Soldiers enter the blogosphere
The Internet has pluralized the venerable profession of the war correspondent, allowing soldiers to blog their perspectives on the war, reports the BBC, unfiltered by military handlers or the press.
"Writing was really therapy and allowed me to tell about how the conflict made me feel, not just fighting but the politics and opposition movement that made the war an anti-president issue," said Brian Kennedy aka Howdy.
"I felt less guilt and less stress the more I wrote," he said. He even wrote about returning in July from Iraq to face a divorce.
The military allows 'Milblogs' as a link to family and friends but have occasionally shut down a few due to security concerns. And some soldiers self-censor due to security regulations. However, milblogs are some of the most exciting war correspondence to come out of Iraq.
More controls over blogging have already started and will likely continue.
Greyhawk advises fellow milbloggers to think how a post will be received by his or her mother, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Osama bin Laden.
"Not everyone can approach a keyboard with that kind of responsibility over their heads," he said.
A very small number have been shut down, but he said even more milbloggers have simply stopped due to operational security concerns.
Brian Kennedy hopes that service members are allowed to continue to blog as a link back to family and friends.
But he adds: "I can see where the military will need to at the very least 'regulate' the information."