A Line In The Sand

CNN Interview

I want to invite everyone to watch CNN's "Saturday Night" program with Carol Lin tomorrow.  I have been asked to be a guest in a discussion on writings and compositions from America's deployed forces and will be speaking about soldier blogs.  It should be on at 6 PM EST, 3 Pacific, but be sure to check local listings.

Friends for Life

It had been nearly two months since we had last seen each other, but one of my best friends from the deployment, Sergeant Trevino visited me in California a few days back.  It was one of the most surreal moments of my time back so far, and I remembered when we first began talking about the road he embarked from as he landed here in Southern California. 

In a whirlwind road trip, he began here in Orange County, and will be making his way all the way up to Seattle and possibly even Canada.  As he called me and said that he and his fiancé were getting close to my house, I walked out front to meet them in their rented Chevy Malibu.  He stepped out of the car and I could feel memories rushing back.  I remembered sitting underneath one of the scud bunkers on camp, the concrete upside down U shaped enclosures, and talking about the trips we had wanted to take when we got back.  I remembered him talking about this road trip he wanted to take and how exciting it would be.  The feeling of hitting the road and seeing our country again through the window of a comfortable car.  All of those planning sessions had finally come to fruition as we walked towards each other again and he introduced his fiancé to me.  That in itself is a strange aspect to being deployed.  You don’t just get to know the men and women you serve with, you learn the names of all their friends, and the most detailed aspects of the lives of their significant others.  You really get to know about people who 90% of the time you will probably never meet.  It’s all so strange in way, but when I met Ashley I felt like I already knew her. 

We spent the time talking about memories and the people we served with, already trading stories both humorous and solemn from our time in theater.  We relived the moments where we felt like we grew the most, and laughed about the time in the middle of July where we nearly got in a fist fight.  We both shared the feelings that there are some things we experienced that our friends who weren’t there will never completely understand.  It was one of the most therapeutic days I’ve had since I’ve been back.

I think the Army Reserve and National Guard experience is different than the active duty experience in this sense.  When we return, the unit does go its own way, only to rejoin for 2 days a month for drill.  We forge amazing friendships, but everyone scatters so quickly upon return to the States.  I firmly believe now that one of the best things a returning soldier can do when he or she is back in the comfort of their own homes and communities, is to take some time to visit the soldiers they served with and just check up on each other, make sure the people you were close to are re-adapting well.

Trevino, it was good to see you buddy, drive safe…

USA Today Editorial

In today's edition of USA Today, the paper presents an editorial on how art and composition have been an outlet for another generation of Americans deployed to combat zones.  The article entitled, "Art, Blogs Bare Souls Of Yet Another Fighting Generation."  It's a wonderful piece that helps us reflect, as we approach Memorial Day, on the men and women serving far from home and putting their lives on the line for the cause of freedom. 

In the print version of the paper today, they included a small excerpt from one of my blogs, as well as samples from other soldier's writings and a few touching portraits of fallen soldiers. 

E-mails

The USA Today article a few days back generated a large number of e-mails that expressed support in ways I hadn't seen since I was in theater.  (Of course there were the usual detractors, there always are, but as longtime readers know, I am rarely bothered by them especially if they come from a cogent point of view.) 

I wanted to share this particular e-mail with you all though:

Chris:

I am a subscriber to USA-TODAY.  I enjoyed reading the article in today's edition, "Millbloggers are typing their place in history"  Another thing that I enjoyed was your personal web log.  Believe it or not, but I looked at every single picture and read much of what you had to say. I have a  better understanding of what life was like for you.  But, let me tell you something, Chris, here I am a grown man, 62, but I cried when I read these words from "on being Homesick."  ". . . From seven thousand miles away, sometimes at night I feel as though I can see a faint light poking over the west, past the Atlantic that is a glimpse of our nation shining like a city on a hill."  I've had similar experiences.  I know somewhat of what you were feeling.  You're a good man.  You appear to be someone who has a lot of love for his fellowman.  My best to you as you go through this labrynth we call mortality.  Thanks for sharing and may God be with you always.

Mike Hess

I know that I have been less than diligent in replying to e-mails.  Sometimes the volume just seems daunting, but e-mails like this serve as reminders of what great Americans we are sworn to protect when we take that oath on the day we enlist.  Thanks for the support.

Podcasting Thrives

As I've relaxed into life as a civilian, I've spent some time watching more television news broadcasts on Fox, MSNBC and CNN.  I was pleasantly surprised to see segments on all networks where they highlight "buzz" in the blogosphere on a given day.  This was unimaginable when I left civilized society in November of 2003 to prepare for my deployment, and being deployed for a year was never very conducive to staying up to date with the latest news coverage and segments on American cable news networks. 

Recently, aside from the focus on blogging, I have been seeing an increased number of stories on podcasts.  The technology has a ways to go, but I must admit a sense of self-validation in being slightly ahead of the curve technologically.  Whether it was as a blogger in theater at a time that maybe 30-50 soldier blogs had even been attempted, or the podcasts I created my last month and half in theater.  I found the podcasts I created to be the most personally exciting thing I had worked on while I was deployed.  It was a medium that I felt allowed me to bring my family and friends into the tents where I was interviewing my battle buddies, and give an even better glimpse of what life was like for us.  With stories like these (New York Times, Press Enterprise), and station like KCRW 88.9 in Southern California now offering podcasts, it's clear this medium is moving into the mainstream. 

It is my hope that since podcasts are so easy to create if you have a portable digital media player that support recording, more soldiers in the current wave of soldier blogs will have the chance to give it a try. 

If you never had a chance to catch one of my previous podcasts while I was serving in OIF, you can download them here: Podcast 1, Podcast 2.

Great News on Milblogs

USA Today and journalist Mark Memmott published an excellent article on milblogs today.  You can check out that article by clicking here.

And since I haven't blogged in a while, I wanted to be sure I placed the link up on the Christian Science Monitor milblog story as well.  Click Here.

Personally, I love seeing all the news stories about milbloggers, especially the ones that are still in theater.  When I began blogging from Kuwait in April of 2004, there were only a handful of blogs written by deployed soldiers.  Experiencing firsthand just how powerful blogging can be, I hope these stories help encourage more soldiers to take some time at the internet cafe and put some of their thoughts down. 

I also wanted to add this link today, for any soldiers who are returning and looking for work.  Helmets to Hardhats helps soldiers who are coming off of active duty find full time jobs in the construction industry. 

Young Patriots

A few weeks ago I was honored to stand before approximately 200 second graders at Wilmington Park Elementary and speak on the subject of courage.  A panel of adults had been called in to speak with the children, to give them examples of courage and how it can relate to daily life.  The second grade class was using the opportunity to initiate a unit on the study of courage, and in listening to the wide range of individuals who exemplify courage in their daily lives, from the school nurse to a principal, it was clear they had some wonderful adult examples to follow. 

Walking into the auditorium where I was asked to share I was greeted by one of the many classes of second graders.  That wonderful group was a warm-up for the countless questions I would end up addressing.  It’s funny how little kids think of some of the most random questions to ask.  Their curiosity was inspiring though, and I was happy to answer or at least answer to the best of my ability, any question they had.   

Below are a few of the pictures taken at the event.