VA Joe has some great features for getting in contact with other members of the military, both Active Duty and retired. We’ve also come across some useful dating/singles websites that are catered towards the military only, and they may be something our single members find fun and useful. Here’s a short spotlight on Military Dating Online:

Today we see many strides by sites like Match.com, Yahoo! Personals, eHarmony.com and others trying to attract more singles to try online dating. While big sites like the ones mentioned are becoming house-hold names, singles are naturally gravitating more towards focused dating sites that appeal to their interests and needs.

MilitaryDatingOnline.com is a perfect example. As an online personals site focused on helping military singles and civilians interested in dating military men and women, MilitaryDatingOnline.com is steadily growing to become the favorite website for singles to meet and connect with singles all around the world. With features that rival most paid dating services, MilitaryDatingOnline.com offers free membership to anyone, regardless of military status and location.

Being a part of our community gives you instant access to all our member profiles complete with photos, interests, location and much more. In an effort to keep our community active and helping you find a date, love, activity partner or friendships, we have sections of our site like:

• Community forums for you to share and participate
• Online dating blog to keep you updated on our plans for the site
• Free Horoscopes
• And much more.

MilitaryDatingOnline.com provides free online personals and dating services to singles in active duty as well as people who are not in the military but are interested in relationships with service members.

Enjoy member features like:

• Free sign ups and No membership fees – Ever.
• Unlimited messaging
• Free photos and video uploads
• Customizable profiles
• Search members by interest, city and military bases
• Meet singles all around the world
• And much more.

If you are single and want to find your match, then come on over and create your free personals account today at MilitaryDatingOnline.com

About MilitaryDatingOnline.com:
MilitaryDatingOnline.com is run by 2 people, Will and Derek. The site started off as a pet project 3 years ago to see if 2 people, living in totally different states can successfully launch a full-featured community site. After seeing the growth in online dating services for niche audiences, we decided to take it a step further and make major improvements to the site by adding more member features, expanding to more countries and so forth.

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Overseas Vote Foundation (OVF) provides a central, nonpartisan resource to register to vote and request an absentee ballot from overseas. With the generous financial support from The Pew Charitable Trusts, OVF has developed user-friendly, online voter tools applicable to voters from every state – www.overseasvotefoundation.org:

• An online overseas voter registration tool that prompts the voter for information necessary to register to vote in accordance with each state’s unique regulations.  Error-checks occur during the process to ensure that the voter does not forget any required information. The program then generates an official form in PDF format and provides the voter with the correct county election office address for mailing.

• A Voter Help Desk where voter questions are answered via email within 24 hours

• An Election Official Directory with contact information for the 7000+ election offices in the United States and its territories. 

• A hot topics list of relevant overseas voter news
• Links to nonpartisan organizations that offer candidate information for all states

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We recently interviewed Frontline Fobbit of This War and Me to find out more about his blog.

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

I have only been blogging for about a year. I started on Jan. 1st, 2007 as I was heading to Iraq. It was mainly an occassional MySpace post that began gaining viewers beyond my family and friends almost immediately. I really didn’t go “mainstream” until I was having some issues and ran across Badger6. He was very supportive and encouraged me to stick with it. I decided to actually start blogging and doubt I will ever stop.

What is your military experience?

I joined the Navy when I graduated high school in 1991 and did ten years of active duty service. I was a Hospital Corpsman for six years, then changed rates and became a Surface Sonar Technician for the last four. I had no interests at all of doing Reserves. Shortly after I got out, September 11th happened and I was eager to do something, but didn’t. A couple of years ago, I got a call from our local recruiter and he went over my options and mentioned the enlistment bonus and I joined the Army National Guard. I have not regreted too much after that. I have been in the Army for 2 1/2 years and have been training for Iraq or in Iraq ever since.

What are some of your other favorite Milblogs?

There really are some great blogs out there and I am still new to them all. A few of my favorite are

Badgers Forward

Milblogging.com

Thunder Run

Jules Crittenden

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

My biggest factor in creating it has been my family and friends. My children give me a lot of motivation for the days I just don’t want to talk about how messed up the world is. They remind me of what life is like when I am with them and always make me smile. My biggest factoring in continuing my blog is the tremendous amount of support from veteran bloggers who have welcomed me into the mix.

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We recently interviewed Michael Tomberlin of Yellowhammering Afghanistan to find out more about his blog.

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

1. My nickname is “Chicken” because of an impersonation I do of . . . well . . . a chicken. I’ve been doing it since I was a little boy and to this day when I go to my hometown, folks call me “Chicken.”

2. I’m a pretty good cook. When I’m at home, I spend a lot of time working the grill. I also like to try my hand at gourmet recipes. I learned from some of the best. My internship was at New Orleans Magazine and my job for the summer was to interview 25 New Orleans chefs. I met Emeril Lagasse (who had just opened his first restaurant), Paul Prudhomme, Susan Spicer and all the greats. They each taught me a thing or two about cooking.

3. I met legendary University of Alabama Crimson Tide football Coach Paul “Bear” Bryant when I was a little boy. My uncle, who helped organize the World Championship Domino Tournament, invited him to play in the tournament and he accepted. The invitation included coming to my grandmother’s house for lunch, which he also accepted. I have a picture of me and my sister sitting on the couch with the “Bear” hanging in my room in the barracks.

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

I started blogging for this deployment. I was going to chronicle my experiences in a journal, but when I mentioned the prospect of doing it as a blog instead, the folks at al.com couldn’t have been more supportive. They set it up and have made it too easy. My civilian job is a reporter for The Birmingham News, which has its online home at al.com, hence the connection.

What is your military experience?

I have been in the Alabama Army National Guard for 21 years. In fact, prior to this deployment my entire time had been in the same field artillery battalion. I have always been a Redleg artilleryman. My first five years were spent enlisted as a 13F forward observer. I got my commission through ROTC at the University of Alabama. This is my first overseas deployment, though I have been activated for hurricane duty for Hurricane Ivan and Hurricane Katrina.

What are some of your other favorite Milblogs?

You mean other than vajoe.com? I’ve only recently discovered the www.milblogging.com Web site and have started sampling some of the many blogs on there. I can’t say I have any favorites yet, but I lean towards the ones in Afghanistan such as “Bill and Bob’s Excellent Adventure” and “AfghaniDan.”

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

I’ve had a lot of help. A graphic artist at The Birmingham News created my banner/logo. The technical experts at al.com help me incorporate elements like slideshows and video to give it more life.

I think the key element is telling the story. Don’t try to be too cute about it and don’t think that the mundane can’t be interesting. What I try to do is tell the story of what I experience, but not make it about me. I view myself as a generic soldier experiencing these things for the first time. I look at everything with fresh eyes and then as I think about them in terms of a blog entry, I consider the deeper meaning in what I’ve seen or felt. I’ve been accused of being philosophical, and perhaps I am. But when you are in a situation like many of us find ourselves in trying to make a change during some pretty historic times for an already history-rich country, then I think it helps to pause every once in a while and consider the true meaning of things.

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

I can’t speak for other blogs, but the readers are not just passive people looking in on my site. The “Yellowhammering Afghanistan” readers are quite active in supporting me and the guys but also in supporting the people of Afghanistan. I get so many great packages of goodie bags, toys, candy, school supplies, clothes, you name it. We have ample opportunity to hand that out when we’re out on missions. As I was saying, the blog isn’t about me — it’s about the great work so many soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines are doing here.

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Sig talks about milblogging on Vox Veterana.

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

That’s rough. Most of my regular readership is related to me by blood, marriage, or unit patch and there are few secrets between family or fire team members. Relatively few of those know that I also write mediocre military science fiction–mostly on the theory that some of the insanity I’ve seen is more believable if done by space aliens. Relative newcomers to my site and VoxVeterana may not know that I spent four years doing IT work in the civilian world after university and before donning the green.

My family knows this last one, but few others: we’re expecting our first child this next March.

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

My first blog started in early 2001 on the now-defunct Killingmachines.org (run by my friend Scott Vandehey). I had a lot of time at work and nothing better to do with it but write about how much I hated work. In 2004 (after I’d gone active for training), I started playing around with WordPress on my new laptop, and then Drupal on my test server, running from my home DSL network–you can put the geek in uniform, but he’s still a geek. I had no particular need for it; I just wanted to play with the software. Eventually I moved it over to its current host at NearlyFreeSpeech.net, started calling it SigSpace (instead of something obscurely Russian) and it’s been running much better ever since. I don’t think it turned into a “real” milblog until late 2005, when I started the mobilization for Enduring Freedom.

Early this year, T.F. Boggs asked me whether I’d be willing to contribute to his new group site, and I was happy to have yet another venue with which to inflict my views on random Intarweb people.

Question: What is your military experience?

I enlisted in the WA Army National Guard in 2003, shipping out in January of 2004 for basic, language training, and AIT. At my first drill weekend in September of 2005, we learned we would mobilize for OEF; this occurred in November. I spent the deployment doing tactical MI work while attached to a variety of combat arms units. I spent a lot of time during the second half in the turret. Since returning home in February of 2007, I’ve been on active duty orders as the Random Task NCOIC and doing some language-related things.

Question: What are some of your other favorite Milblogs?

I follow Blackfive religiously, but relatively few other milblogs on a regular basis. More of my RSS reader is devoted to media and politics, honestly, though Military Motivator provides my desktop backgrounds and I, too, am Trying to Grok. I used to follow FuzzyBunny6, but he mostly stopped writing after he got home.

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

I enjoy my own writing. I can waste hours amusing myself by reading stuff I’ve written. If I can amuse and inform others, too–that’s a bonus. I don’t think I would do very well trying to write what I think other people want to read; I’ve done it on occasion, and I’m rarely happy with the result. I write what I want to read; if you also want to read it, feel free. If not, there’s plenty of variety out there.

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

I don’t think I’ve ever been accused of being successful before–at least, not in this context.

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Highlights From Milblogs Around the Net

• Prosthetics are improving and getting more high-tech. [DefenseTech.org]
• Citizen Marine Sergeant Jeff Hunter is awarded the Silver Star. [American Ranger]
• “I believe the entire New Republic story (Shock Troops) to be a fake.” [Vox Veterana]
• 10 Ways Camp Striker is better than Las Vegas. [A Soldier’s Perspective]
• Over 6000 confirmed enemy kills in Iraq and Afghanistan since June 7, 2006. [Semper Gratus!]
• Another military scam.  This time asking for bogus donations.  [Gazing at the Flag]

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Guardsmans talks about his milblog One Guardsman’s Spiel.

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

1. I’m a nerd - I love computers and doing websites and LOVE video games. Battlefield 2 ROCKS!
2. I never tried tobacco until I joined the Army National Guard. I had just returned to my unit after AIT and my platoon said that it was time for my initiation…. I can’t go through many details but part of it involved tobacco in all it’s forms. In a short hour I went from never touching tobacco to smoking a cigar, smoking several cigarettes, snorting sniffing-snuff, and finally a big dip of Kodiak Wintergreen! By the time they’d finished with me I had a cigar in one hand, which they convinced me to inhale, a cigarette in the other, a fat dip in, and was snorting lines of sniffing-snuff! Oddly enough I never puked (I wish I would have), but needless-to-say my legs didn’t want to work for a while!
3. I know I have the most embarrassing experience in the military than most anybody. This might be a long story but you’ll enjoy it.I had just turned 21 and my unit was having a party to raise funds for our Christmas party. I figured I’d go there and have a couple of drinks then head back to the Armory. The party was a the bar of one of our unit members, a friend of mine. I had my first drink and Raffy had made it exceptionally strong - not that I was complaining. I planned on 2 more drinks and ordered my next one, which was also strong. When I ordered my third drink I was feeling pretty good. By the time I finished my third drink I had forgotten that I only wanted to have 3 drinks then leave. I remember having a good time but then everything becomes a blur. I remember thinking I needed to pass out and thought “I should just pass out in this booth - somebody will take me back to the Armory…” So pass out I did. Suddenly I woke up realizing that I needed to puke right NOW! I got up and started pushing through the packed bar to get to the bathroom. I remember having my hand over my mouth as I started to puke up on my way to the bathroom. In the bathroom I was puking everywhere except the toilet. On the wall, on the floor, everywhere! Suddenly the door flew open and somebody said “HEY! DO YOU KNOW WHO THE F#CK I AM?!” I said no between puking. “I’M THE GUY YOU JUST PUKED ON!” “Sorry.” I replied between heaves. “DO YOU KNOW WHO I ALSO AM?!” “No” I replied while continuing to puke. “I’M YOUR F#CKING SERGEANT MAJOR!!!!” Needless-to-say I sobered up pretty quickly. The CSM and I had a lovely little chat and somebody took me home. I was expecting to be demoted the next day at opening formation, but that never happened. Oddly, I ended up getting promoted the next month!

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

I’ve been blogging for quite a while. I’ve had different blogs not related to the military but I’ve shut them down. I started my brother’s blog when he deployed to Iraq in 2005 and eventually decided to start my own.

I started my blog because I thought I might have an interesting story to tell. Whether I have an interesting story to tell still remains to be seen - but I keep blogging anyway. I thought I had an interesting story to tell because at the time I was a recruiter for the Army National Guard. I looked at the media and all the things I hear every day about recruiters and thought maybe I could change some opinions. I figured maybe I could provide an insight into the recruiting world that people have never heard before.

I am no longer a recruiter having ETSed and am going back to being a traditional soldier. I will continue to blog but don’t exactly know which direction I will take my blog.

Question: What is your military experience?

I tried to enlist just after my 17th birthday during my junior year of high school. I went to MEPS and was told I have “droopy eyelids”. Many doctor visits and several months later I enlisted as a 31C Single Channel Radio Operator. I was assigned to the scout platoon of an ADA unit and had a lot of good experiences and fun. Being in the scout platoon was an amazing experience.

Eventually it was decided that I would be the XOs radio operator in the ALOC. That was an interesting experience and I learned more about the military than I thought I would. After a while I decided that I would like to try out some combat arms stuff. I re-classed to a 14M Stinger Missile Operator, or MANPADS Crew member officially. I did that for a while before becoming a recruiter. I recruited for almost 4 years in a small town in Northeastern Minnesota. Being a recruiter was the best experience and the worst experience of my life. I was able to take a forever failing office and proceeded to win the Chief’s Freedom Challenge in 2005 and helped my team to be the #1 recruiting team in the country in 2006. They’re on track to being #1 this year too.

Question: What are some of your other favorite Milblogs?

My favorite Milblog is JusticeSoldier.com - the fact that he is my brother and I administrate and sometimes contribute to his blog has nothing to do with it being my favorite I assure you! I used to really like “Confessions of a Military Recruiter” until he had to shut down his blog. I now read “Jack Army”, “Adventures of a Detailed Recruiter”, “SGT Lori”, and “Blackfive” quite often.

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

I think the biggest factor is having something to say that is relevant and understandable. I know we’ve all been to a blog and not understood what the author was saying…. or just didn’t care. When I write in my blog I think of my readers (whoever they may be) and wonder if they will care what I am writing about. I also make sure that I care what I’m writing about. If I don’t care about what I’m writing about or I don’t think my readers will care - I don’t write.

Another major factor to a successful blog is making it personal. When my readers visit my blog, I like to think it is like sitting down and having a cup of coffee with me. I’ve been to blogs where the writer was more like an impersonal reporter - I didn’t feel like I was connecting with the writer.

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

I really like to dabble in video editing. Some people may have seen my first video “American Soldier Featuring LTC Randolph C. White Jr.” I recently finished a new video titled “A Tribute to Military Children”. I think everyone will enjoy this moving new video of mine and encourage everyone to go to my blog to check it out!

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Frank Staheli talks about his milblog Serving the People of Iraq.

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

1. That I was born in Saigon, Vietnam while my father was working there in the early 1960’s.
2. That I served in Iraq after my wife and I prayed about whether I should retire from the military (the answer was to stay in).
3. That I am afraid of heights.

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

After having served in Iraq for about 4 months, I decided to capture my feelings. Serving Iraq was born. I feel a catharsis when I can put my feelings down for posterity, and that’s what keeps me going. The learning that takes place as I study such issues as Oil for Food, PBS lack of desire to show a film about moderate Muslims, and successes in Iraq makes it all worth it. I chose the name Serving Iraq because I felt it was important to remind myself and my readers that we are attempting to provide a valuable service to the people of Iraq–helping them to achieve liberty.

Question: What is your military experience?

I served in the Utah National Guard with the 222nd Field Artillery for nearly 25 years. I retired in December 2006. I was a Fire Direction Chief for 19 of those years, and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Question: What are some of your other favorite Milblogs?

• SoldiersPerspective
• Mudville Gazette
• Kari with a K!
• Gazing at the Flag
• VA Joe!

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

I feel that I am an excellent writer and I am often able to provide a unique perspective into the stories and issues of the day. The challenge of writing something that people will read and appreciate is what keeps me going. The occasional compliments from readers doesn’t hurt either!

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

Since returning home, I have also written prodigiously in another web log entitled Simple Utah Mormon Politics. I’ve made a handful of appearances on a national radio talk show called “The Right Balance” with Greg Allen, where I’ve talked about my service in Iraq, etc.

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Where The Heat Is! Iran!

Iran has become a hot topic. Allegations that Iran is supplying Iraqi insurgents with weapons capable of shooting down our helicopters, plus fabricating metal used to make advanced IEDs that can slide through a tank has become a concern for many in the military such as milblogger Kevin of Boot On The Ground. http://bootsonground.blogspot.com .

The 2nd Battalion 94th Artillery Vietnam Veterans brought to our attention that Iran may be supporting Shia insurgents in Iraq and Sunni insurgents in Iraq and that Iran may be on both sides in the so-called civil war. The details of this milblog can be found at http://294fa.blogspot.com .

Mark Partridge Miner is a National Guard Infantryman has expressed concern in his milblog Boots In Baghdad over the way the Bush Administration has been handling Iran and Syria. He discusses that weapons and fighters have been entering the country of Iraq from neighboring Iran and Syria since the coalition invasion. He writes at http://www.bootsinbaghdad.blogspot.com .

Iran is a problem made up of many problems. What do you see as the greatest problem with Iran? Supplying weapons in Iraq? Do you see them as a nuclear threat?

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SSG Thul talks about his milblog Foreign and Domestic

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

1. I talk a lot about politics on my blog, but I’m not a member of any political party.
2. I spent 9 years in the Guard as a weekend warrior, never doing more than weekend drills and annual trainings. I was actually looking forward to getting out until 9-11. Since then, I’ve spent most of 3 years deployed, and I’m looking into working full time for the Guard when I get home.
3. I’m a co-founder of the Appeal For Courage, an effort to let Congress know that many of the soldiers in Iraq want to finish the job.

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

I thought about blogging when I got to Iraq in April 2006. But the internet access was limited, and would have taken a lot of my time. But when my unit was extended for another 4 months in January, I needed to do something to releive my frustration.

Question: What is your military experience?

I’ve been in the National Guard for 15 years last week, all in the same unit, C Co 2/135 in Owatonna, Minnesota. In 2003 we were deployed to Kosovo for a year, and in October 2005 we got called for Iraq. We should be home sometime next month, which would make it 22 months. I’ve been straight leg infantry, mechanized infantry, and we are now air assault.

Question: What are some of your other favorite Milblogs?

My favorite is Intel Dump, because though I don’t always agree with Phil Carter, he makes very well thought out arguments. After that I like Blackfive, because he has so many links to other good sites.

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

I try not to say anything unless I have something intelligent to say. I don’t always succeed, but being in the middle of the biggest debate of our time, the Iraq war, gives me a view on things that isn’t widely available at home.

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

Just to say thanks to everyone who reads my blog, and I’ll try to keep it going while I make my way home.

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