The underlying technology driving the Revolution in Military Affairs that enabled the US military to increase its destructive efficiency has also enabled an unprecedented degree of communication between the front-line soldier and the home front. The proliferation of military blogs (milblogs) is evidence of this previously unseen direct and more importantly near real-time communication between the warfighter and the home front. During previous conflicts, the military took direct steps to censor communications between soldiers and the home front in an effort to protect operational security (OPSEC). It now appears that technology has advanced beyond policy, and the Pentagon is struggling to develop methods to deal with war in the era of the milblogger.

The crux of the policy dilemma is simply stated by an excerpt from Chris’s, a soldier deployed in Iraq, blog: ?Should I as a lower enlisted soldier have such power to express my opinion and broadcast to the world a singular soldier’s point of view?? This rank and file soldier’s new found ability to communicate directly with the home front is fraught with both challenges and opportunities.