The Air Force brass has taken some very strong measures to block as many blogs as possible from its network. They seem to think that sites like the New York Times are the one media sources that should be visited, for many reasons, including security. I'm guessing that they missed that whole scandal a while back involving national security and NYT reporters... Then there is the Army's own audit which shows that the Department of Defense is its own worst enemy with respect to OPSEC.
It is understandable that the Air Force might want to make all of its personnel register their blogs with it, so that it can periodically sweep them for actual security violations or conduct regulated by the UCMJ. However, the military in general is moving toward a repressive system for regulating its personnel that is needlessly destructive of their first amendment rights.
It may be just an anecdote, but a friend of mine who is a serious Christian in the military was shocked at how debauched the people he was in basic training were. We both knew that drinking and screwing were normal, but as he said, even the wildest frat parties at our university were pretty tame by comparison to what many of them would do on the weekends. It's probably a lot better for the military to encourage its people to spend time on MySpace, YouTube and blogging, than going out and doing their thing...
The difference between "progress" and a hampster wheel is the latter at least burns calories
Good Grief, this story or the issue of Air Force blocking blogs just made it to the Coast Guard end of the blogosphere. At our end of internet, we have not all been blocked as of yet, but rumblings inside Coast Guard Headquarters point in that direction. We have uncovered what has been labeled the “ugly underbelly†of the Coast Guard and report on issues they sooner not have discussed. Of the three main blogs, CoastGuardReport.org, CGblog.org and CoastGuardNews.com we take on issues that otherwise would not be discussed at the level and with the sources inside the Coast Guard we use.
As the Coast Guard tries to come to grips with its new and increased missions since 911, along with its increased funding, we have much to report on. From the failed 27 billion dollar acquisition portfolio to upgrade the Coast Guard’s aged and deteriorating fleet of ships and aircraft, to a base infrastructure that is largely made up of base hand-me-downs from the other services, they have much to do. Coast Guards 27 billion dollar acquisition portfolio is still being managed today by an Admiral with ZERO professional acquisition training, qualifications or certifications. Why the congress let alone the Commandant of the Coast Guard don’t tackle that easy fix is beyond anything anyone outside the Coast Guard can fathom.
Good Luck Bloggers!