Laughing Wolf at Blackfive has a full list of participants and explains:

FOR TODAY, Wednesday 16 December 2009, many if not most, fellow milblogs — including This Ain’t Hell, From My Position, Miss Ladybug, Boston Maggie, Grim’s Hall, and those participating in the Wednesday Hero program — are going silent for the day. Some are choosing to go silent for a longer period of time…

The catalyst has been the treatment of milblogger C.J. Grisham of A Soldier’s Perspective. C.J. has earned accolades and respect, from the White House on down for his honest, and sometimes blunt, discussion of issues — particularly PTSD. In the last few months, C.J. has seen an issue with a local school taken to his command who failed to back him, and has even seen his effort to deal with PTSD, and lead his men in same by example, used against him as a part of this. Ultimately, C.J. has had to sell his blog to help raise funds for his defense in this matter.

An excellent story on the situation with C.J. can be found at Military Times.

While there have been new developments, the core problem remains, and C.J. is having to raise funds to cover legal expenses to protect both his good name and his career.

One need only look at the number of blogs by active duty military in combat zones and compare it to just a few years ago to see the chilling effect that is taking place.

Milblogs have been a vital link in getting accurate news and information about the military, and military operations, to the public. They have provided vital context and analysis on issues critical to operations and to the informed electorate critical to the Republic.

On Wednesday 16 December, readers will have the chance to imagine a world without milblogs, and to do something about it. Those participating are urging their readers to contact their elected representatives in Congress, and to let their opinions be known to them and to other leaders in Washington.

Some milblogs will remain silent for several days; some just for the day. All have agreed to keep the post about the silence and C.J. at the top of their blogs until Friday 18 December.

The issues go beyond C.J., and deserve careful consideration and discussion. We hope that you will cover this event, and explore the issues that lie at the heart of the matter.

…If you wish to donate to CJ’s defense fund, please use the following address, or click the link below. He’s in a serious battle against a serious foe. Read the article to find out all about it.

Grisham Legal Fund
c/o Redstone Federal Credit Union
220 Wynn Drive
Huntsville, AL 35893

Please write “Grisham Legal Fund” in the memo line if you use this option.

Melissa Clouthier has an interview with Laughing Wolf about the protest here.

Please lend your support.

Please read it. A tragic loss. A lasting legacy. Service to this country that won’t be forgotten.

Read all about it.

From his announcement post:

I learned some things the last time I was in Iraq- I learned of courage, and brotherhood. I learned that there is no glory in war- there are few heroes, and many decent, ordinary men too stubborn to realize that their actions are irrational, dangerous, and, well… heroic. I learned of emotional agony and of empathy; I also learned how to be callous. I learned how to tell someone with your eyes that you would kill him if he didn’t cave. I lost some timidity, and gained self-respect. The war did not make me a man- rather; I learned through the war some essential elements of manhood.

There must be a name for this sickness, for this consuming malady that compels some few of us back into the conflict, back into the desert. It feels like a mild form of addiction- there’s the drive to get more of it, and the rush, and the memories. It comes without the wasting, without the needle marks (that’s a lie, actually- I have a wicked bruise in my elbow right now from blood tests), but it brings its own scars, flashbacks, and dementia. There’s something very existential about it- I am forever the sum of my experiences, after all, and time spent in austere environs, separated from my comfortable life and often in the heat of combat certainly qualifies as life experience.

I’m happy to be on my way back again…

…Once I get to Kuwait, I will likely be unable to update for some time. I’m told that the damaged cables the Mediterranean and Persian Gulf have brought internet access in the region to a virtual (heh heh) standstill. In the meantime, spread the word that Teflon Don is back in the suck and blogging again.

And be sure to wish him well.

Over the last year, I’ve been threatened many times. Had my address posted across the Internet with a threat to cut my head off in front of my family. Gotten more hatemail and called “Nazi” than you would probably believe. Some of the other authors here have gotten a taste of them, too.

I am also fortunate to be connected to our fighting men and women. The difference you all have made and continue to make resonates in Iraq and Afghanistan. I hear about your efforts daily. Please keep making a difference.

Blackfive has made a huge difference in a time of war. If you don’t already make it a daily read, start now.

Reaction from Greyhawk at Mudville Gazette. A more optimistic reading of the rules from Army Lawyer.

Milblogger and Oklahoma state rep Kelvin Calvey in Iraq: “I will always place the mission first.”

Previous:

An unauthorized e-mail request from a soldier
Army crackdown on bloggers

Who will stand up for the rights of soldiers? Fight for us. We fight for you.

- Anonymous soldier sending an unauthorized email

Reader Robert e-mails:

The crack down isn’t about Operational Security, it’s about preventing Senator Harry Reid from being criticized publicly by soldiers.

Reader Ken agrees:

Saw your article on the crackdown. Although it’s speculation on my part, I think my own vet background provides me enough experience to make the determination that the reasons for this are the armed forces member responses to Harry Reid’s comments and anything said or done by other elected Dems. I’m sure after receiving a slew of criticism that was identified as originating from any service man or woman, they contacted DoD and angrily issued complaints.

Milblogger Dadmanly weighs in big:

The [Army Regulation] not only directs Commanders (BN and above) and OPSEC Managers to ensure that no communications in a public forum or media (to include email) occur without OPSEC review, but directs UCMJ action against military violators and criminal prosecution against anyone else.

Worse than that, as written it also means soldiers need to have their commanders review/censor every single email or IM they want to send. To comply, commanders would have no choice but to forbid their soldiers from using email or IM via the internet, or the Commander would have to go with them to the internet cafe.

Completely impractical, unrealistic, worse by far than prohibitions that are widely ignored, such as gambling. This one can only be complied with by severely curtailing one of the few highly successful MWR initiatives in combat theater — internet cafes.

Some commanders might legitimately interpret the AR to allow them to censor the outgoing personal mail of all soldiers under their command, or to prohibit telephone contact to anyone outside of their command.
The Military is making a terrible mistake with this AR. How many problems are really being caused by the status quo arrangement? What are the real risks, rather than the imagined ones, or the fear of whistle-blowing that may be justified? Then, consider the impact of what’s proposed.

It will severely curtail positive news and voices from within the military. Critics within will STILL have direct lines to the NYT, Washington Post, ABC/CBS/NBC/PBS/NPR, they’ll only end up silencing pro-military and pro-victory voices.

Andi at Andi’s World adds:

I fully understand the need to be careful and cautious. The military has a duty to ensure that potentially sensitive information doesn’t fall into the hands of the wrong people. On the other hand, I question whether those who shape policy that applies to milbloggers fully understand the value and importance of milblogging, particularly combat blogging.

I understand that it takes a while for a big bureaucracy, such as the Department of Defense, to embrace new mediums, and I have been heartened by their efforts, albeit slow, to use blogs, new media and other forms of technology to engage the public, but stories like this one leave many feeling that we’re taking one step forward and two steps back. It’s a difficult balance and it’s going to take some time to get it right. The problem is, of course, that we’re running out of time to get it right.

I’m no conspiracy theorist. I don’t believe the military is looking for ways to silence combat bloggers, but I do fear that they are making it prohibitive for some to blog, which has the effect of silencing voices which need to be heard.

My focus at Andi’s World is almost exclusively on troop/family support, so I can’t imagine that I would be regulated in any manner, but I’ll go read the new guidelines now. If it covers family members, there are a lot of us who should be reading.

At Bill Faith’s Old War Dogs, Vietnam Vet and milblogging poet Russ Vaughan posts a sample letter to send to your congressional rep:

Dear Senator/Congressman,

I have just become aware of the military’s new restrictive policy on soldier weblogs (milblogs) with the reason for this policy being given that it is in the interest of operational security. While I am all for the highest degree of vigilance in matters of OPSEC, I feel that the new policy is heavy-handed and counterproductive for the following reasons:

1) Every website created by any service person is readily available for routine scrutiny by military monitoring agencies. At the first sign of misuse, the military has the capability to block the offending site and deal appropriately with its owner.

2) Milblogs are the 21st Century’s letters home from the war, a means of communicating from the combat zone with family and friends that far exceeds the capabilities, in both time and content, of previous wars. They are a definite morale-builder, both with serving troops and the folks back home keeping tabs on their loved ones.

3) Milblogs are tools for training and orientation from those who are there now to those who will be. Such exchanges can be highly beneficial for those deploying to combat for the first time. Such “pearls’ from the trigger-pullers to those yet untested can make the transition much easier and perhaps safer for the new warriors.

4) Under such prohibition, only the dutiful soldiers will be affected. The disgruntled and disobedient will evade this restriction and find ways to use such internet podiums to spew their harsh criticisms. Only one view, that most favorable to the military, will be stifled.

5) Last but not least, those affected by this restriction on freedom of speech are precisely those who are placing their lives on the line to preserve that very freedom. To deny them that right unnecessarily as is now being done with this new policy sends a very wrong message to the world about our true commitment to our Bill of Rights.

If a soldier wants to have a weblog, fine, let him or her do so after first signing a DoD agreement, making him keenly aware of the consequences of OPSEC violations and the and the penalties that attach to them. By signing that agreement he automatically registers with a central registry, maintained by a DoD agency with the responsibility to routinely monitor content of all milblogs owned by active duty personnel.

I’m not asking for official action here, simply a heads-up call from your office to your connections in the Pentagon to suggest they not throw out the baby with the bath water.

Sincerely,

Russ Vaughn
101st Airborne Division, Vietnam 65-66
Registered Voter in Your State/District

More blog reax and coverage:

See-Dubya digs into the new Army’s threat matrix, which includes “the media,” and writes:

Maintaining a healthy suspicion of the media doesn’t mean you think Osama is secretly editing the New York Times.** It’s natural not to trust them, especially when you’re in a business like the military which involves keeping a lot of secrets. The military needs to use the media to get its message out, but for a gang that has gleefully compromised so many security secrets, a certain frosty reticence is in order.

It’s just a shame the military doesn’t trust its own members any more than they do the MSM. If cautioned about opsec, milbloggers could be a valuable asset that the army ought to encourage. Instead they’re treating their trusted front-line guys as liabilities, as liabilities, as greenhorns no more cautious or trustworthy than the New York Times. That’s got to hurt morale.

The other irony, of course, is that while all this is going on, the Army Public Affairs people are bending over backwards to get the New York Times to whisper, once in a great while, between the constant drone of defeatism and misery, some of the same things these milbloggers are shouting every day.

Steve Schippert at The Tank notes Blackfive’s prescience on this issue and notes:

This will surely be the Hot Topic at the 2007 MilBlog Conference this Friday and Saturday.

No doubt. If the MSM had brains, they would be covering the event wall-to-wall–you know, the way they cover every last anti-war confab in Washington.

Sen. Richard Shelby reacted negatively to the Army’s move on Hugh Hewitt’s show. Blackfive’s Matt Burden also talked with Hugh, who sums it up:

“This is a very big deal, and the Army has blown it, bigtime.”

The U.S. Army has ordered soldiers to stop posting to blogs or sending personal e-mail messages, without first clearing the content with a superior officer, Wired News has learned. The directive, issued April 19, is the sharpest restriction on troops’ online activities since the start of the Iraq war. And it could mean the end of military blogs, observers say.

Military officials have been wrestling for years with how to handle troops who publish blogs. Officers have weighed the need for wartime discretion against the opportunities for the public to personally connect with some of the most effective advocates for the operations in Afghanistan and Iraq — the troops themselves. The secret-keepers have generally won the argument, and the once-permissive atmosphere has slowly grown more tightly regulated. Soldier-bloggers have dropped offline as a result.

The new rules (.pdf) obtained by Wired News require a commander be consulted before every blog update.

Bottom line from Matt at Blackfive:

The Bottom-Line to the this bad piece of regulation: The soldiers who will attempt to fly under the radar and post negative items about the military, mission, and commanders will continue to do so under the new regs. The soldiers who’ve been playing ball the last few years, the vast, VAST, majority will be reduced. In my mind, this reg will accomplish the exact opposite of its intent. The good guys are restricted and the bad continue on…

Operational Security is of paramount importance. But we are losing the Information War on all fronts. Fanatic-like adherence to OPSEC will do us little good if we lose the few honest voices that tell the truth about The Long War.

Here is the right solution.

Acute Politics
Badgers Forward
Jack Army
and
The Marching Camp

Broken Masterpieces has frequent dispatches from Duke in Iraq, too.

And we keep close tabs on our favorite embeds, past and present,
Michael Yon
Michael Totten
Michael Fumneto
and
Bill Roggio

In Afghanistan we have Milbloggers
Afghanistan JAG
Afghanistan Without a Clue
Task Force Phoenix 5

and others.

And let’s not forget our Canadian milbloggers:
Celestial Junk
Afghanistan Watch
The Torch

And stateside we have many milbloggers covering topics such as military family life, terrorism, current events, the media, those supporting the troops and those who are not.

While it’s slickly produced and an interesting listen, it contains some language and violence not appropriate for some.

Paul Wood’s reporting has been featured on Blackfive here and here.

I’ll be away for the next few days on a short trip. But you are in for a treat. In my absence, I’ve invited a few of my favorite military bloggers to guest blog. With the Walter Reed story still unfolding, the Democrat crack-up continuing, an initial test vote on the overall military spending bill in the House Appropriations Committee scheduled for Thursday, the Out of Iraq Caucus clamoring, and the fourth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq hitting this Saturday, I thought it would be an excellent time to highlight some of the leading voices in the milblogging community:

Matt Burden is a former Paratrooper and Army Officer who founded Blackfive upon learning of the valorous sacrifice of a friend that was not reported by the journalist whose life he saved. He is also editor of the terrific collection of milblog essays, The Blog of War.

Greyhawk is the “call sign of a real military guy currently serving somewhere in Germany.” He runs The Mudville Gazette and hosts the Milblog Headquarters. Check out the brief history of Milblogs.

Smash blogs at Indepundit.com. As Greyhawk writes: “Anyone who’s been around the blogosphere a while needs no introduction to Citizen Smash. In the weeks leading up to the invasion of Iraq and for quite a while thereafter he was the information pipeline for those who were plugged in to blogs.” Smash [then LT SMASH] ran the first widely read milblog from the war zone.” He’s now in D.C., where he engages the moonbats at Walter Reed each and every weekend. You can find audio and commentary on his latest encounter here.

John Noonan blogs at OPFOR, which he co-founded and launched in April 2006 with Charlie of the old Officers’ Club blog. OPFOR is military jargon for opposing force. He’s a VMI guy and studied counter-terrorism at the University of Tel Aviv in Israel.

You may also hear from a milblogger or two currently serving in Iraq or Afghanistan. Be sure to give them all a warm welcome. I’ve learned much from these men, their co-bloggers, their commenters, and their fellow milbloggers–and you will, too.

I’ll be back on Saturday liveblogging the Gathering of Eagles. Here’s the latest on the permit situation:

The National Park Service has issued a permit for the Gathering of Eagles demonstration and rally on March 17 in Washington, D.C. as illustrated on the Eagle web site “Maps” link under “Sections”.

BOTTOM LINE: AS UNACCEPTABLE AS THE PERMIT GRANTED IS, WE WILL BE ABLE TO PROTECT THE VIETNAM MEMORIAL WALL

We view the permit decision unacceptable and will be taking immediate steps to appeal what we believe is an unworkable decision. If the National Park Service is unfavorable to our appeal, our legal arm will pursue immediate court action to acquire an equitable, realistic solution.

The good news is the Park Service is granting the Eagles large amounts of territory adjacent to the Vietnam Memorial as well as along the march route of the antiwar protesters. We are being given the use of the western side of Constitution Gardens, which is contiguous to the Vietnam Memorial, thus giving us controlling ground. That permit is for an estimated 10,000 people. If things stand as they are, we will use that as a staging area for our people to cycle along the pathways, visiting statues and the Vietnam Memorial which comprise the Memorial area…

Bad news is the Park Service decided to grant the other half of Constitution Gardens to the so-called antiwar group ANSWER, with a no man’s land in between. This is unacceptable and will be challenged in our appeal.

ANSWER is telling their supporters to gather at the park on Henry Bacon Dr. on Saturday morning for a ‘People’s Assembly’ before their march kicks off at 12:30 p.m. They have no announced plans to use Constitution Gardens anymore–in fact they have removed all mention of Constitution Gardens from their updated maps for March 17–yet they are refusing to relinquish their permit application for that area in an effort to inhibit the rights of the Eagles to assemble in a consolidated location. This will be part of our appeal.

Here’s an updated bus list. And the NYTimes covers the Move America Forward caravan on its way to the Eagles’ gathering. Nearly 1,600 have signed up to participate on the 17th in Washington, D.C.

Will you join us?

***
While we’re on the subject of milblogging, the 2007 Milblogging Conference pre-registration is now open. Andi of Andi’s World writes: “Pre-registration will run from March 9 – March 16 and is open only to members of the military community (active-duty, Guard, Reserves, Veterans and family members). Registration will open to the general public on March 17. Seating is limited to 275 people, so be sure to register early.” Check it out.

And now, I’m turning over the keys. Gentlemen, fire away.