Archive for the ‘2006 Milblog Conference’ Category

This Weeks Post Was Suggested By Cindy

Petty Officer 2nd Class Mike A. Monsoor
29 years old from Garden Grove, California
September 29, 2006

In April 2008, Michael Monsoor (who had already been posthumously awarded the Silver Star for his actions in a May 9, 2006 incident, when he and another SEAL pulled a wounded team member to safety amidst gunfire) was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. His funeral, attended, in the words of President Bush, by “nearly every SEAL on the West Coast,” was held on October 12, 2006 at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery in San Diego. During Monsoor’s funeral service, as the casket was taken from the hearse to the gravesite, fellow SEALs lined up in two columns to slap and embed the gold Tridents (a pin awarded for successful completion of SEAL Qualification Training) from their uniforms onto the top of Monsoor’s coffin.

Petty Officer 2nd Class Mike A. Monsoor’s Summary Of Action.

“The procession went on nearly half an hour, and when it was all over, the simple wooden coffin had become a gold-plated memorial to a hero who will never be forgotten.” - President George W. Bush

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday.

For that, I am proud to call them Hero.

We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.

Wednesday Hero, Petty Officer 2nd Class Mike A Monsoor, Medal of Honor, SEAL

It’s been a bit of a hit or miss situation with my blog postings lately.  A combination of PGR missions, remodeling my house and trying to get a new laptop setup to take with me to the Milbloggers Conference.  I love my new laptop but it’s so much easier to do anything and everything (when you’re in a hurry) on my old laptop.  But it’s now or never so I’m finally getting it set up.  So now I’m getting things ready to take off for the 2007 Milblogger’s Conference in D.C.  Got one of my PGR pals coming with me so we’re going to visit with a Tn Soldier who’s being treated at Walter Reed but not living there. 

Posting will be sparse through the next few days.  Hopefully I’ll find time to post a few pics once I’m in DC but the days seem to be pretty full.  Can’t wait to see my old milblog friends and meet up with the new ones!

Powered by ScribeFire.

Carol from The Planning Blog sent me a few photos she took to post. There’s also some photos from our sightseeing which I took.

These two photos are of Mr. & Mrs. Smash – aren’t they sweet!

Okay, the next three have me in them. First one is from Friday night after we stood in the rain at Walter Reed and then went to Fran O’Briens for the meet and greet. This is me with Matt from Blackfive.

Talking with conference live bloggers Heidi and Kit

I HAD to get my picture taken with Col. Hunt (ret., Fox News analyst).

On Sunday Carol and I went sightseeing. First we got tickets to see The Spy Museum. The Ford Theater was almost next door so we there and both of us were glad we took the time cause it was very interesting. From there we hoofed it over to the Washington Monument, WWII Memorial (this memorial is absolutely a do not miss), Lincoln Memorial and the Vietnam Wall. On either end of the Wall are bronze statues which are so moving to see. I was really taken with these statues.

While looking at one of the statues I noticed this squirrel. It sure looks like an albino squirrel to me.

On Monday one of the places I went was Arlington Cemetary. I saw the Tomb of the Unknowns and watched the changing of the Guard and then walked over to the Marine Memorial which is under construction but I was still able to see the Iwo Jima Statue.

I can’t thank Andi enough for having the vision and gumption to put this conference together. It’s difficult to find the words to describe this experience. Meeting all of these fun and amazing people after reading their blogs for such a long time was a gift. All of the Panels were interesting and informative. Hearing and seeing these bloggers expressions and intonations when they spoke goes beyond the black and white of the written surface. You see the passion and feel the pain and sense of humor with their experiences. Beyond the Panels there were the rest of the conference attendees, more bloggers and supporters who had the same passion and commitment to our Soldiers and their families and to our country’s security.

The resonating soundbite throughout this conference was the disappointment with the dominent media for failing our Troops and our country. There was such a feeling of comraderie which can’t be explained (well, I can’t explain it in words). I met Carol (An American from London) who I connected with and am sure this will survive into the future. What a fun lady who tries to maintain her conservative values and outlook in a country not terribly conducive to this thinking. Meeting Andi,Greta, Carla and Deb was a huge treat and look out for these ladies….they are a force to be reckoned with.

I met the people from The War Tapes on Friday night as I was waiting for a taxi and offered to share my taxi and heard about their wonderful film (plus they picked up my taxi fare). Oh and TacoBell and his Kilt, I’m still kicking myself for not getting a pic of that! SammyDetroit (troop supporter and all around sweet lady) is another example of people who care and act on their convictions. Connecting with Matt from B5 who has been so gracious to me and is just a great guy. Met Bob from Crazy Politico which was a treat and I finally got his geographic situation cleared up…finally! I know I’m missing people but I could go on and on.

I’m not really going to comment too much on the content of the conference since the video will be available in the near future. But from Panel 3 the topic of the media and it’s focus and affect on the American people was discussed. At the time this came up though, milblogs and their influence dominated the discussion. With the attendance of a reporter from the BBC and Boston Globe(haven’t checked for the link yet). I would hope the media would shift their focus of their news from opinionated news stories to “real” news like the what, where, why and how’s of journalism 101. My worry is the folks who don’t read blogs, milblogs or get 95% of their information from the local newspaper and network news. We (as bloggers) forget there’s a significant portion of America who still formulate their opinions based on the “old” media. If we as bloggers can’t influence “old” media to cure themselves it will be too late for the Iraq situation. I’m thinking about my parents and many who are in their mid 30’s, 40’s and older. These people still get the majority of their information from these sources. I think bloggers insulate themselves into thinking there are more of the population who go beyond the “old” media but today that isn’t true. Five years from now the statistics will change but do we really have 5 years to wait?

I will probably post more on this but I’m afraid if I don’t get some of this down now I’ll procrastinate until I forget names and themes. Here’s more pictures from the conference. I was disappointed with quite a few of the pictures I took, seems as though I couldn’t keep the camera still long enough unless I was in a bar. Hmmm. I think I might need to only take pictures after I’ve had a glass of wine……

From Friday night at Fran O’Briens: Carol of The Planning Blog (American in London), SammyDetroit (troop supporter) and Mr. and Mrs. Smash.

Heidi and Kit (my hotel mates) mauling Capt. B………heh heh.

Milbloggers live blogging the Milblog Conference (say that 20 times really fast).

Panel One – Buzz Patterson, CJ(Soldiers Perspective), Smash(Indepundit), Matt (Blackfive), John (Op-For) and Steve(ThreatsWatch) . This was the first time I had heard of Steve and wow, some of the things he said were so passionate, all I can think to say is bravo.

Panel Two was the family perspective. All were inspiring and deserve such kudos for enduring the emotional rollercoaster they’ve had to ride. Carla, Carren and Chuck and Deb.

Panel Three had Col. Hunt (ret) grilling them. I met Col.Hunt when he first walked in to the registration desk and whoa, he is quite the piece of work. I mean that in a nice way. He sounded like he was involved in an interrogation up on the stage. But he sure did get the guys yakking with a lively discussion. Considering this was the last panel that was good since people had just had lunch and it easily could have turned into a snooze fest. But with Col. Hunt moderating that wasn’t an option.

Col. Hunt, Jeff, Fred, Bill Rogio, Capt. B and Michael Fay.

I almost forgot the Freepers people (Free Republic)! We visited them on Friday night with their banners and support for the Soldiers at Walter Reed Hospital. Let me tell you it was raining (hard) and chilly, those guys are true diehards and we all owe them a debt of gratitude.

Still haven’t caught up yet. So here’s an interesting photo I took on Saturday night. We were at a pub called Finns which is by the Marine Barracks. The pub had 75 cent fish and chips until 8pm so the place was packed with young Marines around that time. I loved this tee shirt.

I haven’t disappeared. Stayed in D.C. a couple of extra days and just got back into town a bit ago. Since I’d never been to D.C. there was alot of sight seeing packed into a couple of days. Friday mid afternoon through Saturday night was all about the conference. I met so many people my head is still spinning. It was go go go and absolutely the best time. But the motor is still running from driving back from D.C. and I’ve got some sort of allergy thing going on with my eyes. So I’ll just leave you with a few photos til I put together some thoughts on the conference.

Andi……I don’t know how she does it. This woman always has a smile on her face and never looks like she’s stressed. She’s a class act.

Carla and Greta – two ladies who have an abundance of energy.

The perpetual state of Uncle Jimbo (he’s talks alot and is very funny)

Do you notice a theme with this photo of Carren and Chuck?