LT Smash in Library of Congress
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James Joyner | Thursday, May 12, 2005 |
USA Today has discovered milblogs.
‘Milbloggers’ are typing their place in history
Imagine some of the soldiers who survived the Battle of Gettysburg stopping the next day to write their dramatic tales â 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 â or “blogs,” as online diaries are known â 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 growth means a historic phenomenon is gaining momentum: Anyone with access to the Internet can read many first-hand accounts of life in a war zone within seconds after they’re finished.
The story is about three years old, so hardly a surprise. More interesting is this news, buried in a sidebar article:
Historians hope to preserve candid glimpses of war
Many of the soldiers and their families will likely print out the stories, or save the blog pages on hard disks or CDs. The Library of Congress is preserving one of the “milblogs,” The Indepundit by Lt. Scott Koenig, 33, of the U.S. Naval Reserve.
Congrats, Scott!
Command Post garnered a similar honor at the conclusion of major combat operations in Iraq.
About the Author: James Joyner is the publisher of Outside the Beltway and the managing editor of the Atlantic Council. He's a former Army officer, Desert Storm vet, and college professor with a PhD in political science from The University of Alabama. He lives just outside the Beltway in Alexandria, Virginia with his wife and infant daughter.
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It certainly took them long enough to find the milbloggers. Almost sounds like they didn't want to admit they were getting out-reported by the people in the field.
Or something.
Congrats, Smash!
[sniffle]
I knew him "when." Or, well, I was reading him "when."
Too bad they sort of confused Smash with Captain Ed when they refered to Smash's in-country blog as Captain Smash.
Yeah, he's still a couple of promotions away from CAPT.
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