(no subject)

[lapsedmodernist]

Does anyone know of livejournals kept by soldiers on active duty in Iraq? I know ginmar's detailed her service and I know of some non-lj blogs, but if anyone could point me in the direction of soldiers' livejournals, either individual or communities, I'd appreciate it.

Thanks!

Comments

[jamy.livejournal.com]

Pardon, I read your journal occasionally and couldn't resist the urge...I'm a Marine in Okinawa, Japan (not immediately helpful) and in support of some several hundred other Marines in Iraq. I don't write in LJ very much but could offer you all sorts of information regarding military life and how the locals react to us, secondhand stories from Iraq etc, etc, if you'd like to elaborate on for what it is you're looking. Furthermore my father served in Afghanistan last year, so there are even more second-hand accounts at your disposal.

[lapsedmodernist.livejournal.com]

Hello! Thanks for replying. I am working on a film about soldiers coming back from Iraq now and the director was interested in finding some online accounts posted by soldiers who are currently stationed in Iraq.

What does it mean that you are "in support" of Marines in Iraq, if you don't mind me asking? I've never heard the term before, I don't think...

[jamy.livejournal.com]

3d Recon Battalion, 3d Marine Division is located here--they have deployed to Iraq and all paperwork relating to them is forwarded back to our offices here. That's what I do, ensure they're getting incentive pay (extra pay for jumping out of airplanes, diving, hostile fire, etc, though of course there isn't much diving happening in Iraq), ensure their wills are correct, ensure their families back home are receiving money and that a given Marine's entitlements in case of death go to the proper people, and occasionally do the paperwork that must be done when one dies.

So, 'in support of' is, I suppose, a sort of slang-y way to say it, but it comes from our position as an FSSG which is Force Service Support Group, comprised of all the bases in Japan. There are three FSSG's--one here, and two on either coast of the continental US (which we call CONUS). Each of them is comprised of myriad forms of support...food service, vehicle maintenance, small and large arms, aircraft...whatever you might imagine it requires to keep a force mobile and fed over there we do and then ship over so that they're only concentrating on mission accomplishment.

[lapsedmodernist.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I did not know any of that...

[stanleylieber.livejournal.com]

itsacountry, though I think she has been back in the states for a while. sparks_kerosene. giantlaser is not a soldier, but he was right in the thick of things for most of last year.

[lapsedmodernist.livejournal.com]

thank you, those are great.

[arasay.livejournal.com]

http://www.livejournal.com/community/insideiraq is a community for folks in Iraq as military, contracters, or civilians, and for Iraqi expats. Many of the folks on that community's flist are active duty so http://www.livejournal.com/community/insideiraq/friends is populated with the sorts of blogs you're looking for.

I'll be interested to see what else you turn up.

Found you on gordonzola's flist, by the way.

[lapsedmodernist.livejournal.com]

Hi and thanks.

[kitsele.livejournal.com]

What a dumb ass am I, why didn't I ever ask the same question? What an idea!

[lapsedmodernist.livejournal.com]

if you are interested, a bunch of people posted references and links since yesterday morning on this thread...

[kitsele.livejournal.com]

Thank you. I'll defiitely check them out.

[rezendi.livejournal.com]

I've let my paid account lapse, but if you do a location search for "Balad, Iraq" (http://www.livejournal.com/directory.bml?opt_sort=ut&s_loc=1&loc_cn=IQ&loc_st=&loc_ci=Balad) you'll get people living in LSA Anaconda / Balad AFB, the largest military base there.

[lapsedmodernist.livejournal.com]

Thank you, that was really helpful.

[orpheusinhades.livejournal.com]

I'll ask for you at peacevets.

[orpheusinhades.livejournal.com]

They (namely, motherpuckett), suggest monitoring insideiraq, in a response to my post here.

[lapsedmodernist.livejournal.com]

thank you!!

[museumfreak.livejournal.com]

Erin Finley, anthropology grad student at emory, was at one time thinking of a project on this topic, but I'm not sure where she is with it. You could email her. Mention you know me and Barbara, the organizers of the AAA panel she was almost on.

efinley at learnlink dot emory dot edu

[lapsedmodernist.livejournal.com]

Thank you. I will email her.

[brooklyn-jak.livejournal.com]

Try arti57. He is state-side, but also one of the founders of Iraq Veterans Against the war. He doesn't post on his blog very often--but if you contact him, he may have some connections for you.

[lapsedmodernist.livejournal.com]

Very cool, thanks! I just looked at his userinfo, I totally know who he is, I didn't know he had an lj though...

[landoffools.livejournal.com]

Chris Lydon just did a show called "The War in First Person," (http://www.radioopensource.org/2005/06/26/tonight-the-war-in-first-person/) and he came up with five personal blogs featured on the show, and five more mili-blog aggregates at the bottom of the page.