A Soldier's Perspective
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Sir, Let Me Tell Our Story
Update: I forgot to add in links, but they are now here. Sorry about that!
The Military Times family of publications have devoted the lead story in the “Off Duty†section to CJ’s continuing battle with Huntsville City Schools, the PTA, and the Army this week (note, the article is not live online as of this update). CJ’s story is an amazing one and well worth the read if you’re able to pick up a copy of the Times publication in your area. If you’re not able to, our very good friend Troy has posted the article and all pictures to Bouhammer. Go read, then come back.
Done already? You speed reader, you. Are you sure you didn’t skim? GO BACK AND FINISH READING!
Done this time? Okay, good. There isn’t much new information in the article itself, so make sure you read what Troy had to add at the end. I won’t rehash it all here.
It is amazing how something that should have been as small as a uniform discussion between the school staff and parents exploded into something this big. Egos were bruised, vengeance was sought against a decorated soldier, and a career could very well lie in shambles because several people, some veterans themselves, couldn’t put on their big girl pants and say something as simple as, “Sorry. We were wrong.â€
This story and the hundreds of other stories about service members winding up in hot water over articles they’ve written for blogs and social media should be striking deep at the heart of all IT professionals in every branch. We’ve grown leaps and bounds from the Army’s asinine policy of every article cleared before posting, but every single branch has a long ways to go.
Every G-6 at every command level should be taking a hard look at the orders governing blogging and social media. These are tools that have been proven to keep loved ones informed, get out the heart warming stories, and increase recruiting/retention numbers. Service members shouldn’t be worried about writing their story and then facing backlash from their command as long as they are smart about it. You’ll find that 99% of us are very smart about it.
I have a theory on why command decisions regarding blogging have been so horrible up to this point or lacking entirely. They just don’t get it. CJ stated it very well when he spoke to the Army Times last time. The generals get it, the troops get it, but the problem lies with the field grade officers where a vast majority of the policy and orders originate. Blogging and social media as a whole is the newest piece of “gear†that is going to take a lot of time and coaching from the duty experts (the troops in this case) for them to understand, begin to use, and then rely upon.
While the rest of the military waits for the field grade officers to catch up, we’re going to see more and more cases like this. I don’t say that meaning to insult our military leadership, but I am calling a spade a spade in this case. There are several exceptions to this and you can’t visit Taco Bell and Maj Pain to see that in action. Maybe what it is really going to take is getting the awesome milbloggers like Taco and Maj Pain out there amongst their peers to eliminate this façade of danger that blogging has around it. We can tell that the encouragement and blessing of very senior leadership hasn’t been able to do that as of now.
Another idea would be to invite some of the O-5 and O-6 commanders from all branches to the MilBlog Conference in April in DC. Let them meet great bloggers like the Greyhawks, Blackfive, JP Borda, CJ, and Troy to assure them at we are not the enemy; their own ignorance and fear is! We are here as another tool for them to use in their mission.
If there is something that I could tell each and every commander, it would be very simple. “Sir, let me tell our story.â€
(24) Readers Comments
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8482C2EB-A275-8FEC-9D32AEE774FEF857
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yes iam too a stupid victim to the nigerian money scam im from austral
Terri
Everytime I think about the travesty that has been happening to CJ and his family, I get more angry. I think your idea of inviting O5s and O6s to the MilBlog conference is a fantastic idea Marcus. The thing would be getting them to attend, once they’d been invited. While financially I can’t assist at the moment, I WILL help in every way possible. Just let me know what’s needed.
Mickey Arnette Bryant
As a Proud Mother of a US Soldier who was KIA in 2007, I am appalled at the treatment of CJ, not only by his superiors, but the people from Williams School (some which claim to have military background) (shame on you). I read most all of the blogs listed above. This is my personal way to keep up some of my military family. I have been lead to believe that I am a part of a huge military family. I feel like these are my sons and daughters. How dare anyone treat them this way. They are honest, loyal and have more integrity in their little fingers than most Americans. I feel that all who have done wrong to the Grisham Family have done wrong by Son who died for these things we call Freedom.I believe that you should not only apologize, but should help to compensate for all their losses. All they wanted was what was best for their children and to be heard on the childrens behalf.
What has our Country come too? God Help Us All.
Troy
Troy, did you just call us all Tools? HAHA. Great story on the NEW ASP!!
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MissBirdlegs in AL
I don’t think they’ve taken into consideration how helpful all these Milblogs have been in spreading truth & good news. I always felt hopeful about Iraq from reading so many blogs from so many different AO’s. I’ve been so very impressed with the quality of people in the military and want to keep reminding civilians that there are wars going on and we have terrific Warriors fighting them. Lord only knows how many blogs I’ve shared with my huge e-mail list. Those of us with a lick of sense know when we’re being scammed and when we’re getting truth. Blogs have actually been a big plus for the services, IMO.
Carol Steward
Kudos Marcus!! Great job as always!! God help us all because this country is going down the tubes so fast if we don’t put a stop to all this PC nonsense!! Our military is even being affected and that is very scarey!!
Miss Ladybug
I’m not flush, either, but I sent in $5 last week, and will try to send a little bit in from time to time. I figure that’s just one less trip through the drive through this pay period…
Sis B
“I am surrounded by heroic Americans who would give their lives if needed, but this whole thing has really soured me and made me second-guess what I’m doing here. Why am I in an orgaÂnization that would throw you to the fish like this? … All it takes is one command who doesn’t get it [to] turn your life upside down.â€
To CJ:
My husband has received similar treatment in a former unit for speaking the ugly truth that the command didn’t want to hear. He was deployed at the time, and I was as fearful about him being fragged as I was about him being hit by the enemy. This is the ugly side of the proud organization in which you and my husband and so many others honorably serve.
The good side, though, is that there are others who are willing to stand up with the ugly truth and face consequences for it. I just wanted to let you know that you’re not the only one fighting this fight. You have brothers-in-arms who choose the hard right over the easy wrong, who let their voices be heard.
Please be encouraged that in my husband’s case, at least, the new unit to which we PCS’d understands and appreciates his worth. They protect him. They listen to him. We trust them. I hope that your PCS to Ft Hood brings about the same positive changes for your family and career.
Thank you for bringing the fight. Thank you for not laying down when they began treating you badly. Thank you for setting an example for younger NCOs who need the encouragement to stand up for what’s right. Thank you also for being open about PTSD and for trying to break the stigma by being honest. It is a long fight, but many will benefit from your example.
Strength, courage and peace to you and your family.
David M
The Thunder Run has linked to this post in the blog post From the Front: 12/08/2009 News and Personal dispatches from the front and the home front.
A.Patriot
All military need to check out oathkeepers.org
Keep up the truth-blogging. We all fought for freedom of speech. And in this day and age, we need it more than ever.
HOOAH!!!
just a PFC
When I read your story I was no near surprised at what the army is doing to you !, I as a new enlisted soldier felt some of this treatment. I can tell you that we as an army will never be defeated from an outside enemy, but we will have such a hit from within. a new way of thinking, a new way of looking at the future is needed. don`t think just follow mentality is way to old to concur the new world.
“You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty. ”
-Gandhi
Laurie Schultz
I have found in being a substitute teacher and was going to be one that the academic arena are very liberal and hate the military. They picked on him simply because he is a soldier and a conservative. The military should be aware when you serve 2 masters you will lose – presidents and administrations come and go – soldiers stay. Command is supposed to be there for us – not for politics – buck up and support us – look at what is going on with that poor navy seal. Commanders go to combat with soliders – not the public. I support Top and hope he comes back on line – I would love to converse with him!!!
Charles Hardy
I suppose Master Sergeant Grisham could always convert to Islam . . . he could then promise Paradise, complete with 72 virgins, to anyone who would off the offending school board members, and the chain of command right up to Joint Chiefs and Commander-in-Chief will back him 100%!
Dusgalan of MT
That was a great post. It is time that the corps of officers catch up and be a part of this unique revolution. I once read where some of the most liberating influences on the direction of mankind were, to mention a few, gunpowder–which empowered common citizens to defend themselves; the printing press–which enabled common people to become literate and to think for themselves rather than have a few elites tell them how to live. And now we have the INTERNET–where people do not have to depend upon some of the slanted influences of the rank-in-file MSM….with the internet, you have bloggers and other writers who can present ideas, and challenge “old-school” thought and reach the masses across borders in a way never dreamed of before. The truth will prevail and the brotherhood of man will be better off when those who know it[the truth] have the courage to present it and expose it. Keep up the good work all you milbloggers in informing the world as never before! Good Luck CJ and good luck to the new staff of this blogsite.
dusgalan of mt.
Old Cav LT
Occasionally, I am ashamed of my Army. This is one of those times.
I tried to warn CJ, not because I knew of any specific threat to him, but because I’m intimately aware of the corporate leadership philosophies we as officers are inculcated with from the beginning.
I knew something like this would happen because he would not, in effect, be assimilated. And the leaders from around the time I got commissioned (In the 80′s) are like those at the 05/06 level now.
None of the clowns at the school are worth the sweat off CJ’s nether regions. And at this point, I’m believing more and more (particularly after Ft. Hood) that, by extension, the short-sighted “path of least resistance” types, who SHOULD be backing their people up with every fiber of their being (after all, isn’t that what they allegedly taught us?) should be tossed into that group as well.
And it’s getting a little crowded about now, as I long for the days where loyalty upwards also meant loyalty downwards.
SK
Well said, Marcus. I consider myself very fortunate to have met all of the bloggers you mentioned, and I’ve never been in the company of a finer group of individuals. You have all done an amazing job of getting us civilians involved, and in getting us to support our deployed men and women. It’s a shame that some people don’t see the worth in what you’ve accomplished. But I bet if you asked those who have received random packages from strangers, when they needed them the most, they too would be very grateful for milbloggers.
Laura, A Military Mom
Thank you for getting the “whole” story and putting it together. Sent support and will look forward to reading how this progresses. I’ve read ASP since my three sons joined in 2002. It’s always been one of the milblogs that gave me some great insight into the military mind.
CJ Hang in there
envoyette
The reason the O5 & O6 doesn’t “seem” to get it, is because it’s their neck on the chopping block. Who gets fired when a lower ranking person messes up? The O5/6.
Don’t be so hard on them, they have very little wiggle room.
CJ
Believe me, I understand that and have a LOT of respect for those mid-level commanders. I have gotten a LOT of support from other O5 and O6 so I don’t want anything to think that I believe ALL mid-level officers are that way. Quite the contrary. I just happen to be in a bad command climate right now. I’ve been in long enough to know that there are good leaders and bad leaders and both come and go.
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Derrick Jones
Though not nearly the same as this blog, mine was recently taken under the microscope on a much lower level, my battalion.
I totally agree with C. J. and am very disappointed that we cannot speak the truth and exploit weaknesses. If someone was pointing out my mistakes on the internet, maybe I would pay closer attention to the way I operate.
I found this website via the Army Times and have begun spreading the word. I am, to say the least, very excited that Marcus has taken control. I would be sad to see such excellent effort die on such a harsh note. I support this blog, the people who run it and all the soldiers who are not afraid to speak the truth, no matter what the cost.
Rosaria Wheelock
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