Mullen wants your questions – on YouTube

From: Military Times

By William H. McMichael - Staff writer
Posted : Thursday Aug 20, 2009 16:32:03 EDT

The nation’s top military officer wants to hear what’s on your mind — via YouTube.

Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, an avid Twitter user who has taken the lead among senior leaders in promoting communication via social networking — he’s also on Facebook — has issued an invitation to service members, family members or “anyone who cares about folks in the military” to video-record a question on any topic and submit it by midnight, Eastern Standard Time, Aug. 31.

Mullen, who as chairman of the Joint Chiefs is the top military adviser to President Barack Obama and Defense Secretary Robert Gates, will post his answers on YouTube.

“This is your chance to get the straight scoop, straight from the top,” promises Mass Communications Specialist 3rd Class William Selby on a promotional video.

The widely traveled Mullen makes a point of talking to troops and family members at every stop. This latest effort allows him to reach out in a different way, said his spokesman, Navy Capt. John Kirby.

“The chairman really wants to have a conversation with the troops akin to the way he does at all-hands calls at bases all over the world,” Kirby said. “He wanted that conversation to be as interactive as possible and reflective of what is on their minds.”

The effort coincides with the launch of www.defense.gov, a new Pentagon Web site loaded with links to social networking sites and aimed at encouraging viewers to “connect with us.”

But service members interested in posing a question to Mullen will have to do their recording on their own time. Access to YouTube and 11 other popular social networking sites from military computers has been banned since May 2007 because of what officials said was a drain on bandwidth in the .mil domain. A Pentagon review of that policy was launched in late July.

A Soldier Comes Home - Washington Post Article

A Soldier Comes Home

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

On July 5, The Post published a letter from Martha Gillis of Springfield, whose nephew, Lt. Brian Bradshaw, was killed in Afghanistan on June 25, the day that Michael Jackson died. The letter criticized the extensive media coverage of Jackson's death compared with the brief coverage of Lt. Bradshaw's death. Among the responses was the following letter, written July 9 by an Air National Guard pilot and a fellow member of the crew that flew Lt. Bradshaw's body from a forward base in Afghanistan to Bagram Air Base. Capt. James Adair, one of the plane's pilots, asked the editorial page staff to forward the letter to the Bradshaw family. He and Brian Bradshaw's parents then agreed to publication of these excerpts.

Dear Bradshaw Family,

We were crew members on the C-130 that flew in to pick up Lt. Brian Bradshaw after he was killed. We are Georgia Air National Guardsmen deployed to Afghanistan for Operation Enduring Freedom. We support the front-line troops by flying them food, water, fuel, ammunition and just about anything they need to fight. On occasion we have the privilege to begin the final journey home for our fallen troops. Below are the details to the best of our memory about what happened after Brian's death.

We landed using night-vision goggles. Because of the blackout conditions, it seemed as if it was the darkest part of the night. As we turned off the runway to position our plane, we saw what appeared to be hundreds of soldiers from Brian's company standing in formation in the darkness. Once we were parked, members of his unit asked us to shut down our engines. This is not normal operating procedure for that location. We are to keep the aircraft's power on in case of maintenance or concerns about the hostile environment. The plane has an extremely loud self-contained power unit. Again, we were asked whether there was any way to turn that off for the ceremony that was going to take place. We readily complied after one of our crew members was able to find a power cart nearby. Another aircraft that landed after us was asked to do the same. We were able to shut down and keep lighting in the back of the aircraft, which was the only light in the surrounding area. We configured the back of the plane to receive Brian and hurried off to stand in the formation as he was carried aboard.

Brian's whole company had marched to the site with their colors flying prior to our arrival. His platoon lined both sides of our aircraft's ramp while the rest were standing behind them. As the ambulance approached, the formation was called to attention. As Brian passed the formation, members shouted "Present arms" and everyone saluted. The salute was held until he was placed inside the aircraft and then the senior commanders, the sergeant major and the chaplain spoke a few words.

Afterward, we prepared to take off and head back to our base. His death was so sudden that there was no time to complete the paperwork needed to transfer him. We were only given his name, Lt. Brian Bradshaw. With that we accepted the transfer. Members of Brian's unit approached us and thanked us for coming to get him and helping with the ceremony. They explained what happened and how much his loss was felt. Everyone we talked to spoke well of him -- his character, his accomplishments and how well they liked him. Before closing up the back of the aircraft, one of Brian's men, with tears running down his face, said, "That's my platoon leader, please take care of him."

We taxied back on the runway, and, as we began rolling for takeoff, I looked to my right. Brian's platoon had not moved from where they were standing in the darkness. As we rolled past, his men saluted him one more time; their way to honor him one last time as best they could. We will never forget this.

We completed the short flight back to Bagram Air Base. After landing, we began to gather our things. As they carried Brian to the waiting vehicle, the people in the area, unaware of our mission, stopped what they were doing and snapped to attention. Those of us on the aircraft did the same. Four soldiers who had flown back with us lined the ramp once again and saluted as he passed by. We went back to post-flight duties only after he was driven out of sight.

Where to Start

I have been running the Pentagon Channel for over five years now and have had the opportunity many, many times to either be a part of or in support of military members and their families. The channel itself covers organizations and individuals that make such a difference. So where to start.

Being a father of three beautiful children and meeting so many children of Military members, after seeing the stories of deployments and homecomings, the scene of a child running to their father or mother will always have a powerful effect on me. The feeling of love, relief and complete joy that is seen on every child's face, gives you a glimpse of the TRUE SACRIFICE every military family makes. It is the children that show incredible courage and strength.

About two years ago, a producer here was invited to cover a day of camp at the Operation Purple camp for kids. This program is run by the National Military Family Association and the story came out great. The program was launched in 2004 and is a week long, free camp for kids 7-17. The focus is of course FUN, but time is also spent on dealing with issues surrounding deployed parents. Since it's inception, the camp has exposed over 20,000 children to a week of stress free fun. In 2009, Operation Purple will host nearly 90 weeks of camp held in 62 locations in 37 states and territories.

Click here for a video on the program.

I encourage everyone to go out, do a google search and find a program close to them. Help them in some way!!!

I have also included the video of Pentagon Channel's Recon Show: I Serve Too.

Complete Frustration

I have spent the past two weeks, as we all have, listening and watching all things Michael. I am fed up with it personally and embarrassed professionally. I am not saying that Michael Jackson was not an important figure in American culture nor that his music did not touch people around the globe - I am just AMAZED that this one man overshadowed so many important worldly events. I am frustrated that in a bad economy, in a time of war, in a time of civil unrest in China and Iran, that the front pages of websites and papers, the top stories on newscasts and talk radio was all about one man. "Because it sells papers, because it sells ad time and ad space, ratings and page views", is NOT an excuse.

It is for this reason that I am going to do something about it. Its not a calling, its not even a mission, it is just going to be my way of making a difference and a commitment to self to give some of my time to help a cause I feel very strongly about. So starting today, I am going to focus my time and effort to supporting the men and women who serve this country. I am going to do everything I can to support the families of these brave men and women. I am going to commit time to organizations who believe in the same things I do.

This blog is dedicated to this cause. I intend to write about an organization a week to hopefully use my voice and my thoughts through all these new social media tools, to share and collaborate with others. I need to make a difference and to ensure that focus is kept on what is so important to me.

I have the good fortune to be the General Manager of the Pentagon Channel and the Director of Emerging Media. I have the ability and power to bring attention to stories about military support and I have been doing so successfully with the help of a very talented staff. But this is about ME making a difference. I will be using content from the entire DoD family to help me drive home the point that there is no one person more important than another, that there is no one organization greater in importance than another - that each individual, each family, each organization deserves our support and attention.

Share your stories with me, communicate with me - help me make this initiative something of substance.

B