Since it's already been written up comprehensively, including a mention in a BoingBoing article today, I will just go over some general impressions and highlights.
I got there a few minutes late (it started promptly at 8AM, so I missed the videotaped message from President Bush), halfway through the remarks of Rear Admiral Mark Fox (via satellite):
Adm. Mark Fox onscreen; liveblogger Jim Hoft of Gateway Pundit
[Update 5/8: Oops, I had originally put "Sean Preston" instead of Sean Dustman. Guess I have the Britney-spawn embedded in my subconscious. At least I was consistent, making the same mistake all 4 times. Apologies for the error and thanks to Kathi for correcting. -- Joe]
I will try to synthesize some of the bloggier themes that were discussed:
* Access: Computer equipment and Internet connections that were available to milbloggers varied depending on where they were and when they were there; Sgt. Hook mentioned that at some bases in Afghanistan, you could get satellite Internet in your hooch for $40/month; there were also Internet cafes on Forward Operating Bases (or FOBs); as well as wireless Internet and cellular networks of varied access and coverage in Iraq.
Sean Dustman mentioned that on the FOBs, many people had brought laptops, though weren't allowed to plug them into the network and some deployments.
* OPSEC & What Not to Blog: Of course, the new OPSEC (operational security) restrictions on blogging came up -- Dustman basically said, "Hey, that's an Army reg -- I'm Navy, it doesn't affect me," to much intraservice hooting.
All agreed that there would be a big impact if soldiers lost the ability to blog, Roggio saying "You just cannot take it away." (Ardolino also mentioned that VOIP -- Voice Over IP telephony -- was a huge morale booster (since soldiers could talk to people back home for a few cents a minute).
When it came to personal contraints on blogging, Dustman said that as a FOB guy (a medic who just stayed on base), he wouldn't blog when someone he knew died; Roggio wouldn't blog about wounded soldiers, or Special Forces (one of the imposed rules, though he felt that perhaps they would benefit from having some of their stories told).
There was also more discussion of the OPSEC restrictions during the next panel.
* Politics and Milblogging: Also during the Q&A, Ana Marie Cox, formerly of Wonkette and now a blogger with Time.com (so a representative of the MSM), suggested that servicemembers expressing opinions in a milblog was a political exercise, which elicited some strong reactions:
- Matt Burden: "When war becomes political, I become political."
- Roggio: People who blog in support of the mission automatically get lumped in with right-wing conservatives.
- Ardolino: Politics goes out thewindow when you're under fire.
* On Public Affairs Officers: There was a general consensus (though with some dissenters), that the Marine PAOs "rock" (and that the Marines have historically been better at working public affairs), and that the Army PAOs "suck", and that without good PAOs to facilitate entry into and exit from the country, civilians -- bloggers and journalists -- can't do anything.
* Milbloggers vs. the Mainstream Media: As I mentioned before, there was a deep-seated feeling that the mainstream media was missing the story, either because they were just "2 steps behind" (Ardolino), or that the "template is not to talk about success stories in Iraq" (Roggio, talking about Anbar province).
They felt that the media cherry-picked negative quotes from the few very cynical soldiers there, and that nearly all soldiers worked towards the mission, even if they didn't agree with it.
They also felt that the media didn't cover the full spectrum of stories in Iraq; that "Nothing happens quite a bit in Iraq" (Roggio), and that the media emphasis on violent ("kinetic"), salacious stories (a la "if it bleeds, it leads") is what the enemy plays to, since insurgencies and terrorism depends on media reactions.
Others questioners ascribed different motives to the media, ranging from incompetence & bias, to "strategic propaganda."
* Milbloggers and the Mainstream Media: Despite the antipathy towards the MSM and the feeling that milbloggers were there to counter the MSM's bias, some expressed the idea that milbloggers could influence and educate the MSM, since the MSM wasn't going away; Roggio said that by understanding how the MSM works, and building relationships with them ("even if distasteful"), they might be able to do more (though it might not be as "interesting and fun to fly off the handle" at them). Since the MSM's network is still bigger than the milblogger's network, they need to plug into it (Ardolino).
There was also a lot more about bloggers and the mainstream media in the next session, too, which I will get to tomorrow.
Thanks -- Joe
