Milblogging: How the Troops' Writing Affects Our View of the War
Military blogs (milblogs) have played an increasingly important role in not only the dissemination of battlefield information in real time, but also in shaping how Americans view the troops and the wars in which they’re fighting. In recent years, milblogs both supportive and critical of the war effort in Iraq have sprung up across the blogosphere. Some, like VetVoice and Blackfive, have even evolved into online communities for troops and veterans. This panel will explore the implications of milblogs on military policy by discussing them with three veterans who blog and a traditional media military reporter.
Kevin Maurer has been embedded with the U.S. Special Forces and 82nd Airborne Division in Afghanistan and Iraq ten times in the last five years. Maurer covered the invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan's first parliamentary election. Most recently, he covered the Bush Administration's surge into Baghdad, and wrote the definitive piece about the transformation of Khost from a terrorist haven to a working province in Afghanistan. He currently works for the Associated Press.
Alex Horton created and maintains the blog Army of Dude and writes for VetVoice.com. He lives in Austin, TX, but says "No, you cannot crash on my couch during the convention."
Richard Smith is a front page writer at the VoteVets.org blog VetVoice. He was raised in northwest Florida and enlisted in the United States Army at the age of 18. After serving a stint with the 6th Cavalry and the 2nd Infantry Division in Korea, Richard was assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. In 2007 he deployed with his unit to Afghanistan, where he served as an NCO for 15 months. He returned home in April 2008. Prior to writing at VetVoice, he blogged at Daily Kos and (the now defunct) WordSmiths.
A vice chairman of VoteVets.org, Brandon Friedman is editor of the blog VetVoice and author of "The War I Always Wanted." Brandon served as an infantry officer in the Army's 101st Airborne Division in Afghanistan and Iraq, where he was involved in ground combat on a number of occasions. Friedman's writing has been featured on new media outlets to include the UK's Guardian Unlimited, The Huffington Post, and Daily Kos among others. He has also appeared on ABC, CNN, MSNBC, and C-SPAN. Brandon holds a master's degree in public policy and administration from the University of Texas at Dallas.
