“MilKooks” United against MY Ego
June 29th, 2010 Posted in The SandGram v1.0“Per Mike Yon on Facebook: If we are going to make a success out of this war, must start squeezing out and choking off the irresponsible “sources.” People who care will start writing letters to editors/producers who link to websites such as Blackfive and Mudville Gazette. Must start telling mainstream sources that when they link to milkooks, we stop paying attention. Please leave comments at mainstream message boards encouraging people to ignore milkooks.
There are some good milblogs who should get more attention (such as Small Wars Journal), but others need to be choked off. We have a tough, bloody war ahead, and should refuse to put up with this nonsense. The information battlefront is half the battlespace, and you are in it. Please fight hard from your position.
It’s time to get active. I will get back to the war and focus there. On the home front, please choke off Blackfive and Mudville Gazette. When you see links to them from MSM sites, please contact editors and producers, and also leave public comments that responsible people do not listen to milkooks.
Get active and help win the war.”
I have a friend Chuck over at TCoveride
who is one helluva guy and someone I would trust with my families life. He is an Army Officer who has paid the price for this war over and over as he endured the operations to get himself repaired. To top it off, he is heading back to Iraq here shortly; a choice of his and it makes me proud to say I know him.
Recently there is a war of words going on between a former Army guy who fancies himself as a war reporter and different MilBloggers. He relies on donations to support his trips since his hasn’t been sponsored by any national papers. This person has coined us “MilKooks” because we don’t agree with his cavalier attitude, lack of respect towards the folks in charge, OPSEC violations and many other things that cause him to have a tantrum like my five year old.
The funny thing is, most of us have gone over and done/seen things that we don’t write about. I have lots of memories of the dead and wounded we funneled through TQ in 05 but to me, that type stuff feeds the ego of the chuckleheads and I don’t want to disrespect the families of the men who paid the ultimate price. I think my time, while not as a door kicker, but in my small job there as the Air Boss, made a difference and allows me to say I was there!
Afghanistan was a different tour, bloodless compared to Iraq for me, with visits all over the country to visit the different ANP (Afghan National Police) outpost. The threat of IED’s was very real for me there, a fear that lead to many prayers that if it happens, please make it fast and take care of my family. I’m not sure I would have the strength to endure what Chuck went through which you will see on his site. (With positive guys like Chuck around me, it would be easier though to cope)
I say all this so that the general public understands that the GreyHawks at Mudville Gazette and guys at BlackFive, two of the power houses mentioned are on the side of our troops and supporters and when they say something, it’s with lots of forethought (and fact checking) to make sure you as the public are informed over here in the states.
I’ll close out with these thoughts as I leave to go attend to my four kids… Also, here is Photo of a REAL WAR CORRESPONDENT. I’m not sure the man claiming to be a reporter will get the same accolades if his time comes.
Semper Fi,
Taco
Tags: BlackFive, Michael Yon, MilKooks, Mudville Gazette, TCoveride
5 Responses to ““MilKooks” United against MY Ego”
By GunnNutt on Jun 29, 2010
Good job, Taco. Well said.
It’s too bad Yon seems to have gone off the deep end. He’s definitely not the same guy I used to send money to so he could buy a new camera. Back then his writing focused on what was going on around him and the great troops with whom he was embeded. Now his focus is on what ‘other people are doing TO ME!’ Again, its just too bad.
By Sammy D on Jun 29, 2010
I agree with GunnNutt. It is very disappointing to watch Yon’s self-destruction.
Keep up the good work, Taco.
By Derek on Jul 2, 2010
I’m done with Yon. What a shame.
By tv fool on Jul 8, 2010
You have a way with words, but remember by and large, language is a tool for concealing the truth
By Laura on Jul 19, 2010
I sent monthly donations to Michael Yon for quite some time (starting with helping him get a new camera) because he was the single-most objective reporter I could find at the time on what was going on in Iraq. I do not regret those donations – his writings were fantastic, and I thought he deserved support. But then the day came when I realized that I was financing him to take a year off to write a book. At that point, my financial support ended. I continued to read his missives for a short while until it became evident that he had become a – dare I say it – publicity whore. I read nothing he writes anymore.
I won’t even go into my spending money a rather large sum of money for one of his “limited” prints that continues to be unlimited years later.
Thank you for writing about this, Taco.