White Rose's Adventures

“Army Live” responds to Milbloggers “Silence”

Lindy Kyzer, a Public Affairs Specialist, with the Online and Social Media Division of the Army, posted a “Message to Milbloggers” a couple of days ago on the ‘Army Live’ blog. This is the official blog of the US Army. The message is in response to the milblog world going “silent” in support of CJ Grisham.

She starts by making this statement:

As a huge fan of milblogs – personally and professionally – I do my best to keep up with issues in the milblogosphere. And to be honest, I have to say I wasn’t aware of huge issues among our bloggers. There has been at least one high profile case, but I haven’t been on the grapevine of information about widespread shut downs of military blogs. From my foxhole, I meet new commanders and leaders in our Army every day who openly embrace milblogging in the ranks. Gone are the days when LTG William Caldwell was one of the few champions of engaging the blogosphere. These days everyone from the Secretary of the Army to battalion and brigade commanders across the field aren’t just supportive of blogging – many of them are blogging themselves.

I absolutely admit that there are still areas, and leaders, where blogging in the ranks is not met with open arms. And most of the issues milbloggers have are with their local command, not a headquarters Army action item. We consider our left and right boundaries when it comes to social media engagement and blogging to be the Uniform Code of Justice and Operations Security. Contrary to some opinion, you don’t avoid UCMJ responsibility when you log into the Internet – you’re responsible for maintaining military standards and decorum even online.

And commanders remain free to set localized policy when it comes to social media use by their Soldiers. That doesn’t mean a Soldier’s right to free speech is lost, but it does mean that we hold our military to a higher standard.

OK, I can understand that we hold our military personnel to a higher standard and that some of the local command may be a little slow on embracing the new medium. But what gets me, even though “this isn’t official Army policy or regulation” is the “tips and tricks” she offers.

1. Consider a pseudonym. I know many of you may consider this sacrilegious in this new era of transparency. But if you want to be free to gripe and moan to your heart’s content, if may save you some trouble. Pen names have existed for a long time and they open up artistic freedom, especially for a Soldier. I concur with those who view pen names as a hindrance to authenticity. But I think too many discard the idea without giving it full consideration.

2. Little brother is watching. The military, more so than any other job or place of employment, creates a sense of family. And we all know how the family gets over Christmas when Uncle Bob has had a few too many glasses of eggnog. If you’re a Soldier in our Army – or an Army Civilian – you have to consider how what you write will be looked at by not just your commander, but those in the ranks underneath you, as well. If Private Johnny notes that you just wrote a scathing post about some military issue or that you’re writing things about your personal life that will make it difficult to see you in a professional light, think twice. If the military is a family, try to be sensitive (but not too sensitive – this is the Army, after all) to the feelings of those serving alongside you.

3. Don’t get political. I love politics. But I came to the understanding that when I took a position with the Army, as a government civilian, I needed to avoid too much political speech in my professional interactions – to include posts on my Facebook wall and tweets I send from my personal account. It doesn’t mean I don’t occasionally slip up and let my political leanings show, but it does mean that I’m not going to write any scathing reviews or political statements. It just makes my life simpler.

4. Don’t diss the boss. We’ve probably all read the stories by now of individuals who have lost their jobs because of a Facebook status update or blog post that did not reflect well on their supervisor. It’s just better for our job security that we don’t talk negatively about our boss or other coworkers online. In the military, it’s not just a good idea, it’s crucial to the proper operating of the chain of command.

Now tell me how a soldier can truly have freedom of speech if they follow these “tips and tricks”? I know not everyone is going to agree with the statements I am about to make, this is just my opinion, and a citizen of these United States, I have the right to voice my opinion.

Since active duty bloggers that are over seas have to inform their command that they have a blog, and what the web address is, using a “pseudonym” would be useless.  If the command watches over the blogs of the soldiers under them, then they know who is who! Once it is registered with the command, does it go into that soldier’s file? If so, then every command after that will know that this soldier has a blog and where to find it.

To a point I do agree with writing like ‘little brother is watching‘. There are ways to question a policy without making it sound to “scathing”. But what about the advice of “writing things about your personal life that will make it difficult to see you in a professional light”? What does that mean? What may be offensive to one person may not be to another. I understand there has to be a balance between the personal and professional, but does anyone really know where that line is.  Being big brothers and sisters, as with being in command, one should lead by example. If you have honor and courage in you heart and personal life, would that not be an inspiration to all who read your blog?

Ms Kyzer’s opinion on “Don’t get political” may make “life simpler“, but tell me something. If you wanted a simple life, would you have joined the military? If you are willing to lay your life down for this Country and the freedoms it hold dear, should you not be allowed to enjoy those freedoms as well? Yes, there are probably some situations in the military, that to be able to command your subordinates, you should keep your personal opinions to yourself.  But are military personnel expected to NEVER have an opinion? Are they expected to keep their mouths shut if their opinion differs from the mainstream? I know that with signing up for the military you agree to protect our country from threats, foreign and domestic, and are expected to follow orders. But do you loose your right to voice your opinion? It seems to me that as long as you agree with the higher-ups and the policy, you are free to blog to your hearts content. But the moment you disagree with them, then “it might be better if you keep that to yourself”.

And last but not least, the comment of “don’t diss the boss“. She is right about that one, to a certain extent. When the big boss is the President of the United States I believe there is a catch 22. Yes, if you are in the military the President is your boss, but do you give up your rights a United States citizen when you join the military? As long as you are not forcing your opinion on your subordinates while on the job, are you not entitled to your opinion? Maybe that is where you should use a “pseudonym” and act like you have another author to your blog. But would that still not bring down the mountain on your head if your command read it? Would they not demand that you kick that author off the blog? What about going to far as to create 2 blogs, one as yourself that kisses the ass of the main stream and one that you use with a “pseudonym” and is in your face? It wouldn’t take much digging with the tools in place now days for “them” to find out who is really running the blog. Would the punishment not be more sever then?

I have lots of questions in reguards to Ms Kyzer’s comment and since I am not in the military maybe I am missing out on some rule some where. But to me, her “advice” lacks something. It doesn’t address the injustice that CJ suffered when in the role of “parent”, he was discriminated against. This discrimination was not just by the school and the PTA, but by his command. Grisham’s service should have never been an issue in the PTA meeting. The police should have NEVER been called! And his command should have listened to the complainants and then asked the question, “Was Grisham acting on behalf of the Army, or as a parent?”

If this kind of injustice and discrimination is the norm, then I would recommend that military service personal NOT have children, don’t have a life out side the military, heck, don’t even fall in love and get married! If you do, someone in the civilian world may not like it and go to your command. If that happens you can kiss you military career goodbye, because they will not stand up for you!