This week I had planned to write a laudatory column about the vital and absolutely critical role that journalists and journalism play in our republic. Since I just spent the past couple of weeks knocking things down, I thought it only right to do a little rebuilding. And indeed there are fine examples of good critical journalism being done in Iraq and elsewhere all the time (some from sources that are quite surprising).

But something new has occurred, and it has no precedent of which I am aware. There is a new author out there in the blogosphere and he is, well, unique.

I am gratified to note that he also appears to be in line with my own sentiments. He notes, for example, that the media are not the “enemy” (of the military), and he is quite explicit in this, posting this:

“Across America, there is a widely held perception that media coverage of the War in Iraq is overwhelmingly negative. We need to be careful to NOT blame the news media for this. The public has a voracious appetite for the sensational, the graphic and the shocking. We all have a difficult time taking our eyes off the train wreck in progress – it is human nature. Walter Cronkite once said ‘If it’s extraordinary, and it affects us deeply, it’s news.’”                            

Now while I would dispute the “across America” bit, the rest of the idea is valid. You know that, and I know that, but what is significant is that this new military blogger knows that as well. He goes by his military “call sign,” Frontier Six. (“Six” is the ubiquitous numerical designator for a commander within the lexicon of military radio call signs.) He is also direct in his recommendations. He is a part of the military culture and understands from his own experiences and observations that we can be our own worst enemies when dealing with the media.

 Frontier Six goes on to say:

“A critical component of empowering is underwriting honest mistakes and failure. Soldiers are encouraged to take the initiative and calculated risk in the operational battlefield because we understand the importance of maintaining the offensive. However, once we move into the informational domain, we have a tendency to be zero defect and risk averse. Leaders have to understand and accept that not all media interactions are going to go well. Leaders need to assume risk in the information domain and allow subordinates the leeway to make mistakes.”

At this point, journalists who have in the past been frustrated with Army stonewalling on simple things should be doing Cheetah flips. (The original Cheetah Flip is here, at 5:39 in the video.)

Why is this blogger worth noting? After all, are there not hundreds, if not thousands of “mil-bloggers” out there now? Some are on the Left, some are on the Right; some are dedicated to neutrality. So what makes “Frontier Six” different? Why would I single him out for special notice?

Well, it is because neophyte mil-blogger Frontier Six is actually Lt. Gen. William B. Caldwell. That’s right. He is a three-star general, and he is blogging.

What is more, he is not just any three-star. He is the commander of the Army’s Combined Arms Center. Put into civilian (or perhaps journalism) terms, the position he holds within the Army is sort of like being the head of the Columbia’s Graduate School of Journalism, and president of Harvard, and head of the School of Journalism at the University of Missouri, and editor in chief of the Chicago Tribune, and president of the Poynter Institute, all at once.

I am, if anything, understating his position and influence within the Army.

Now I want to warn you. There is something that journalists might find worrisome in his writing, which can be found at the influential site, Small Wars Journal (where I am also a contributing blogger). As I read it, Lt. Gen. Caldwell is passing the word that we need to get past our (the Army’s, that is) paranoia about the media, but his words might also be seen as a call by Army leadership to enable soldiers to bypass you, the conventional media.

This last, of course, will raise hackles and set off alarms in editorial boards around the country, but I am here to tell you, relax.

In reality, all that he is doing is acknowledging a societal trend -- one that benefits journalists anyway. Soldiers blogging, and posting their own information on their web sites and YouTube, benefits journalism because effectively it opens the doors to the buffet of sources upon which conventional journalism feeds.

If Caldwell’s recommendations and advice are followed (did I mention he has three (3) stars?) then finding military sources who are increasingly comfortable about talking to journalists will become progressively easier.

And no matter the influence of a few online outlets, and influential bloggers, it is and will remain “conventional” journalists who get the message out for at least the next several decades.

You can write to LTC Bob at R_Bateman_LTC@hotmail.com.

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