Is there a place where soldiers can go to discuss problems they are having in the Army?

Question

i noticed that the army has banned blogs. i know the army doesn't 'allow' disagreements on their actions but i was wondering if there is a blog, website or whatever where soldiers can go and discuss the problems they are experiencing with the army with other soldiers and get help or guidance. like any institution there are problems and we all know that there are lots of problems with the medical care of soldiers and i just wondered if there was somewhere they could go and at least talk to someone. and not anti-military sites

actually i just read on army.com that on april 19th they banned soldiers from blogs. also from accessing myspace.

the persons i am asking for have been to the chaplains who are no help.

australia is the only country that seems to allow a blog for soldiers to discuss issues on .

obviously the website i got the info from was a little biased & didn't give all the info. thanks for clearing that up.

CHANVGAP - thank you so much for your response. i will pass along your advice.

Answer 1

Bogs and MySpace are not banned, I believe the article was taken out of context. You can not read / post on blogs or use various other websites (myspace, youtube, even yahoo) on a Government internet system. Feel free to do as you will at home on your private internet. The Government (the entire DoD not just the military) doesnt feel the need to allow you to use un work related sites while you should be at work.

The only restrictions are common sence... as a member of the military you are not allowed to post on racist, extremist, or hate sites.

As for any issues, In my experiance most of the issues come from soldiers not going to the source for information. They go by PVT Snuffy saying 'oh the Army will make you pay for your hurt back, don't goto sick call for it.' The term is also 'barracks lawyer.' Use your chain of command, if that fails use the open door policy your higher commanders are required to allow. If that doesnt work, goto the direct Agency manager involved (ie Tricare rep). As a last resort you can goto the Inspector General (IG).

I would strongly advise telling your chain of command your intentions of going to IG (but its not required) as one of the first questions IG will ask will be ..'what have you done to fix this problem yourself'.

BTW you can disagree with just about anything you want. Be professional and base your statements on facts not PVT Snuffy's vast knowledge of the world.

Answer 2

you are under some misconceptions here. the Army has not banned blogs. they have banned access to certain sites from gov't computers in order to protect bandwidth and OPSEC.

There are plenty of places that service members can go to ask questions about how to get this or that done, including Military.com.

Answer 3

If you have a problem in the military go the the Inspector Generals office and submit a complaint and use your chain of command

Answer 4

i have several friends who joined and they say kind of the same thing. that you don't have right to disagree with the army. that they will smoke you good if you do.

only one of them like it the others say it sucks that its nothing like they said it would be. these are not wimps either. one got stomped on by a sgt and it broke his foot. the doctor told him to suck it up. thats what they saw

Answer 5

The Army has no problems. There is no draft and all who join did it on their own. The people in the Army are very happy. (Bush on CNN says so) The top Generals say all troops are happy. However, what you want to know is right here. Get it off your chest. Many of us are Veterans so ask and you shall receive many answers.

Answer 6

counseling services, chaplain, VA, VFW