Should open and honest military writing be encouraged?

1LT Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 08 Apr 2015 15:17:50 -0400

As the Army and the DoD enters a time of transition, there has been a growing movement amongst officers to foster a community of military writers. Blogs like the Small Wars Journal, Task and Purpose, and the Strategy Bridge all feature military writers. The new Military Writers Guild is building a coalition of military writers to try to rally more writers to the cause. Some senior officers have been dismissive of military blogging, seeing it as being detrimental to good order and discipline. What are your thoughts on military writing?

https://medium.com/the-military-writers-guild/why-you-should-join-the-military-writer-s-guild-91d3d97eee8e

Why You Should Join The Military Writer’s Guild — The Military Writers Guild

Why You Should Write ¶Then join Military Writer’s Guild ¶Nathan Wike is an officer in the U.S. Army, and an associat…

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 8 at 2015 3:30 PM

MAJ Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 08 Apr 2015 15:30:40 -0400

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.

Response by Capt Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 8 at 2015 3:40 PM

Capt Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 08 Apr 2015 15:40:10 -0400

The response to my blog has been overwhelmingly positive since I switched to a military focus. Like MAJ Private RallyPoint Member 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.

Response by LTC Hillary Luton made Apr 11 at 2015 12:03 PM

LTC Hillary Luton — Sat, 11 Apr 2015 12:03:22 -0400

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.

Response by Chris Werronen made Jun 28 at 2016 11:09 AM

Chris Werronen — Tue, 28 Jun 2016 11:09:02 -0400

Writers for Variety Programing Broadcast scripts can be influential. Can you tell me who you are?

Response by SSgt GG-15 RET Jim Lint made Jan 2 at 2019 12:51 PM

SSgt GG-15 RET Jim Lint — Wed, 02 Jan 2019 12:51:51 -0500

1. Those with a security clearance also signed an SF 312. Yes, you have a pre-publication review requirement. I have been a member of MWG for a few years. I have seen other writing groups. As an intelligence and security professional, I would hope people remember OPSEC and Pre-Pub reviews. Think when you are writing. (I am glad when couple of Chineses officers wrote and released their articles without an OPSEC review.) Do not do something stupid.

Response by SPC David S. made Jan 2 at 2019 1:58 PM

SPC David S. — Wed, 02 Jan 2019 13:58:08 -0500

Who doesn't like to hear about a towed jumper, a deployment to some God awful place or even some hard charger going black in a mad minute. Just need to be cautious in regards to the what is written. I see and understand the need to filter the truth in cases and so is it really open and honest if its been filtered?

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Jan 2 at 2019 2:49 PM

MAJ Ken Landgren — Wed, 02 Jan 2019 14:49:49 -0500

You will do plenty of writing in CGSC to include blogging.

Response by Cpl Mark A. Morris made Jan 2 at 2019 3:52 PM

Cpl Mark A. Morris — Wed, 02 Jan 2019 15:52:44 -0500

Yes. But not to a point of lose lips sink a ship. Which we should have all been told.
I wish something like RP had existed when I was active duty. It can be very helpful on many topics. Just the interaction between professionals can be an example to others who are hesitant to post on Senior Enlisted, or Officer comments.
Think of the thousands of military persons just reading and learning how to write a better sentence. That makes our military stronger in communication. Those like myself that are from a more isolated group inside our military will experience a learning curve on how to watch what they write around others. I hit a few word choice trip wires when I walked onto RP.
Great question 1LT.

Response by SPC Erich Guenther made Jan 2 at 2019 7:47 PM

SPC Erich Guenther — Wed, 02 Jan 2019 19:47:53 -0500

I think it is a good idea. People complain about how isolated Military are from the rest of Civilians and in my view a big part of the blame is the DoD and Pentagon knee-jerk reactions to mild criticisms. Seems all they have done is retrench from Public Relations when faced with mild to moderate criticism.......usually from the left wing. Abandoned the NASCAR sponsorship after leftist pressure from Congress, Abandoned the Boy Scouts marksmanship program, Abandoned some of the Girl Scout programs as well, Not a whole lot of USAF Air shows anymore NOR are their any Army open to the public live fire exercises. What about ROTC sponsored orientering courses at public Universities........do those still exist?

So as the Pentagon has retrenched from what used to be a fairly expansive PR program the complaints about isolation and lack of awareness of what Soldiers do has increased. Reverse the retrenchment and you start to fix that problem, in my view.

Also, share some DoD non-lethal technology with law enforcement as well. That sniper type paintball technology that marks troublemakers in a crowd with indellible ink visible to IR is really cool and they could have used that at the border recently in cooperation with the Mexican police with the rock throwers vs using tear gas.