Staff Sgt. Ross Hedlund is a Fire Support Sergeant (E-6) with the National Guard. He previously served in the Balad,
Here’s an excerpt from a recent news story about Staff Sgt. Ross Hedlund and his National Guard unit.
(Minnesota Daily) Staff Sgt. Ross Hedlund is a University student and one of 96 Red Bulls who had to put their college plans on hold while they were deployed to Iraq. Hedlund was on a long weekend exercise with another unit when he found out he was being transferred to the Rosemount , Minn., portion of the 34th Infantry Division because they were being deployed.
After his initial shock, Hedlund decided to apply to graduate with two degrees in December — 14 credits short of the four majors and a minor he had planned on receiving from the Carlson School of Management.
He said he plans on coming back for a semester after his deployment to finish the degrees.
For Hedlund, this will be the second time delaying college plans to go to Iraq. He was deployed for the first time in February 2004.
Read the entire story here.
Check out his blog here.
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(reporternews) Almost five months after a Chicago banker gave up the comforts of home and family to walk across the country to honor friend and fellow Army Ranger Pat Tillman, he is making his way across the Big Country, raising money for a cause that moves his feet as well as his soul.
Rory Fanning is making a 3,000-mile trek from the
Fanning, 31, is making the journey to raise money for the Pat Tillman Foundation, an organization created to identify young leaders and provide scholarships.
Read the entire story here.
Visit Rory’s blog at http://blog.walkforpat.org/
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You know, some of the Army Strong commercials are actually pretty damn good, particularly if you're interested in the Infantry. As you can probably guess, my wife doesn't like it much when I watch these videos online since I've already deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan and I've only been home a short while. But I thought I'd share my favorite Army Strong Commercial because this one totally kicks ass!
Of course, it's not as kickass as the commercial I would've produced. But my commercial idea was totally shot down by the Military. Pftt...
Apparently, showing Ninjas being tossed around like rag dolls, getting roundhouse kicked to the face by American Soldiers doesn't seem to be all that believable. And okay, I'll admit, maybe the flying Unicorns air assaulting in at the end were a bit much...
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I’ve copied and pasted the survey exactly as I received it through email. Unfortunately, the intent of some questions is sometimes lost in translation, so if you need more information, you’ll need to email Second Lieutenant D'HOOP Anne-Lise.
Survey Questions
1. How long and why have you been starting up a military blog?
2. How often are you updating your blog? What's the level of importance you're giving to your blog?
3. Describe in a few words the content of your blog.
4. Are you adding photos and/or videos? If the answer is « yes », why? What kind of photos and/or videos are they? And what source are they from?
5. Have you any idea of the kind of people consulting your blog? How often is it, on average, daily and/or monthly visited?
6. Did you ever get in touch and/or have feedbacks with bloggers visiting it?
7. According to you, what's the rate of influence your blog could have on your private and/or professional life?
8. Do you think your blog did really help you to bring your mission, to a successful conclusion? Why?
9. Did you receive any instructions about the type of information you were allowed to spread in your blog?
10. Have you ever been confronted with security problems in connection with the spreading of information in your blog? Who with? Have you ever been obliged to delete some subjects and/or comments stored?
11. What do you think of the control of the Defence on military blogs?
12. In the future do you think keeping on with the making up of your blog? Why?
13. Do you often visit other military websites? Which ones? Why?
14. Are you satisfied with the military information available on these different sites? Why?
Additional Questions (completely optional)
Your Blog's Link :
Age :
Sex :
Nationality :
Native language :
Foreign spoken and/or written languages :
Staff category (Privates-NCO's-Officers) :
Component (Army-Air Force-Navy-Coast Guard-Medics) :
Function in the Army :
Marital Status :
Do you have children? How many? :
Which military missions did you take part in? How long did it/they last? What was your function?
If you want to add any comment about this inquiry, don't hesitate to it hereunder :
Webmaster Note: By no means is this an insult, but the email survey above kinda reminds me of something I would write at
Anyway, my apologies ahead of time in case anyone does receive an email message from me on an early Saturday or Sunday. Let's just say there will probably be some "f bombs" and references to ninjas. Most everything will be misspelled and chances are I’ll probably end up signing my email something like:
“Your Idol and Favorite Blogger in the World,
the Milblogging.com Webmaster.”
Basically what I’m getting at, is that when I send messages on Saturday or Sunday mornings (between the hours of
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"The
The public affairs department has even arranged to fly friendly bloggers to
Read the entire story here.
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The freelance writer and mother of three moved to
She started a number of blogs, offering her impressions of life as a military wife and
That’s when she met Patti Patton-Bader, founder of Soldiers’ Angels, a nonprofit volunteer organization that provides aid and comfort to men and women serving in all branches of the Armed Forces. The two met at a 2007 military blogger’s conference in
Read the entire story here.
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Don’t be shy to apply. We know things are tight financially with many individuals and families across the country, and we don’t want to see your military blog disappear. Every contributor to this strong community online is important to the “conversation” and spreading of ideas.
Contact us today, we’d be happy to hear from you.
Read the entire story here.
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Location: The Westin Arlington Gateway
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Conference Registration
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Visit the official Web site to learn more about this event.
You can expect to hear a lot less from me at this year's conference. I won't be emceeing or participating in any of panels this year. However, I will be attending the conference and I PLAN to fully engage the speakers and panelists...
Anyone know where I can rent a giant water balloon slingshot? Time for a new tactic to keep Panelists lively and on topic...
Moderator? NO.
Giant water balloon to the face? Booyah!
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(The Republican-American) Fein, who is 86, didn't learn how to use a computer until 10 years ago, when he was living in Flemington, N.J. Students at a high school were offering an afterschool class to teach seniors how to use computers, so he decided to give it a shot.
He became hooked, and that's when he found his niche.
Fein, a World War II veteran who served during the Normandy invasion, started a blog in April 2007 to share his stories of the war. Like many veterans who have seen combat, the minute details of Army life are imprinted in his mind. The blog gives him a chance to explore and share his experiences in one of the most public of forums.
Read the entire news story here.
Check out his blog here.
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(Wicked Local Quincy) Like much in life, wars come in shades of gray – successes and setbacks. Yet the portrait of the war in Iraq, according to some, seems painted only in black by the mainstream media.
Too little, they argue, is said about progress.
Army Capt. Mark Gunther is among them. And Gunther, who grew up in Quincy, is doing something about it.
For the duration of his one-year deployment, Gunther plans to blog about his experience with a small team of American soldiers as they advise members of the Iraqi Border Police.
His blog appears on The Patriot Ledger web site.
Read the entire story here.
Check out Capt. Mark Gunther’s blog here.
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That’s right, readers. You will no longer be seeing El Mucha Lucha Flea's Xanga Site listed in the Recently Updated chart on Milblogging.com. I've been working to clean up the database and remove inactive blogs and military blogs that have been completely shutdown by their owners. The list is long, particularly with Xanga blogs which appear to be incompatible with my feed reader. Thanks to Robin and other readers for pointing this issue out.
If you're wondering what "El Mucha Lucha Flea" means after seeing it appear in the Recently Updated chart for the last 4 years, I found an article online. According to Wikipedia: the Flea is a filthy and disgusting wrestler character on an old animated cartoon series. The flea's main characteristic is he's always dirty and gross. Nice.
I'm gonna miss El Mucha Lucha Flea's Xanga Site. It was an icon on Milblogging.com for years...of course, before my readers pointed out that Xanga blogs that are shutdown by owners completely wreak havoc on the Recently Updated Milblogs chart.
I'll tell you what though --- It's not gonna be the same around here without good ol’ El Mucha Lucha. Apparently, El Mucha Lucha had been shutdown for years. Who knows why? Maybe the author moved on to MySpace? Facebook? Blogger? Headed to Yale or Stanford? We may never know...
One thing's for sure: No way did the owner shutdown because of the title.
"El Mucha Lucha Flea’s Xanga Site"....
I don’t care what you say...Damn, that sounds good in writing!
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It's been awhile since I've hosted any surveys on the Milblogging Blog. Last year I started using SodaHead, and actually received several answers from people. I'd recommend if you're gonna run a poll or survey on your website, use SodaHead because it has lots of social networking features that bring more attention to your surveys outside of your regular blog readers.
The Poll I ran above about Op Sec Policy received over 30 answers and 16 comments.
According to SodaHead:
”SodaHead is a community that offers a free and dynamic environment to share and gather opinions and meet friends – a place to ask questions, express ideas, and connect with like and not-so-like friends... SodaHeads, as we call them.”
And speaking of surveys, I just ran a few polls here at home. 2 out of 2 of my kids picked me as the coolest person on the Planet. And 1 out of 1 wife picked me as the Handsomest Man in the Galaxy. I know. It's been a hell of a year for me. First, a finalist in the 2008 "Best Military Blog" Weblog Awards. Now Coolest Person on Earth and Most Handsomest in the Galaxy!
Although, I think the kids answers had something to do with my buying them a Nintendo Wii earlier today. And, I’m not sure about my wife. But for some strange reason, I can’t seem to find my wallet.
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"...With respect to your comment concerning participation in the blogosphere and the upcoming milbloggers conference, let me speak pretty plainly - most of the blogs I’ve dropped in on and read on a regular basis leave me pretty cold. Too many seem to be interested in scoring cheap, and anonymous, hits vice engaging in meaningful and professional exchanges. There is also a general lack of reverence for facts and an excess of emotion that, for me, really reduces the value of the blog. Incorrect/inaccurate data and lots of hype may be entertaining for some, but just doesn’t work for me."
Read the entire story here.
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And Karen Megeney said yesterday from her home in
"You can't mix the two professions of being an author and being a doctor. It doesn't work," she said, referring to the case of 44-year-old physician Kevin Lee Patterson of
Although not an author, Ms. Megeney noted that she has a perspective on the issue due to her work as a nurse. "I work with a lot of terminally ill patients, and confidentiality is the No. 1 thing: to protect your patients, your patients' family and yourself.
Read the entire story here.
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I'm not drinking Metamucil or wrinkly or anything like that, but I just realized I've been military blogging for nearly five years now. That's right folks, 5 YEARS. Who would have thought? When I first started blogging from
To celebrate this historic milestone, I'm sharing a link (click image below) to the first mainstream media news article I ever appeared in. Which, of course was totally awesome, but I wasn't the feature of the USA Today story, Colby Buzzell was, who was blogging from
Hey, it's get hot in this costume.
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My online pal MAJ Jakob Bruhl has a new poll up on his site regarding the recent trend in General Officers blogging on the internet. Is it a good idea that General Officers blog?
(Soldiers in the Blogosphere) This week's poll seeks your opinion about the growing number of General Officers who are actively blogging. If you haven't checked their blogs out yet, I encourage you to do so before you answer the poll. You can look here for some examples of blogs. If you find others that I haven't mentioned yet, please leave their url in the comments here so I can check them out...
Based on my research, I’m going to assume it’s a good idea. And by research, I mean the eight ball toy I consult by shaking to get answers like “not a chance” or “don’t count on it”.
I would comment on the lameness of some of the entries the General Officers publish, but considering I’m still in the Inactive Ready Reserve, I’m pretty sure by next week I’d be blogging from
I hear BG Abe Abrams can play “Bark at the Moon” on the Xbox Gibson SG controller better than Ozzy Osbourne.
Just saying...
Check out the poll here. It can be found in the rightsidebar.
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Straight from the Official Milblog Conference Website: The National Museum of Americans in Wartime (NMAW) is inviting interested MilBlog Conference attendees to experience vintage military vehicles (World War I forward) up close, on display and in demonstration.
Who: MilBlog Conference attendees are invited
What: Personal viewing of 110+ operational, vintage military vehicles...
When:
Where:
RSVP: If you can join or have questions, please RSVP.
Web: Click here
Important Note: NMAW will provide directions for those with cars. However, if enough milbloggers respond, they said they will try to arrange free round-trip transportation to and from the Milblog Conference site.
To save money on transportation, I've suggested to NMAW we just drive the tanks on the highway from the Milblog Conference site, straight to the Tank farm.
I'm still waiting to hear back...
I call shotgun on the Sherman!
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(The Bulletin) Lt. Patrick Smith is a former Kansan who now resides in
The first time in
Just as he was there for the election in 2005, he will be there for this upcoming general election. The 56th will be helping to provide the “outer” layer of security.
“People don’t think the Iraqis help themselves but they do,” he said. “I admire the Iraqi people. They voted when they were threatened with drive by shootings and bombings. Half the people here don’t vote at all.”
Lt. Smith has his own blog at: apachesix.blogspot.com that will keep people aware of events in
Read the entire story here.
Keep updated on their story in
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In case you're not familiar with Adwords, it's Google's online advertising program and main source of revenue. It's a pay per click advertising solution, where if you sign up for an account, you specify the keywords that should display ads AND you specify the maximum amount you're willing to pay per click. Then, when someone searches the Google Search engine, ads for those keywords are shown as "sponsored links" on the right side of the Search Results page. If you don't own the top spot for the keywords of your blog, it's an easy way to show up on the first page of Google results.
Perfect sense, right?
Right now, the only advertiser for the search term “military blog” is VaMortgageCenter.com who hosts the popular military blog YouServed.com, which is run by my good pal CJ.
I know most milbloggers write about their personal story not because they want to become rich or famous, but because it’s therapeutic and it’s an easy way to keep in touch with family and friends. It’s the same reason I started my first military blog from
If you want to drive relevant traffic to your site so you can keep growing your milblog, AdWords is always an option.
One of this year’s panels at the upcoming Milblog Conference is Beyond MilBlogging. According to the Milblog Conference Website maintained by Andi, Beyond Milblogging will discuss: “Taking the blog to the next level. From book deals to paid writing assignments, documentaries, speaking engagements, television and radio appearances and much, much more, many milbloggers have been able to branch out beyond the blog. We’ll find out how a few of them did it, and what projects they have in the works.”
Fortunately, I’ve been able to get Milblogging.com to the top page of Google results for the search term “military blog”, “milblog”, “milblogger” and more, without paying a single cent for Google ads, but it’s taken a few years. All I know is that I could’ve never done that if I hadn’t been the first to register Milblogging.com.
I have what they call “pretty good luck”. Partially because I was the first to register MILblogging.com, but mostly because I meant to register MILFblogging and I just happen to be a lousy typer.
A rael bad tpyer.
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Home Page of Korea's Popular Military Blog
This is a pretty exciting story considering the blog highlighted is a military blog run by the Chosun IIbo's military affairs correspondent Yu Yong-weon. Even more exciting, is that the military blog celebrated it's 100-millionth visitor.
Damn, I can't even imagine having 100-million visitors. And to be honest, I didn't even know there really was such a thing as '100-millionth'. I mean, it's like saying 'eleventy-jillion'. Or a 'bazillion'.
Or my personal favorite, that I like to tell my wife when she asks me how much I love her...
"Infinity plus Infinity".
Guys, call me if you need advice on WOoooing the ladies.
(Digital Chosunilbo) A blog operated by the Chosun Ilbo's military affairs correspondent Yu Yong-weon (bemil.chosun.com) celebrated its 100-millionth visitor yesterday. The blog was created in August of 2001 and between 80,000 and 90,000 visitors access the site daily. The blog has become
The quality of
Read the entire story here.
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