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An update on former milblogger LT G of Kaboom

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The news of this milblogger's demise has now reached the virtual pages of Wired.com, and seems to have sparked further debate about the role of military bloggers in the US. (If you want the back story read my post on it or follow the Wired link above.) Before this blog was shut down a number of commenters voiced their opinions on the closure of the blog. Some felt LT G was asking for trouble when he wrote a post about a conversation he had with a superior officer:
LT, you knew that was a button pusher. Too bad though.
And a blogger cited by Wired.com reckons LT G's writing was irresponsible, even though the officer scrupulously observed Operational Security regulations:
The guy [LT G] is an officer, for Christ's sake. He is paid to provide a leadership example. And yet, many of you are defending an example of an officer who knowingly broke the rules, openly displayed contempt for his senior officers, and then, when the rule he broke was enforced, didn't have the good grace to take his lumps silently but rubbed their noses in it PUBLICLY. If I had been the field grade in question, the easiest and least embarrassing course of action for me personally would have been to counsel the young man quietly and deal with the post LATER. However, allowing an officer to deliberately defy regulations and deliberately do what he did is not really an option a responsible senior ought to contemplate. I could not, in good conscience, ignore his actions no matter how irritating and public the repercussions.
Other commenters wrote of their disappointment at what they believe will be the end of the blog. I emailed one commenter who says she is determined to fight the closure of the blog. She has written to her Congress representantive and her senators in protest and is urging other readers to do the same. These are the main points from the letter...
"My concern is that this soldier is risking his life everyday to defend "freedom" for the citizens of the United States and Iraq, while his right to free speech and freedom of the press are being violated... ...I am a regular reader of milblogs and I have gained knowledge about the war and the workings of the military (both good and bad) through the writings of those who are "boots on the ground." These are stories one will never see, read, or hear from mainstream US media... ...I do support our soldiers and I am not anti-military. I am, however, anti-censorship when it comes to violating the very rights for which our soldiers have been fighting and dying for the last five years!"

2 Comments

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akinoluna | July 3, 2008 2:41 PM

That's nice of them to go to Congress to try and get Lt G

writing again but I doubt it will work. The issue isn't

about blogging. He broke a rule that every single servicemember

knows about and is taught from the first days of boot camp:

don't question or insult your superiors.



He just happened to use his blog to do it. Bloggers like him

are the exact reason higher-ups don't like blogs! Now they

will be thinking that if an officer can't control himself,

certainly the enlisted can't either...I think he just made

life more difficult for all milbloggers.



(Also, your comment box is messed up. I have to hit "enter"

when I reach the edge of the box or my sentence goes off

into never-never-land where I can't see it)

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LL | July 6, 2008 12:32 PM

You know, I loved LT G's writing (the phrase "hetero lifemate" is now in my vocabulary cuz it perfectly captures some friendships). But really, you milbloggers are at the mercy of the rules. Just like people who get fired for writing publicly. He did not get his post vetted by his superiors. The sidebar of his site used to say that he blogged with his commander's permission cuz he was loved by the CO. Well, not so loved anymore. I'd buy that young man a beer and I'd thank him for being so freakin' REAL on his blog, but I'll not be writing to my Congressman on his behalf. He knew the rules and unfortunately, he violated them. I thought the post that got him into trouble was funny because seriously, we've all been there lookin' at the boss and thinkin' to ourselves NO F'ING WAY. He just said it out loud and his bosses saw it. One of the downsides to blogging.



I hope they unleash him but I doubt they will now that there has been a public outcry. It's hard to go back when everyone has seen the shutdown.



He can write a book when he's out from under the Military Machine.