The amount of milbloggers or American troops in Afghanistan and Iraq that are blogging is growing. The USA Today (via The Detroit News) reports that the number of milbloggers has climbed from 50 last year to over 200 this year. The USA Today article reports that this number is expected to climb to over 1,000 by the end of the year. The Mudville Gazette website has links to over 170 military blogs according to the article.
The growth means a historic phenomenon is gaining momentum: Anyone with access to the Internet can read many first-hand accounts of life in a war zone within seconds after they're finished.
And the blogs are "full of real substance and depth," says Jon Peede, director of the National Endowment for the Arts' Operation Homecoming program, which helps troops and their families write about their wartime experiences. "They're raw, powerful reflections on the war."
They also could be among a troop's last words. At least one "soldier blogger," Army Spc. Francisco G. Martinez, has been killed in action.
