Should open and honest military writing be encouraged?

The response to my blog has been overwhelmingly positive since I switched to a military focus. Like MAJ (Join to see) said, I am mindful of my words, especially if it might be perceived as negative or destructive. I have received direct feedback from numerous readers that it has been helpful and encouraging as they've begun their careers in the AF.

As a side note, I won the Milbloggie back in 2012 for Best AF Blog. I have used it (my blog) as a mentorship tool and written bullets for it as well.

Absolutely. We live in a time where no one else is going to accurately tell our stories or communicate our interests as effectively as we, the stakeholder, can and will. Granted, it will be a precarious balancing act; we have to tell our story, yet we have establish and maintain credibility with our targeted audience while adhering to DOD and our respective service branch's guidance for public relations and release of information. For those who can achieve this balance however, the demand for your talents will be ceaseless, and the job prospects upon leaving the service in the mainstream media viable.

First, some senior officers still have not grasped the concept of social media and unfortunately are missing an excellent opportunity to connect with a much broader population.

Second, I think there are two things to look at here. 1) Military writing (like RallyPoint) is a way to bring a community together, share ideas, discuss issues and connect with not only other military but the civilian population. 2) That being said, it can cause and has caused problems at times, when it makes it easier to jump the chain of command. Additionally, one thing people forget when writing is that writing does not have non-verbal communication to fall back on. In other words, when an individual is being sarcastic in their writing, if they do not clarify that fact, it can come across in a completely negative manner that may not have been intended.

I would whole-heartedly encourage writing and connecting, but caution its use. It should not be used as a vendetta or an opportunity to air grievances. It is a tool and when used effectively, an excellent tool.