[antimedia] antimedia: The second annual Milblog Conference....

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Posted by antimedia:
The second annual Milblog Conference....
http://www.antimedia.us/posts/1178378554.shtml


   ....is underway and going strong. Right now we're listening to a
   spouses and loved ones panel discussing what it's like to have a loved
   one deployed and at war. The first panel was milbloggers who blog or
   blogged from in theatre. Sgt. Hook, Bill Roggio, Doc in a Box and Bill
   Ardolino were on the Panel and Matt Burden of Blackfive was the
   moderator.
   There was a lot of discussion about PAOs and how the Marines are great
   and the Army sucks. Then some people stood up for some of the Army
   PAOs that they know personally. Like anything else, there are great
   ones and not so great ones, but the military really needs to get on
   board with the 21st century. (The Army PAO that contacted me for an
   interview has never responded to my emails. I'm sure he's busy, but
   really! It's 2007!)
   There was a lot of discussion as well about how things are going in
   Iraq and how there are good reporters in the field who submit stories
   every day, but their editors back in the US never publish them unless
   they are sensational. One questioner walked up to the mike and began
   by sarcastically saying that we'd been discussing the media for 45
   minutes and not once had we mentioned Paris Hilton. So the conference
   is obviously a failure.
   A small anecdote, true, but very to the point. Our media isn't
   interested in telling the truth. They're interested in telling
   sensational stories that will generate revenue, and they particularly
   like the ones that portray the US in a negative light.
   The second panel has been sharply critical of the jerks that leak
   deployment information before the families are notified. Yes, the
   media bears some responsibility for this, but the real culprits are
   the self-centered jerks in the Pentagon who put their personal pride
   ahead of the feelings of the military community.
   They've also discussed PTSD and other problems that military families
   have to deal with routinely and how we need to make the people of
   America more familiar with the problems that military families endure.
   Vickie of A Soldiers Mom made an incredible statement - "not all the
   wounds our troops suffer are visible".
   Now Robert Stokely, who lost his son in Iraq, is speaking about how
   the milblog community "gave him his life back" after his son died. He
   said, "I get asked all the, 'Is Iraq worth it?'" His answer is, "Ask
   the little boy who grew up to be a man and gave his life for Iraq."