Prime-Time?

This blog is coming to a close. Thanks for following along, for your comments, and support. And a big thank you to the ladies for helping with all the posts and organization. It's been fun but it's time for something new.

So, as you might have seen by my long and rambling ideas post, I've got a some views on reconstruction and development and what we can do better. In the hopes of getting those ideas published and contributing to an actual debate on the war, I had a bit of a talk with my boss, Captain Shultz, after lending him that draft and another, shorter idea piece.

He liked it. And hoping to get the T's crossed and I's dotted for possible publication, he passed it up the chain of command, so that we could avoid any issues from that front if my name ever appeared in paper. Turns out, the Battalion Commander, Lieutenant Colonel Lillibridge, liked alot of what I said as well.

On Friday, he came by for one of his usual visits. But this time he asked to meet with me. Which, considering I'm just a lowly SPC, is very unusual indeed.

So he, I, the Captain and several of the other officers talked about reconstruction, about media coverage of the war, about problems and pitfalls. We chatted about William F. Buckley Jr., the Economist, soldiers and deployments, Darfur. And we discussed why people joined the Army versus why they don't. And we touched upon the Presidential candidates and the rising youth vote.

And we decided the mainstream media does a terrible job of covering the real, everyday story here, preferring only the bad news of our worst days. So we're going to do what we can to fix that.

The plan is a new blog - On the Ground Floor - designed as a clearinghouse for stories on reconstruction and development, all the nitty-gritty, unsexy details of rebuilding this nation, of establishing civil society and re-igniting the local economy. And I'm planning on doing a weekly podcast - which I can hopefully translate and deliver in Arabic as well. We'd also like to feature video and interviews from our patrols among the population, as we continue the everyday work of creating a sustainable peace.

It's going to be a lot of work, my friends. And I could use any help you might be able to offer. Especially as I know little of blogging, less of podcasting and video, and have only a few ideas about trying to publicize this once it's up. So, as always, any help, ideas, suggestions, etc, any of you are willing to offer will always be greatly appreciated. Hope you'll help.