One of the military blogs (milblogs) I’ve been reading lately is My War – a blog by a soldier in one of the Stryker units over in Iraq. His writing is incredibly personal and gives you quite the feeling of being in the midst of the action – it’s real, it’s scary, and it’s a fantastic read.
Looks like he had a bit of a run in with his Battalion CO this week and may stop blogging:
I could feel the sweat dripping down my face. He calmly looked up and told me that my shit was really good, and he liked reading my stuff, and that I was a good writer. He even mentioned something about including it in the units history and archives. That didn’t relieve me one bit, like I said, it made me more freaked out. I’m waiting for him to say the word: “BUT” followed by my punishment. Then we discussed things, and he pointed things out, and told me things. I agreed with 100% of everything he was saying, and the final conclusion from what he told me was that I could continue writing, but maybe have my Plt Sgt read my stuff before I post. He stressed that he didn’t want to censor me and that I still had the freedom of speech thing, as long as I wasn’t doing anything that would endanger the mission. I totally 110% agree with him on that one. I thanked him and I told him that I of course would not want to do anything that would endanger anybody here or back home, which is of course true. He suggested that I should look into getting this stuff published and made into a book someday. Finally I walked out of his office, with a feeling that I had just dodged a full mag of AK47 bullets.
I, for one, hope he continues. If not, it’s been a great run and I wish him the best of luck – and stay safe!