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. Thanks!
And, as always, tell your friends/colleagues/complete strangers to stop by this blog and take the poll.
25 January 2009
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I think it's a great thing for generals to blog! It's a good, direct way to provide vision and leadership that doesn't get watered down by going down the chain-of-command five or six times. It's also important for the American public to know what their tax dollars are paying for.
ReplyDeleteI understand your sentiment, Nixon, concerning the value of the public hearing directly from senior leaders. But do you think the public should be able to see internal communication between a leader and his Soldiers? Or should discussion about issues that have yet to be decided best take place within your service's portal (such as AKO or AFPortal)?
ReplyDeleteAlso, I appreciate your comment about information being watered down as it heads down the chain of command. So, are blogs a way to fix this problem? Or, is there a bigger problem for which blogs are just a work-around?
I realize all I'm doing in this comment is asking questions, but I really am curious to hear what others think about this topic.
Blogs and PSYOP
ReplyDeleteCOL Dietz thinks they will have a PSYOP effect on individuals from outside the chain of command who have an interest in what this senior leadership is doing.
Thanks for pointing me to the PSYOP blog, Cannoneer No. 4. COL Dietz brings up some points I certainly hadn't considered.
ReplyDeleteMuddy Boots IO is all about influencing the attitudes, emotions and objective reasoning of the reader, where ever they are. That's why Generals, PA, PSYOP, and CA officers should take care not to trample the authenticity and credibility of soldiers blogging by herding them too closely. You don't want them tagged as PSYOP'ers by Daily Kos and HuffPo.
ReplyDeleteReturn of the Speech Police?
ReplyDeleteHow would you like to be a blogger assigned to the 677th Aeronautical Systems Group?
I've been thinking a lot about how we find the right balance between encouraging and equipping our Soldiers to be more effective bloggers while not reducing their credibility or stifling their willingness to be open and honest. I wonder if that will be a problem as more senior officers enter the blogosphere to interact with their Soldiers. I must say that I'm encouraged so far ...
ReplyDeleteFrom what I've read in MG Oates' blog (Mountain Sound Off), his Soldiers are being honest and real in their discussions with him - and he's encouraging that. But, I also think that this is an area requiring a huge culture shift within the Army and one that will take some time to overcome: this level of candid, public discourse.
Concerning your comment, Cannoneer, about the recent e-mail by the Cdr of the 677th, I don't think his direction is out of line. Political discussion is inappropriate in the military workplace and there are plenty of rules which limit how we, in uniform, can participate in the political process. As we enter the blogosphere, the rules still apply! If we're going to be public about who we are - which I think is important - then, in my opinion, it's just as if we are currently in uniform and are therefore not allowed to publicly support political candidates or speak disparagingly about our elected officials.
Those are my thoughts right now, but this is certainly a topic I need to do some more thinking about and looking at to ensure I come to a proper judgment. This will be the topic of a future post!
Good thought from Milblogging.com's webmaster: "why do blog entries always have to be about policy or military subjects that are dry? Maybe the General Officers could post a YouTube video of themsevles having fun once in awhile?"
ReplyDeleteI hadn't thought of that... perhaps I'm eqally as boring.
milblogging.com/index.php?entry=entry090127-144512
On the internet, nobody knows you're a dog, or a General, or a private, or an f'n' civilian, unless you tell them.
ReplyDeleteNoms de plume and noms de guerre serve the same purposes now as they ever did.