AllMilitary.com

We interviewed Jeff to find out more about his blog, Dadmanly.

What are 3 things your readers probably do not know about you?

1. I have a theater degree with a concentration in directing.

2. I spent the US Bicentennial (July 4, 1976) in the USSR, on a High School Russian Club class trip.

3. The Nudings in the US trace our origin to an ancestor who immigrated to the US in 1817. Genealogical records show the first Nuding, Georg, appearing in Geradstetten (outside Stuttgart, Germany) in 1600. His ethnic or geographic origin prior to 1600 is entirely unknown.

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

I have always loved to write. Writing has always been a big part of my civilian employment as an Information Technology (IT) Consultant and Project Management Professional (PMP), as well as my military work as an Intelligence Analyst, military occupational specialty (MOS) 98C and 96B.

Prior to being activated with the 42nd Infantry (Rainbow) Division, NY Army National Guard, my unit, the 642nd Military Intelligence (MI) Battalion (BN), was due for a 6 month rotation to Bosnia as part on a UN Peacekeeping mission. As our mobilization approached, I discovered several well-known military web logs (blogs, or more specifically MILBLOGS.

I saw how milbloggers like Greyhawk , Citizen Smash, and Blackfive had an excellent opportunity to comment on all things military from their blogs. Most importantly, their perspectives, insights and commentary stood in sharp contrast to what passes for “Journalism” on the part of mainstream (news) media (MSM). They spoke of “reality on the ground,” and in preparing for deployment, I knew they would be could voices to listen to.

Shortly thereafter, our deployment mission changed, and we were going to Iraq. I was a strong supporter of our efforts against Saddam Hussein specifically as a supporter of terror against the US, and in his defiance in the face of repeated injunctions by the UN Security Council. I knew he had weapons of mass destruction, and a proven willingness to use them against ethnic minorities and opponents. I never expected to be part of that effort in the National Guard, but I was proud to be called upon to serve in this way. I made note of Blogger, and what looked like a manageable process to start the blog.

Once I had reliable internet at the mobilization site at Fort Drum, I started Dadmanly in August 2004.

What is your military experience?

I first enlisted for Active Duty in 1983 upon graduation from college. I did 4 ½ years as an electronic warfare (EW) signals intelligence (SIGINT) Analyst, MOS 98C, including a year of Czech language studies at Defense Language Institute in Monterey CA, and three years at Field Station Augsburg. After that, I served briefly in the NY Army National Guard, then transferred to a Army Reserve Forces Intelligence School at Devens, as instructor and eventually course manager for All Source Intelligence MOS 96B. I did a short stint at a Combat Electronic Warfare Intelligence (CEWI) BN, then back to the schoolhouse to teach 98C. About ten years ago, I transferred to the newly formed 642 MI BN, with whom I mobilized. Since coming back, I’ve transferred on to another intelligence related assgnment. Nothing clandestine or anything, but I’d rather not highlight my current assignment.

What are some of your other favorite Milblogs?

Right now, I’d say MILBLOGS, Mudville Gazette, Blackfive, Miserable Donuts, Austin Bay.

What has been the biggest factor in helping you create and publish a successful blog?

Mr. and Mrs. Greyhawk at Mudville Gazette. Without their encouragement and support, I would be so far below the radar screen as to be invisible. (Though I still consider myself on the border between opaque and transparent, visibility wise.) After that, the encouragement of other MILBLOGGERS (such as those at MILBLOGS and who attend the annual Conference), Glenn Reynolds at Instapundit for the occasional Instalaunch, and friendly media such as the good folks at my local fox TV affiliate.

Matt Burden of Blackfive has also been a great supporter. He included me in The Blog of War, published Sept. 2006, and has passed along several media contacts that led to a taping for CBS evening news “FreeSpeech” segment (never aired), and an Op Ed in the NY Daily News, among others.

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

Some observations, excerpted from an earlier interview with Today’s Officer:

Our enemies are very adept, and far too successful playing the MSM and foreign media against us. They know how the media game is played, and they often have the upper hand. Bloggers are a vital resource. They’ll wage the war with or without military support and encouragement, but do it more effectively if the military appreciates their unique contributions, and works through their natural reluctance to yield control. Bloggers have proven themselves determined and resourceful. If they can get around the tyrants in Tehran and Beijing, they will be able to confound the Pentagon brass, who lack the police powers of those kinds of autocracies.

The milblog’s most important function is on-the-ground reporting. Relatively few soldiers conduct direct combat operations, although more and more are subjected to potential conflict and violence. Still, everything that happens can potentially be a part of history. In many ways, we have only scratched the surface on capturing what it means to be a soldier, sailor, airman, marine. What treasure we would have if members of earlier, “greatest” generations had had this technology and communications available? The Vietnam era soldiers. The men and women who fought WWII. The men in blue and grey who fought the Civil War. How much more we would understand wars, the sacrifices they impose, the moral lessons they teach, the humanity they confront. We were there at the inception, and it’s an awesome responsibility. I was honored to be a part of it.

Technology continues to break down barriers to all kinds of opportunities. The world itself grows smaller, with dramatic examples of how really close together all of our lives become. We can squander these opportunities, and concentrate on material possessions and comfort. Or, we can look around at God-given opportunities to make a difference. In the same way the US can no longer ignore the festering sources of terrorism around the world, so too as a people we will suffer later for community problems we ignore today.

Milblogging will become routine. Like other battlefield sensors and communication equipment, cellphones, PDAs, palmtop computers and the like will become ubiquitous. Soldiers will have an opportunity to comment real-time on their experiences, events around them, their actions, and observations. Many will journal. Some who want to, will record subjective impressions.

A few will write, and produce great works of reporting and other prose.

Bookmark to: