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MILBLOGGING: Are MilBlogs Still Relevant?
In the wake of a successful military surge in Iraq, waning media attention and an election year, are MilBlogs as relevant to the national conversation on war as they once were?
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Matthew " Blackfive" Burden enlisted in the military when he was seventeen. After serving as a Sergeant in Airborne and Special Operations units, he received a Commission as an Armor (Cavalry) Officer. Matt served in units in across the globe in many military areas before working as an Intelligence Officer for the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA). After a sixteen year career, he left the military in July of 2001.
To honor the sacrifice of a good friend who gave his life in Iraq to save a convoy, Matt began Blackfive.net to support the military and military families, tell the stories that are not getting told in the media, and raise public awareness of the sacrifices being made. Blackfive.net is one of the most popular military blogs and has garnered many awards.
As a result of the military blogging phenomenon, Simon & Schuster published " The Blog of War" which Matt authored and edited - a book about the effects of Web 2.0 on the military and bloggers' stories from war.
Matt has a Masters of Science degree (Computer Science) from the University of Chicago where he received the Faculty Award. He also has an MBA from the University of Illinois. When not blogging, studying, or playing with his kids, Matt works as an executive in the IT field for a firm in Chicago. And if he had more time, he'd open a pub where veterans would get their first Guinness "on the house." (Paratroopers would get two).
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Ward Carroll is the editor of Military.com, responsible for all news, editorials, commentaries, and other content on the site and in newsletters.
During his 20-year Navy career Ward served in four different F-14 squadrons accumulating more than 2,800 flight hours in operations that included five extended aircraft carrier deployments to hostile regions. His last tour on active duty was at his alma mater, the U.S. Naval Academy, where he taught English, leadership, and ethics. He retired at the rank of commander. Immediately following his retirement, he worked as the communications director for the V-22 Osprey program at the Naval Air Systems Command.
Ward’s writing has appeared in a wide variety of periodicals including Golf World, Hits, and Proceedings. He was editor of Approach magazine as a lieutenant and in recent years wrote the popular “Grampaw Pettibone” column for Naval Aviation News. His three novels about a Tomcat pilot -- Punk's War (2001), Punk's Wing (2003), and Punk's Fight (2004) -- have been widely praised for their realistic portrayals of a Naval Aviator's life. He earned the Naval Institute Press’ “Author of the Year” honors in 2001. He has two other published works: The Aide (2005) and Militia Kill (2006). He currently blogs at Defensetech.org and his personal site, wardcarroll.com.
Ward’s military decorations include the Strike Flight Air Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal, and the Navy/Marine Corps Commendation Medal (four awards). He is married with two teenaged sons and splits his time between southern Maryland and San Francisco.
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Phillip Carter started the "Intel Dump" blog in November 2002, focusing on the intersection of law and national security. Phil has written for The New York Times, Washington Post, Slate, and other publications. He served nine years in the Army as an MP and civil affairs officer, including a deployment to Iraq in 2005-06. Following his service, Phil attended law school and joined the firm McKenna Long & Aldridge, where he practices national security and government contracts law. Phil is currently on leave from his blog and law practice, serving in Chicago as the national veterans director for Obama for America.
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Greyhawk began the blog The Mudville Gazette in March, 2003, and the MilBlogs Ring - the first "community" of military bloggers - later that year. He has blogged from Iraq in 2004-2005, and again in 2007. In 2006 he started MilBlogs, a multi-author blog/chat forum for milbloggers. In 2008 he created MilBlogs TV, launching the milblogs 'brand' into yet another new media frontier.
The Mudville Gazette has experienced steady growth since it's founding in 2003. Mudville has been mentioned on Fox News, USA Today, MSNBC, WaPo and CNN, as well as in a cover story in Army Times.
Though fellow military members (from young people considering a military career to veterans of America's past wars) are probably more frequent visitors to Mudville, the site is more popular among civilians looking for insight into the military or reports from the frontlines of the war on terror they cannot find in the MSM.
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First Sergeant CJ Grisham is a 14 year career Soldier stationed in Alabama.
He joined the Army in October 1994 after realizing he needed a little
structure and discipline in his life. The purple hair was also beginning to
clash with his plaid shirts and he realized that a career at the Taco Bell
drive through wasn't doing anything to get him the girls. His father is
retired from the Navy and his grandfather served in the European theater
during WWII as a belly gunner and bombardier of a B24. He started his blog,
[A Soldier's Perspective](http://www.soldiersperspective.us), after returning
from OIF1 in 2003 and realized that he needed an avenue to tell his story
and as a way of therapy to deal with his own demons of combat. Eventually,
his blog morphed into a way to tell the Soldiers' story about the realities
of combat on the ground. Seeing that media coverage was overwhelmingly
biased against the war effort, he went through great efforts to put out the
success stories and highlight the heroes of our military. CJ continues that
tradition along with providing a military perspective to political issues
affecting the armed services and its members. He is 100% dedicated to
taking care of Soldiers, whether or not they are his. CJ is happily married
to his hot wife, Emily, and they have three beautiful children. His goal is
to retire from the military and begin a political career at the state or
national level. Or teach JROTC - whichever happens first! CJ also
started [They Have Names](http://www.theyhavenames.com), a site dedicated to the memory of our fallen troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.
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