Air Force Voices

Still Offline...

Lots of great posts on 2005 and the impact of the blogosphere on world events. (See Mudville Gazette as an example).

The holiday break has allowed me time to reconnect with family and return to reading many of my favorite blogs.

The last six months have been busy (taking command of a new squadron in the middle of multiple deployments) and the next six appear to be even busier (getting ready for an operational readiness inspection).  Lots of work to do involving long hours...however, extremely important business.

Some good news:  My Air Command and Staff College research paper on weblogs got published on the Air Force Public Affairs Toolkit...I expect this take on added meaning as DoD is finally waking up and is establishing a new office for strategic communications. 

Note:  I believe senior leaders finally realized the only place we could lose the GWOT is in Washington DC itself (thanks to dishonest politicians and a corrupt MSM) and that something more needs to be done.  Thank God we have the blogosphere to shed some light on world events.

Someday I will return to daily posting...in the mean time, keep the faith and speak the truth.  We are winning!

Chrenkoff Signs Off

I was a bit surprised by this bit of news...Chrenkoff...a great source of inside information from the front lines in the Global War on Terror has signed off. 

Many bloggers (including the higher volume blogs) regularly linked his stories.  As far as the information war goes...this is a setback for now.

Yet, Chrenkoff foreshadowed this here and here.  An excerpt from both posts follows (emphasis added):

"A few days ago, I accepted a new job. Unfortunately, one of the conditions is that I will not be allowed to blog, or indeed write much on my own. As you can imagine, it has not been an easy decision. Oh, what the hell - it has been a damned difficult one. I have enjoyed blogging immensly, and I have enjoyed meeting all of you - virtually - over that time. I will, of course, write a bit more on this topic in due course, but in advance of that, a big thank you to all my readers and my fellow bloggers who have made the last eighteen months of my life so fantastic and so rewarding."

I found this interesting (emphasis added):

"...the ban on blogging and writing relates to the fact that when you're on a relatively junior level (as is your immediate boss), it doesn't particularly matter what you write - as long, of course, that it's not defamatory or inflammatory - but as you move higher up in the chain, the powers that be get increasingly paranoid that you might write something that might embarrass or reflect badly on both your (now higher profile) boss and the government in general, so no risks will be tolerated at all.

Hmmm...what does that say about our leadership?  More to follow.

Chenkoff...you will be missed.

Compare and Contrast

I have another busy day ahead of me...thus, little time to post.

However, for those of you new to Air Force Voices (and the blogosphere in general)...there is an abundance of weblogs for you to explore.

The best source of information on the Global War on Terror comes from the weblog Mudville Gazette (published by "Greyhawk").  In the interest of time, I would like to direct you to Mudville's daily Dawn Patrol...kind of like the Early Bird except you can compare and contrast what is gettting reported in the media with what is being reported first-hand by troops on the ground. 

Occasionally Air Force Voices will join in Mudville's Open Post...plus, we are a member of the milblogs ring (look on the right sidebar).

Anyway...Enjoy!  I am off to work!

Welcome Back

AFV is back online!

Moving my family across the country, setting up household goods and taking command of a new squadron (and fixing several things) has taken all my extra time.  I am still struggling to find time in the day for publishing.  Nevertheless, we are back and its time to get back to the original intent of the site (see below):

This site is intended to provide unofficial commentary on current leadership, military, or political topics. 

It is intended to become the primary venue for Air Force members, veterans, and their families to voice an opinion, comment, or offer insight on a wide range of topics. 

The vision is for this site to become the on-line community that ties us together during deployments, change of station, promotion, retirement, family events, etc...especially given the Global War on Terror and the effects of Air Force Transformation.

This site was started as part of a research project at the Air Command and Staff College.

Pundit Review Radio

This is a great move!  Check out Pundit Review and what they are doing on the radio now that Boston's #1 talk radio station (WRKO) has cancelled "Newsweek on Air" in light of the liberal magazines false story (HT: LaShawn Barber)

They have a great lineup of bloggers instead. 

Someday, Air Force Voices will get on the air (in a positive way!).

[Note:  My friends at ACSC are all waiting for me to get in trouble for blogging...I don't see it happening as long as I refrain from releasing OPSEC and ensure good order and discipline rules are not broken.  This doesn't mean I won't comment on a poor decision...staying quiet about bad decision-making doesn't help the situation...BTW:  that is another recommendation in my research paper.]

Liberal Media

Why do I blog?  Because I am tired of the liberal bias in the MSM/DNC.  That is why I chose public affairs as my research seminar and titled my research paper Weblogs: The Power to Shape Public Opinion.  As a result, I started this blog to gain practical experience and as my knowledge grew...I found out many others in the military who feel the same way.   

It is not just Newsweek retraction that offers the latest example.  Michelle Malkin has a great column in today's edition of Jewish World Review:  Here is an excerpt:

It's the New York Times and CBS News and the overkill over abuses at Abu Ghraib prison. It's the Boston Globe publishing porn photos passed off by an anti-war city counselor as proof that American G.I.'s were raping Iraqi women.

It's the constant editorial drumbeat of "quagmire, quagmire, quagmire."

It's the mainstream media's bogus reporting on the military's failure to stop purported "massive" looting of Iraqi antiquities.

It's the hyping of stories like the military's purported failure to stop looting of explosives al Qaa Qaa right before the 2004 presidential election stories that have since dropped off the face of the earth.

It's the persistent use of euphemisms "insurgents," "hostage-takers," "activists," "militants," "fighters" to describe the terrorist head-choppers and suicide bombers trying to kill American soldiers and civilians alike. It's the knee-jerk caricature of American generals as intolerant anachronisms. It's the portrayal of honest mistakes in battle as premeditated murders.

It's the propagandistic rumor-mongering spread by sympathizers of Italy's Giuliana Sgrena and former CNN executive Eason Jordan about American soldiers targeting and/or murdering journalists.

It's the glorification of military deserters, who bask in the glow of unquestioning and largely uncorroborated print and broadcast profiles.

Michelle Malkin has a number of links to other examples of liberal bias on her blog today. 

Militarily speaking....

One recommendation I made in my research paper was for Public Affairs to re-evaluate their relationship with these liberal outfits 1) since they do not have the best interests of the soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines and 2) they are losing market share while blogs are gaining market share. 

Surprisingly, in a survey conducted as part of my research, most senior public affairs officials had never heard of a blog or didn't read them...however, they were all quick to criticize and condemn blogs.  This was not the case with those below the rank of captain or senior NCO.  Hmmm...

Do you think anyone at the top of the Public Affairs hierarchy will get the message any time soon?  I am not holding my breath.   

I also wonder, do you think Public Affairs will release my research paper for publication?  I hope so.  (BTW:  I got an "A" on the paper).

Where is the Outrage??

I have been following the Newsweek scandal...wrote tons about it...then later deleted it (read previous post).

Anyway, I like what Dennis Prager wrote yesterday (HT: RealClearPolitics).  Here is an excerpt:

And now a word about the rioters. They have desecrated their religion and their holy text far more than the alleged flushers of Koranic pages.

Did any Buddhists riot and murder when the Taliban Muslims blew up the irreplaceable giant Buddhist statues in Afghanistan?
Did any Christians riot and murder when an "artist" produced "Piss Christ" -- a crucifix immersed in a jar of the "artist's" urine?

When all Christian services and even the wearing of a cross were banned in Saudi Arabia? When Christians are murdered while at prayer in churches by Muslims in Pakistan?

Have any Jews rioted in all the years since it was revealed that Jordanian Muslims used Jewish tombstones in Old Jerusalem as latrines? Or after Palestinians destroyed Joseph's Tomb in 2000 and set fire to the rebuilt tomb in 2003?

It is quite remarkable that many Muslims believe that an American interrogator flushing pages of the Koran is worthy of rioting, but all the torture, slaughter, terror and mass murder done by Muslims in the name of the Koran are unworthy of even a peaceful protest.

Good point!

Related:  I guess religious intolerance can only be charged when/if evangelical Christians simply ask people to accept Christ as their savior (see previous posts on the Air Force Academy).  But when other religions torture, slaughter and burn...where is the outrage?  Cricket cricket....cricket cricket.

Our Strategy is Working

Need some good news about the Global War on Terror?  Check out Security Watchtower and see how the war is proceeding at the strategic level.  Here is an excerpt:

If the intent was to draw a sizeable presence of al Qaeda fighters into Iraq, it has worked. Iraq is now the central front in the war on terrorism, only the perception in some circles is that's a bad thing. In absence of action to remove the Saddam Hussein regime, this fight would've transpired somewhere, perhaps the U.S. border. Instead al Qaeda has lost thousands of fighters, their leadership continues to be on the run, and they've managed to lose the hearts and minds of Iraqi's. Not only that, their vicious attacks against the Iraqi people have changed perception of their organization among fellow Muslims, many of whom strong disagree with the terrorist attacks against the Iraqi people.

Al Qaeda's failure's in Iraq thus far are notable:

1. They failed to prevent an interim government from being put together
2. They failed to prevent the January 2005 elections
3. They failed to prevent the formation of Iraqi security forces
4. They failed to drive the United States from the battlefield
5. They failed to win popular support in Iraq
6. They failed to prevent the elected government from forming
7. They failed to cause a civil war among different religious groups

I am glad the Iraqi people haven't listened to our enemies and so-called "friends."  We must continue to support their democratic goals and defeat the "insurgency" once and for all.  The Iraq strategy (and the success of the Iraqi people) is the best way to combat terrorism worldwide...it won't eliminate it...it just means it will no longer be tolerated.

The rest of the post makes a number of great points.  These are the things you would never hear in the MSM/DNC. 

Now is the time to drive the point home.  Military members need to keep speaking up about our successes in order to dilute the negative the anti-American American crowd keeps spinning.

Milbloggers Gaining Publicity

Mark Memmott of the USA Today has a great article (HT: Kumo) on milbloggers...did these guys read my research paper?  I like the way the article starts out...here is an excerpt:

Imagine some of the soldiers who survived the Battle of Gettysburg stopping the next day to write their dramatic tales — and people around the world instantly reading them. If that battle had been fought today, no imagination would be necessary.

The number of Internet Web logs — or "blogs," as online diaries are known — by American troops in Iraq and Afghanistan is soaring, giving people everywhere unprecedented windows into servicemembers' lives.

From 50 or so a year ago, the number of their online journals is now about 200 and is expected to be near 1,000 by the year's end, say the bloggers themselves and experts who track the Web.

The only thing I didn't see was any mention of Air Force Voices...YET.  Nor was there any mention of an Air Force Blog period (dot). 

Your humble correspondent will continue in any case.

Promises Promises

Why is there a discrepancy surrounding the date of Senator Kerry's separation from Naval Service?  I would like to know...as a member of the military and considering the fact that Senator Kerry still wants to be our president.

It has been 100 days since Senator John F. Kerry promised on national television he would sign his SF-180 and release his military records.  (HT: Michelle Malkin)

Polipundit and Blogs for Bush think he may have trouble finding the form and want to help the senator out by faxing the form to the senator's offices.  If you would like to join their efforts:

Here are the fax numbers for the senator’s offices:

Washington D.C. - (202) 224-8525
Boston, MA - (617) 248-3870
Springfield, MA - (413) 736-1049
Fall River, MA - (508) 677-0275

If you don’t have access to a fax machine, you can e-mail the fax by using a service such as MaxEmail or eFax. Or just go to your nearest Kinko’s.

We suggest you include a cover letter, briefly mentioning Senator Kerry's promise, which he made 100 days ago, and ask him politely to sign form 180 and release his military records.

I am not holding my breath...