A.U.N.T.T.T Joy

Yesterday, I referred to Sgt Hook's entry regarding activity duty personnel, their blogs and OPSEC. Today he had a note up that he couldn't find that posting and was wondering if he'd been censored. (Note--that was almost an afterthought on his part; he was mainly puzzled.) Well I checked a few minutes ago and today's entry about the lost blog is gone, as well as the comments, but yesterday's blog entry is back. So rather than risk it disappearing again, I'm copying and pasting it below. (And I'm at a public library that won't let me use diskettes!!!) Note that the underlined highlights are links in his original posting but do not work here.

From Sgt.Hook, August 25, the AWOL blog entry:
MilBlogs
Greyhawk has an outstanding post up at the Mudville Gazette regarding active duty military bloggers and the thin line that separates writing about one’s experiences and putting soldiers’ lives in jeopardy. It can be a very thin line indeed. Hawk’s post was sparked by an NPR article critical of the Army’s handling of CBFTW’s blog, My War.
I’m not going to comment on CB’s situation directly though I will say that after reading My War I’m of the opinion that he’s a damned good soldier and a very talented writer.
I’m choosing also to not comment directly on the NPR story as Greyhawk did a much better job of highlighting its flaws than I could ever do.
But this is not a political issue - its a military one. The lives of a lot of people are at risk, and CB’s command shoulders that burden. Were they to not monitor the communications once they were aware of them they would be negligent, at least, likely derelict in their duties, and responsible for the results.
“The Army” wants him to continue blogging. Believe me, “the Army” could more easily issue a blanket gag order and shut down all MilBlogs - most likely there are voices calling for that. In years past that would have been the instant response. That they haven’t done so speaks well for a new mentality at the top.
Instead, I’d like to share with you my two cents on the subject of blogging, specifically Milblogging, more specifically Sgt Hook. I started this blog back in March of 2003 after reading the venerable LT Smash as he blogged from somewhere in the sandbox during the onset of OIF. I knew that eventually my time would come and I’d be called upon to deploy in defense of our nation and thought that a blog would be a great way to stay in touch with family and friends, as well as, sharing my experiences as a soldier, a first sergeant, in today’s Army at war. From the get go I was diligent about not compromising OPSEC (operational security) while telling my story. I remained purposefuly vague about my identity and the identity of my unit. I made sure that I did not reference upcoming plans and operations eventhough in garrison so as to practice good OPSEC.
I even waited until the local newspapers in Hawaii announced that the 25th Infantry Division was in the que for deployment to Afghanistan though I knew months before. I was very cautious to the point of not posting something that I thought might violate security rules. I continued to remain vague during our deployment process as only a fool would think that our enemies don’t scour the internet for useful information. For example, I blogged about shipping our CH47D helicopters via the USAF to the Stan, but never mentioned the route that we took as a savvy adversary might take advantage of such knowledge and plan an attack along the route that those following us might very well take. I’ve blogged often about some of our missions here, again using general and vague details when it came to locations or specifics of the operation so as not to divulge any useful information to the bad guys. I know that I’ve been criticized for fictionalizing some stories but it’s all done in the name of OPSEC.
I cannot imagine that any Milblogger would intentionally jeopardize a mission or fellow service member just to express him/herself or to get a link or to increase traffic. Nope, not something I think very likely. It is, however, entirely possible that in the process of sharing an experience, an operation might be compromised or lives put in danger. If a Milblogger innocently talks about a mission that they routinely conduct in a specific area or village, it is not out of the realm of possibility that a formidable foe could use that information to set up an IED along the road that leads into said village in the future. As Hawk said, it is the responsibility of the command to protect the mission and their soldiers and if Sgt Hook was putting either in jeopardy, I ought to be called on it.
I had a second reason for wanting to keep my identity on the QT, though I knew eventually I’d be found out. I sincerely did not want my blog to become a distractor to my soldiers. I never told any of my Army buddies about Sgt Hook fearful that if my joes knew that their first sergeant was posting his experiences, some that might include them, on the internet for all to read, they might harbor ill feelings or bear resentment toward their Top. That is also why most experiences of such nature that I share here are outdated and names changed to protect the innocent and not so innocent. There really is more than one flight engineer in my unit and not one of them is actually named “JAF.”
I’ve been asked by a few newspapers for interviews and have declined mostly because I wanted to protect my identity and more importantly the identity of my unit. I have given only two interviews and lifted the self-imposed veil of secrecy only after the PAO (public affairs office) had approved of releasing some specifics about the unit and I did so mostly to help publicize Operation Shoe Fly. Some of my soldiers are aware of Sgt Hook now, I’m sure, but I continue to be sensitive to what I write so as to protect them and our mission as both are near and dear to my heart.
Several weeks ago, I was walking past the TOC (tactical operation center) and heard a voice yell, “Sgt Hook.” My heart skipped a beat as my head automatically turned to see who was calling me. It was my battallion commander. I walked over to him thinking that my blogging days might soon come to an end, but all he had to say was, “that’s some good writing.”
Somewhere along the line, Sgt Hook became more than an online newsletter for my folks and siblings to keep track of my wanderings through this thing called life. Sgt Hook has evolved into a story that I passionately believe needs to be told. A soldier’s story. The men and women who wear the uniform of our nation’s military are some of the finest people you’d ever want to meet and they have dreams and fears and talent and they love their spouses and children and they dislike war and separations from loved ones and they believe. They believe in America and Americans and they believe in one another. When I write about a day in the life of a soldier I write about a hero. A hero among heroes. And for each story I publish, there are several that go unpublished so as to safeguard other heroes and their missions. This We’ll Defend. Sgt Hook out.
Posted by Hook @ 5:03 pm PermalinkThis post is filed under: All Things Blog