H&I* Fires, 06 MAY 2007

May 6, 2007 | | Comments (9) | TrackBacks (2)

Open post for those with something to share, updated through the day. New, complete posts come in below this one. Note: If trackbacking, please acknowledge this post in your post. That's only polite.

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Woot! Made the Washington Post today. Nikki did a pretty good job (and spelled the name right - you'd be surprised how hard that's been for reporters over the years!) - but the quote of mine she used, bereft of the context, makes it look like I'm a touch more concerned that I am, but considering what's happened to me before in the press, this was pretty good. There is an art to talking to reporters I haven't mastered yet. On a side note, I'm guessing the post link is what drew my email troll. WaPo visitors who would like to see actual blogging on the topic of the article (vice the Milblogger Conference stuff up top here) please click here for my take on the new OPSEC regulation, which is perhaps not quite as concerned as Nikki seemed to think. Additionally, there's my rant about the VA bonuses. -the Armorer

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Gotta admit - it tickles me that Paris Hilton might actually go to jail. Of course, she's going to appeal.

"I'm very sorry and from now on I'm going to pay complete attention to everything. I'm sorry and I did not do it on purpose at all," Hilton, 26, told a judge before the sentencing.

Now, Mama sez...

"This is pathetic and disgusting, a waste of taxpayer money with all this nonsense. This is a joke," Kathy Hilton said of the judge's decision.

Perhaps, Mom, if you'd ever said "No" and meant it to your spoiled brat of a daughter, she might have developed a social awareness that when an authority figure says, "Do this" she might have developed the proper filters to allow her to analyze the situation - and not just do what she's always done... "Yeah, whatever. That's inconvenient, I think I'll just do what I want, thanks."

Two other traffic stops and failure to enroll in a mandated alcohol education program landed her back in court.

I think a little reinforcement is in order. Besides, Paris, it will undoubtedly set you up for a new reality show. They're really enjoying this over at MVRWC.

JTG points out a thread concerning cat pee and your gun bag. The comments are hilarious, and Lex would approve, methinks, of many of the offered solutions.

You guys have fun. SWWBO and I are going to get in a DUKW and take a tour. I'm mostly about the DUKW, truth be told...-the Armorer

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I lied, we haven't left yet, SWWBO is a bit of a laggard this morning. No matter - that got me a chance to get a slightly different take on the new movie, Americanizing Shelley. -the Armorer

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Speaking of Milblogging, I didn't have a chance to write a full report on the virtual attendance, but I did want to say, kudos to Andi for putting it together. Also, of note, I thought the moderation went pretty well on all the panels. I think some folks took themselves a little too seriously, but an over all great group of people both on the panel and asking questions (and I been there, I'm sure I'd be all serious, too). I thank all the moderators for reading my questions (those that did). I am Kat-MO and, if you are from the DoD or any part of the PAO process reading here, I am the one that asked why the Jihadist can spin a video up in 24 hours or less and it takes almost a week for us to do the same.

John truncated my second point after the answer (which, from the lady, whose name I missed, but good job on the answer), but my short version: thank you, I am aware of opsec; yes, we need to tell the truth; while you're searching for the truth in a few minutes of video, the enemy already has his "truth" out and shaping the story; the "rebuttal" video a week later skimmed down to 30 seconds of soldiers shooting out the window? Do I have to tell you the problems with this?

Stop trying to cut information off and start figuring out how to move with the flow at its speed.

Finally, I promised not to write a "full report", on Noah Schactman. Nice guy. Love his reporting. Man, he opened himself up for a lot of criticism he might not have received if he had not decided he needed to defend all reporters. Speaking of "loving controversy", he must have right that moment. I think people would have seen him as the guy from wired who writes about blogs and given him a break. Lot's of frustration came out on his head. Of course, I was thinking that, as a journalist, maybe it gave him a venue to personally tell bloggers how he feels about their beating the media and journalists. Anyway, let that be a lesson: if you do not want to be classified as the representative of a particular group of people, don't make yourself out to be one.

More to say later.
-Kat
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If you don't remember, stardust radio is playing talking with heroes from our event in Olathe, KS.

It's streaming now. Click here to listen. You might have to download a player, but I think it will be great to listen to. Currently playing some music from the front.

Specialist Bartley just played and said that he can't say how thankful he is for our support and for the care packages from Soldiers' Angels. Help us support our troops.

UPDATE: If you missed it, the other half will play May 13th at 5pm PST (7pm CST)
Kat

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By the way, at that same event, I met David Chavarria, co-producer of JD Johannes' Outside the Wire. He was nice enough to give me a video interview.

We talked about how he met JD, JD's committment to getting the stories of these men out and a little bit about the perception of media coverage and its affects on American opinion on the war.

Please enjoy.

*A term of art from the artillery. Harassment and Interdiction Fires.

Back in the day, when you could just kill people and break things without a note from a lawyer, they were pre-planned, but to the enemy, random, fires at known gathering points, road junctions, Main Supply Routes, assembly areas, etc - to keep the bad guy nervous that the world around him might start exploding at any minute.

*Not really relevant to today's operating environment, right? But, it *is*

The UAVs (oops, can't call 'em UAVs anymore - they're now Unmanned Aerial Systems... some Colonel got his Legion of Merit for that change...), er, um UAS's we fly over Afghanistan and Pakistan looking for targets of opportunity are a form of H&I fires, if you really want to parse it finely. We just have better sensors and fire control now.

I call the post that because it's random things posted by me and people I've given posting privileges to. It's also an open trackback, so if someone has a post they're proud of, but it really isn't either Castle kind of stuff, or topical to a particular post, I've basically given blanket permission to use that post for that purpose. Another term of art that might be appropriate is "Free Fire Zone".

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Reports of the 2007 MilBlog Conference from Blue Star Chronicles on May 6, 2007 1:13 PM

Every where I read there are very enthusiastic reports about the 2007 MilBlog Conference. The Washington Post has an article this morning covering the conference …. President George W. Bush — appearing via remote broadcast on two large tele... Read More

Paris Hilton to Get Jail Time from Blue Star Chronicles on May 6, 2007 4:34 PM

Paris, being unfamiliar with the term ‘consequences’ had to have the definition of the term read in court. She took notes and asked for the correct spelling so that she could have one of ‘her people’ verify the meaning of the term for her later when ... Read More

9 Comments

By Cricket on May 6, 2007 8:24 AM
Mama Hilton is right. It was a misuse of taxpayer dollars when the onus of responsibility was on her precious child. Had Paris been accountable and jumped through the hoops as mandated by CA law, her sorry but expensive butt would not be anticipating a jail sentence. I got my first of two speeding tickets in CA. I was 16, and the judge lectured me, and mandated traffic school to beat the ticket. I was on probation for one year and could not add any more points to my license. Had I not enrolled, I would have had my license suspended for six months. And that was in 1975. Boo freakin' hoo, Paris. You will be in a cell all to your lonesome and maybe you can reflect on the total waste your life has been and maybe you can do something about it. Mama, you are a loser too and I am keeping track of the Hilton establishments to ensure that I NEVER add one d*mn dime to darling Paris' trust fund. I can only say this; she hasn't added to the gene pool. Yet. For that I am grateful.
 
By John S. on May 6, 2007 11:27 AM
Cat pee thread was very interesting- especially the link to hunting feral cats with a coehorn mortar (and of course details on how to build the mortar with which to hunt such felines, as well as handy tips for the bloodthirsty hunter...) I think John will have mixed feelings about this one.... http://www.buckstix.com/CoehornMortarHunt.htm The same guy has a great story on building a mountain howitzer, and proof that they can be handy for deer hunting.
 
By ry on May 6, 2007 8:56 PM
I dunno about Schatman, KAt and John. He's doing a kind of reporting I don't like. He doesn't strike me as an honest broker of criticism, but a dove intent on 'chaning the system from the inside'. Or as inside as he can stand to be. There's a difference between, say Lord 'Phibian criticizing the newest L ship or the LCS and someone who chits on everything going on at DARPA or Navy Labs(some of which is pie in sky garbage but a lot of it is core science needed for innovation 50 years later(and without Bell Labs...)). He's first on stuff, but he's also nasty much of the time too. That's my read. Maybe I'm the jerk and misreading him. But I'm only calling it like I see it. He's a got a stick up ______ about military spending and working on futuristic ideas that we don't know what'll come out of(but past experience, Bell Labs, shows we often get something amazing out of because we're doing core science instead of 'applicable' science.).
 
By ry on May 6, 2007 9:45 PM
Kat, like you I'm torn on the OODA loop in the information meta-conflict. But can the US really risk getting caught out in a half truth? I don't think so. 20+ reasons got boiled down to one, afterall. A quick fix isn't really at hand is it? A better and long standing relationship with media seems to be the answer(you know, so they aren't reflexively afraid of the military and gov't). In that environment a faster response should be possible. But now? I think we need to cut them a little slack. At least they aren't actively shooting themselves in the foot with things like the 5 o'Clock Follies(the last active and responsive to time PR effort I can think of) chock full of mistruths. That's SOMETHING.
 
By Justthisguy on May 7, 2007 1:42 AM
Hope y'all had fun on the DUKW ride. There was a guy here who tried to do that. The Rich Republican Silly Bimbos got attacks of the vapors about that, so he painted them turquoise, with pretty decorations. Still no-go. Last I heard, his facility has been taken over by really ruthless bad-arse developers. Let me tell you about some of the wimmin we have around here: When we were going to get new bridges over the main waterways around here, some aged Midwestern XX busybody complained that it was already bad enough that people in boats went along the canal behind her house, but that people in slightly taller boats could use said canal if the bridge were built too high. People like her prevailed. Sucks to have a sailboat around here
 
By Justthisguy on May 7, 2007 2:09 AM
If y'all are fans of John Varley's writing, you'll love the DUKW escapades in "Red Lightning." It has all kindsa cool stuff in it, like an ex-drunkard ex-astronaut Major General, a genius Louisiana Coon-Aspie, weird Florida people, evil behind-the-scenes badasses, young love, and etc. and so forth. The good guys win, of course.
 
By kat-missouri on May 7, 2007 2:15 AM
Ry, it's about driving it down to the lowest levels and empowering people, not about trying to force news out before its accurate and ready. But, if you are in a fire fight with 50 al qaida guys and drive them off of your fob or convoy, why don't we say that? In video if they have it (and yes, there are somethings the jihadists do that we should do more - give video cameras to every active unit, whether combat or cap, have them up load it every night to a central com and have a bunch of geeks like me sitting there editing it for the next morning. Why do they have to wait to send some official military reporter or have an embed to do it? Video doesn't necessarily lie, though it can be twisted. video and AAR with an inclusive statement that says some details were not confirmed yet. Then let the public decide for themselves what was going on. Push it down. and, its not just the approval process, it is complete lack of resources because the military has not had to fight a real media campaign for eternity, our media is skeptical skeptics and, lets face it, how many journalist wannabes in college are planning a career in the military? Do we have appropriate scholorships and other programs to attract these people? Probably not because the big dollars go for doctors and such (arguably necessary, just noting at what level one has to consider the information war if you aren't willing to invest).
 
By Justthisguy on May 7, 2007 2:29 AM
I think the USMC are the only media-savvy branch of the service, and have been so for a long time. I believe Harry Truman complained about that. There is excellent color film of horrendously desperate fights in the Pacific islands, taken by official Marine cameramen. I do not think this is a bad thing; I mind the guys in the Army of the Tennessee telling my ancestors, "We're Bill Sherman's raiders, you'd better run!" Possession of a reputation for being ferocious badasses can be helpful in a fight.
 
By ry on May 7, 2007 2:06 PM
True, and the Youtube experiment is kinda sorta leaning to that(kinda). There's still the fingerprints of 'officialdom' over it, which is giving those who don't want to like it more than enough ammo to complain and belittle what's there. As has been said on these pages many, many times the Institution is risk averse. They're also very formulaic. Figure out what happened before you say anything definitive---very unlike the media news cycle. My biggest critique of your criticism, Kat, is it's pushing only one side. I know wanting responsible journalism is something of a forlorn hope, but there has to be movement on other fronts too. Just speeding up your cycle has problems associated with it---as we're seeing in weaknesses of network centric Big War. I really think the solution is for media jackalopes and DoD bigwigs to headshed with each other instead of treating each other as a hostile camp. Since Vietnam the military has been outright hostile to the media and that's looking like a real shortsighted decision right now. The media has to get over their innate and irrational fear of the military. Just having the military push their message and images faster isn't a winning strategy. Fast isn't a strategy in and of itself. I do think the institution has been moving glacially slow to date. They can do better. But moving to be first isn't a winning strategy. YOu have to do the whole OODA loop, not just decide and act. They need to get faster, but faster with a purpose and reason instead of just being faster than the Jihadi jackalopes. Faster isn't always better, imo.