Milblog Conference 2008

One of the Milblog panels in Vegas was entitled "Are Milblogs Still Relevant?", and Philip Carter, now working for the Obama campaign, really hit the nail on the head when he mentioned that many in the American public are divorced from the wars and military affairs. The entire DoD is dependent upon civilian support and is civilian-led, and when powerful politicians make decisions with little foresight and neglecting unintended consequences, we might end up with some kind of Return of Teh Rumsfeld scenario. At a time when America seems to be collapsing like a house of cards and IOUs, we cannot afford such haphazard decisions that affect our military and nation. Milblogs have always seemed to provide unique insight into our current conflicts from both first-hand perspectives and non-partisan analysis, which I only hope gets more recognition.

The supporter aspect was the topic of another panel, which has proven to be incredibly beneficial to augment current VA efforts for the mentally and physically wounded.

As far as meeting creepy internet people, it was a great time, and they ended up not being as strange as I imagined and very likable and outgoing people (however, I did my best to live up to expectations of weird). Blackfive held a wingding at the Penthouse club in Vegas with free booze and giant mural of boobs, Doc and his wife were very nice and he has a large and superb collection of photos from the party, JP Borda was going for the porn star look with his wraparounds perched on his head in the middle of the night (which made him fit in well in Vegas), Greyhawk is a very good public speaker and should probably run for emperor, CJ assured me that Space Camp would be safe from our adversaries down in Huntsville (thank heavens), the USO Girls know how to have a good time, and Boston Maggie actually talks like that.

Thanks to everyone for making this happen and attending, I love you all. Especially Andi, JP, Mrs. G, and Blackfive. Here's some pics (I have some of the elusive TSO, but he doesn't want to give away his Super Secret Identity in the same vain as Jerry O' Connell):

JP and the Lovely USO Girls

Me, Caroline, and Jamie Trying to Get Employed

The Awesome Inspiration of the Barry Manilow Fold-Up in my Hotel Room

Picture of Me and Boston Maggie, which reminded me of the photoshopped McCain incident at The Atlantic. Now someone has to have a monkey taking a dump on our heads

Are Milbogs Relevant? Shit, I hope so