Milblogger bites the dust for writing 'too much unfiltered truth'
on June 27, 2008 12:39 PM
LT G, author of
Kaboom: A Soldier's War Journal, says he will have to stop updating his milblog with immediate effect.
In a post entitled '
Tactical Pause', LT G explains that although he 'committed no OPSEC violations', 'extenuating circumstances' meant a post he wrote on 28 May did not go through the 'normal vetting channels'. In a sidebar on his blog, LT G explains how his blog is normally checked by his Commanding Officer:
And no worries, Spooks. The author is not going to shatter the crystal vase that is OPSEC, because his CO proofs everything that is posted.
It appears a break with this procedure means LT G has written his last post from theatre in Iraq. He says the order to stop blogging was a result of 'a rash posting' on his part and 'decisions above my pay-grade':
It’s totally on me, as it [the 28 May post] was too much unfiltered truth. I’m a soldier first, and orders are orders. So it is.
The
28 May post entitled, 'The Only Difference Between Martyrdom and Suicide is Press Coverage' concerned a conversation LT G had with a superior about a possible promotion to Executive Officer (XO) - a position he didn't want.
This is the opening and gives you an idea of the jist of the tone in the post:
I’d brushed aside the informal inquiries for months now. No, not me. Not interested. Keep me on the line. I want nothing to do with a lateral promotion to XO (Executive Officer) that involves becoming a logistical whipping boy and terminal scapegoat for all things NOTGOODENOUGH. I’ve been out here in the wilds too long [Iraq], dealing with matters of life and death, to go back to Little America for PowerPoint pissing matches. Not me.
LT G's experience provides more evidence of the limits being imposed on milbloggers. Remaining within OPSEC rules is merely one of the many rules, (spoken and unspoken), that milbloggers need to follow in order to keep their blogs on the Web.
