Jack Army talks about his MilBlog JACK ARMY.

Question: What are three things your readers probably do not know about you?

That’s a tough one since I’ve blogged about so much, from education, to military experiences and training, to opinions on things such as religion, childrearing, politics, etc… I’m not sure that I’ve mentioned that I would love to be a writer. I’d love to make a living from it. Not sure that I have the skill or discipline, though. People don’t know that my middle name is a family name: Truett. It’s my father’s middle name as well as my great-grandfather’s. Pa-paw (my great-granddad) got his middle name from his mother’s maiden name if I remember correctly. That name dies out with me as I don’t have a male heir to pass it on to. People also don’t know that I have many little collections that are pretty pitiful. As a kid, I marveled at the various collections I saw and wanted one for myself: my grandmother’s spoon collection was the main inspiration. I tried collecting patches, marbles, coins, stamps, and many other things. All were miserable failures as collections and mostly served to frustrate me. It wasn’t until years later that I realized that the key to building a nice collection of anything was patience, something I had almost none of as a child.

Question: How long have you been blogging and why did you get into blogging?

I started my blog in February 2005. The first blog I ever saw was Wizbang! (http://wizbangblog.com//) and their post with the video of the Tsunami in December 05. I started reading other posts, clicking the links in their blogroll and discovered the wondrous world of the blogosphere. It was a magical time. So, after a few weeks of reading blogs, I felt like it was something I could do: it was writing, which I enjoy, but it was short blurbs instead of pages and pages of work. I had a lot of free time on my hands at that time so I decided to join the club and started JACK ARMY. I love blogging and reading blogs.

Question: What is your military experience?

I’ve been in the Army 18.5 years. I entered as a mechanized infantryman and my first assignment was in Germany. Good times. But I wanted more of a challenge so I tried out for Special Forces and was accepted. I spent a few years there before being assigned to recruiting duty. Now, I’m back in the infantry world and in Iraq. I’ve been to Airborne and Jumpmaster schools, SERE school, ANCOC as well as couple of the recruiting courses. I was taught to speak Polish while in SF and earned the parachutist’s badge from Poland and Germany. I’ve been to about 9 different countries and 20 or so states in the US either assigned there or for temporary duty.

Question: What are some of your other favorite Milblogs?

I enjoy several other Milblogs and check many regularly when I’m able. The one’s I always look at even if I only have a few minutes are Andi’s World (http://andisworld.typepad.com/welcome_to_andis_world/), Badger 6 (http://badgersforward.blogspot.com/), Countercolumn (http://iraqnow.blogspot.com/), Adventures of a Detailed Recruiter (http://detailedrecruiter.blogspot.com/), and Recruiting Tirade (http://recruitingtirade.blogspot.com/). Like I said, I check out many more, but those are a few of my regular reads.

Question:

What has been the biggest factor in helping you create and publish a successful blog? I’m not sure I would characterize my blog as “successful”. I don’t have a huge readership but I know there are a loyal few that check JACK ARMY often. Some are family (hi Katy!) and some are friends (hi Ernie!) but some are just folks that stumbled upon my blog and enjoy what I have to say. While I do blog about the military, and the Army in particular, a lot on my blog, I talk about a lot of other topics as well. I think one of the things that people like about my writing is that it is easy to read. I almost write like I talk and I’m able to make it flow easily. Of course, a generous portion of sarcasm gives it a bit of a sour twang, but the humbleness and truthfulness help take the edge off that bitterness.

Question: Do you have anything else you would like us to mention about you, your blog, or your readers?

Sure. I love blogging. If I could do it for a living I would. I love the Army, and luckily I’ve gotten to do that for a living for my entire adult life. I know the Army isn’t perfect, but it’s full of people that believe in the greatness of America and are willing to fight and die for the principles and ideals that make it a great place to live, work, play and raise a family. I have done so many things, gone many places and met many, many people that I would never have had the opportunity to do if it hadn’t been for the Army. Finally, thanks for this opportunity to share a little bit about myself and my blog. I don’t believe that I’m a great blogger, but I enjoy it and I’m thrilled that there are folks that find at least a little of what I have to say interesting enough to read and sometimes discuss.

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