"If I were cool, I’d join the friggin’ Ranger Battallion and start talking shit about how I’m gonna try out for Delta or SEAL team six. In real life I’m a geek. I’ve never read Black Hawk Down. I miss the city and I just want to get back and finish school. This 'war on terror' crap has totally ruined my semester."
That's a blazing post from Jason Christopher Hartley's old blog he kept as an active duty soldier. As Hartley details in his memoir, Just Another Soldier, that blog got him in lots of trouble with the National Guard.
So how does one of the first so-called "military bloggers" feel about the current state of digital writing from soldiers? Well...
Welcome my deceptively simple feature, Five Easy Questions. In the spirit of Jack Nicholson’s mad piano player, I run a weekly set of quality conversations with writing pioneers—delivering some practical, unexpected advice about web writing.
Jason Boog:
In 2005, you told NPR: "Coincidentally, the [military] blogs that remain up are the ones, in my humble opinion, that are very insipid." Do you still feel like that? How has the military blog community evolved since 2005? Who are your favorite military bloggers right now?
Jason Christopher Hartley:
I don't read military blogs. It's literally the last thing I want to do. I have enough to think about with regard to the military; I don't want to clutter my already militarily-overdosed mind with more military slog. Continue reading...
Earlier this week I wrote about the death of Andrew Olmsted, a military blogger who I always enjoyed reading. Writers like him do more to help us understand the Iraq War than a whole Internet full of pundits.
Over at Obsidian Wings, they've been tracking the massive outpouring of Internet support for Olmsted's family (also posting that picture of Olmsted and his unit).
You can read the 500 tribute posts here; and Olmsted's final post is a moving essay about the power of Internet community and ideals. This line has haunted me all week:
"Granted, this site will eventually vanish, being ephemeral in a very real sense of the word, but at least for a time it can serve as a tiny record of my contributions to the world. But on a larger scale, for those who knew me well enough to be saddened by my death, especially for those who haven't known anyone else lost to this war, perhaps my death can serve as a small reminder of the costs of war."
If you feel like you want to do more, Olmsted's family is asking that you to send donations to Capt. Thomas Casey Children's fund, a pool of donations to help the family of one of Olmsted's fallen soldiers. More information here.
Capt. Thomas Casey Children’s
P.O. Box 1306
Chester, CA 96020
I'm having one of those days when everything on the Internet fascinates me but I hardly have time to check it all out. Still, there are a few stories that were too important to miss.
The Urban Muse has a sweet post about freelance friendships, ending with some solid links to new writers. Check it out: "My freelance friends understand what’s at stake ... why it’s necessary to obsess over headlines and second-guess story angles, because they’ve been there."
Be sure to check out Levi Asher's foray into the The Huffington Post and the Philadelphia Inquirer. I've worked with him in the past, and I was glad to see his byline in new places.
Most importantly, Obsidian Wings posts about the death of Andrew Olmsted--a soldier and writer in Iraq. His final post really shook me up:
"Granted, this site will eventually vanish, being ephemeral in a very real sense of the word, but at least for a time it can serve as a tiny record of my contributions to the world. But on a larger scale, for those who knew me well enough to be saddened by my death, especially for those who haven't known anyone else lost to this war, perhaps my death can serve as a small reminder of the costs of war."
