriors, and Diplomats", and "The Warriors". "Healers" of course contains the accounts of the nurses, doctors, and corpsmen, and includes accounts of saving the wounded, and sometimes failing to do so. And sometimes the wounded are Iraqis, even jihadis. The next two chapters seem remarkably close to each other. Leaders, Warriors, and Diplomats" includes more accounts of elections and civic action, though these areas often blend seamlessly. I might have placed "The Healers" third in the sequence rather than first, but that is a matter of author’s decision, and is a very minor difference in approaches. There is plenty of intense action and pucker here, and the chosen accounts communicate the experience with rare intensity. If you have friends or family over there, be sure to read these chapters, and you may better understand why they have come home more tightly strung and edgy than you remembered them. War is not intended to be pleasant for anyone. These chapters in particular I had to read in relatively small doses.
Perhaps one of the most moving sections of this book for me was the chapter "The Homefront", accounts blogged by anxiously waiting family members. It is true that the folks back home who have never been to war cannot understand what war is really like for the troops participating. But it is equally impossible for those troops to completely comprehend the fears of those consigned to wait helplessly at home, knowing little and understanding less of what is going on. And powerless to do anything beyond worry. The soldier becomes sensitized to the shriek of the siren, his wife to the ring of the telephone. This is a side of war I have not experienced. Matt’s book has helped me to make a start on understanding.
"The Fallen" relates the saddest experience, accounts of wives who have lost their husbands, and of soldiers who have lost a comrade in battle, perhaps right at their side. Again this is another essential chapter which must be read, but should be read in small doses. This is not the typical flowery "sweet to die for..." tribute. it is a much more powerful tribute to those who sacrificed their lives, and to those who sacrificed almost as much, those they loved.
The last chapter, "Homecoming" is a bittersweet ending, the joy of homecoming, and the difficulty, the shock of readjusting that is a part of the experience.
Finally the book’s Epilogue lists the bloggers whose contributions appeared in each chapter, and gives their names and a few details about each including an update on their current status. As I had become quite fond of several of these individuals through their blogs, it was a treat to learn their names and details that have not appeared on their blogs.
I give Blog of War my highest recommendation. If you are a veteran, of any war, it will help you place your own experience in better perspective. if you only know, or are related to a veteran or active warrior, this book is even more important for you to understand what is going on. I warn you, it should be read in small doses, but it must be read. Old soldiers aren’t supposed to get weepy-eyed, so I guess it must have just been a bad allergy season for me. Never before has the American soldier been as well reported.
For maintaining Blackfive and publishing this book, Matt Burden certainly has joined the elite circle of Richard Tregaskis, Bill Maulden and Ernie Pyle, perhaps at the lead of that list. This Old War Dog says a sincere and deeply felt, "Thanks, Matt."
-Rurik
Ellie
Contributed by George Mellinger
During the Second World War three American reporters achieved fame for their reporting from the front with the troops, and the books they wrote about the experiences. Richard Tregaskis wrote Guadalcanal diary. Bill Maulden, best known for his cartoons of the dogfaces Willie and Joe wrote Up Front, and Ernie Pyle, the most revered of all, wrote Brave Men. After surviving the war Tregaskis and Maulden returned home to the daily grind of civilian journalism. After surviving the campaigns form North Africa to Europe. Ernie Pyle was killed during the last days of the Pacific war. All three men were famed for focusing their attention on the lot of the common soldier, leaving the great matters of campaigns and strategy to others. However, even they could not capture the immediacy and intensity of the individual soldier’s life. For reasons of security and morale much had to be omitted, and more toned down, removing the grittiness which might shock back home.
During Viet Nam, the relationship was entirely different, as the politicized media appeared to have taken sides and mutual suspicion between troops and journalists was the rarely achieved "best" relation. This reviewer found that the war he was fighting and the war being reported were two totally unrelated events. To a great extent, losing the media battle was what lost the Viet Nam war. During the first Gulf War of 1991, military-media relations did not sink to the Depths of Viet Nam, but were still marked by mistrust.
During the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, something new has happened, the rise of the internet and widespread blogging. Deployed troops can take their laptop computers with them and communicate home directly on a realtime basis. But so long as this is done by email, the effect is no more than letters home. What has truly made the difference is the rise of blogging technology appropriated by the deployed troops for instantaneous communication. For the first time an individual warrior can aspire to tell his side of the story, not just to his immediate family and neighbors but to all the world. If today, Walter Cronkite were to report a litany of defeats, ending with a portentous "And that’s the way it is", even before the administration spokesmen could cobble together a clumsy defense, he would be hooted down in cyberspace by angry soldiers denouncing his lies and telling their stories for themselves. For some of us, the Bush administration’s greatest ineptitude has been its public relations effort, so lame it might have cost us the war under previous conditions, but saved today, by the troops themselves and their un-brigaded supporters back home. They are doing for themselves what Ernie, Bill, and Richard did sixty years ago, and arguably doing it even better.
The two largest and most important of these public milblogs certainly are Mudville Gazette and Blackfive. Not much is known of Greyhawk, the owner and commander of Mudville, save that he is a serving Air Force Officer living in Germany, and judging by the F-16s on his site banner, probably with the 52 Fighter Wing.
More is known about Blackfive. He is Matthew Currier Burden, who left the Army in 2001 with the rank of Major, after a long and active career, often at the pointy end of the spear. In mid 2003 he took the name Blackfive for himself and his new website expressly to report the news which he felt the professional media were ignoring; since then, the site has gained a large following and today is the twentieth ranked blog by visits. Rated by the more subjective measure of quality, Blackfive is easily within the top five sites (Though the Old War Dogs have picked up the scent and are baying on his trail.)
Now Blackfive has written a book, The Blog of War, published in paperback by Simon & Schuster. This book is the story of milblogging as told by the milbloggers in their own words, taken from their posts of the last three years. Extended selections are taken from fifty or more blogs, including a few which have subsequently suspended activity. Several of these blogs have contributed passages for more than one chapter.
The very nature of blogging tends to weed out the inarticulate and uncommitted, but Matt has selected the best of the crop. And he has done a further remarkable job of arrangement, choosing the order in which accounts appear, and linking them into a coherent and logical sequence. This is not as easy as it appears. I know; my books are also based on collating related, but discrete narratives, so I have a special appreciation for what Matt has accomplished. Frankly, he has succeeded better than I. And finding just the right passage from each blog, assuring that the most important milblogs are all represented is a task involving heroic research of a sort which cannot be accomplished by search engine. it requires eyeball examination of judgement of dozens of blogs, and thousands of discreet posts.
In the first chapter several of these bloggers explain to their families why they volunteered to go. Some of these accounts are heart-wrenching, and others inspiring.
The next chapter describes the living conditions, day-to-day, of troops stationed in the war zone. It seems that wars always take place in desolate and barely liveable places, and if the place, such as Italy or Northen France, were not intolerable at the start of hostilities, it quickly becomes so. Spartan living is a major factor which sets apart soldiers on active duty, all of them, including those assigned to non-combat duties. And the living conditions in Iraq sound to me particularly unpleasant, even more after reading these accounts.
The next three chapters are entitled "The Healers", "Leaders, Warriors, and Diplomats", and "The Warriors". "Healers" of course contains the accounts of the nurses, doctors, and corpsmen, and includes accounts of saving the wounded, and sometimes failing to do so. And sometimes the wounded are Iraqis, even jihadis. The next two chapters seem remarkably close to each other. Leaders, Warriors, and Diplomats" includes more accounts of elections and civic action, though these areas often blend seamlessly. I might have placed "The Healers" third in the sequence rather than first, but that is a matter of author’s decision, and is a very minor difference in approaches. There is plenty of intense action and pucker here, and the chosen accounts communicate the experience with rare intensity. If you have friends or family over there, be sure to read these chapters, and you may better understand why they have come home more tightly strung and edgy than you remembered them. War is not intended to be pleasant for anyone. These chapters in particular I had to read in relatively small doses.
Perhaps one of the most moving sections of this book for me was the chapter "The Homefront", accounts blogged by anxiously waiting family members. It is true that the folks back home who have never been to war cannot understand what war is really like for the troops participating. But it is equally impossible for those troops to completely comprehend the fears of those consigned to wait helplessly at home, knowing little and understanding less of what is going on. And powerless to do anything beyond worry. The soldier becomes sensitized to the shriek of the siren, his wife to the ring of the telephone. This is a side of war I have not experienced. Matt’s book has helped me to make a start on understanding.
"The Fallen" relates the saddest experience, accounts of wives who have lost their husbands, and of soldiers who have lost a comrade in battle, perhaps right at their side. Again this is another essential chapter which must be read, but should be read in small doses. This is not the typical flowery "sweet to die for..." tribute. it is a much more powerful tribute to those who sacrificed their lives, and to those who sacrificed almost as much, those they loved.
The last chapter, "Homecoming" is a bittersweet ending, the joy of homecoming, and the difficulty, the shock of readjusting that is a part of the experience.
Finally the book’s Epilogue lists the bloggers whose contributions appeared in each chapter, and gives their names and a few details about each including an update on their current status. As I had become quite fond of several of these individuals through their blogs, it was a treat to learn their names and details that have not appeared on their blogs.
I give Blog of War my highest recommendation. If you are a veteran, of any war, it will help you place your own experience in better perspective. if you only know, or are related to a veteran or active warrior, this book is even more important for you to understand what is going on. I warn you, it should be read in small doses, but it must be read. Old soldiers aren’t supposed to get weepy-eyed, so I guess it must have just been a bad allergy season for me. Never before has the American soldier been as well reported.
For maintaining Blackfive and publishing this book, Matt Burden certainly has joined the elite circle of Richard Tregaskis, Bill Maulden and Ernie Pyle, perhaps at the lead of that list. This Old War Dog says a sincere and deeply felt, "Thanks, Matt."
-Rurik
Ellie