Mil-blogger Surveys Iraq, Afghan Wars Through Arts

http://acolytesofwar.com/

"Time Now," a military blog that reviews "The Iraq and Afghanistan Wars in Art, Film, and Literature," has been added to the Red Bull Rising blog-roll. It appears in the right-hand column of the webpage, under a new "Military Arts and Culture Blogs" category. In past posts, blogger Peter Molin has considered topics including contemporary war poetry and literature, photography and cinema, and theatrical and dance productions.

Molin, a U.S. Army officer who served on Embedded Training Team in Afghanistan's Khost and Paktiya provinces in 2008-2009, also maintains an archived of his deployment experiences at "15-month Adventure."

Red Bull Rising blog readers may remember that Paktiya Province was the area of operation of the Iowa Army National Guard's 1st Battalion, 168th Infantry Battalion, during the 2nd Brigade Combat Team (B.C.T.), 34th Infantry "Red Bull" Division's (2-34th BCT) deployment in 2010-2011.

Unlike the standard "the views herein do not reflect those of the U.S. Army" boilerplate, Molin's disclaimer regarding his deployment is clear, conversational, and worthy of duplication by other mil-bloggers. Note how he blends both his blog's mission and intent:

I am an active-duty Army officer. I started this blog to keep friends and family informed about my deployment to Afghanistan in 2008-2009 as the leader of an "Embedded Transition Team." I have kept it going since because it gives me a chance to reflect on the experience and because at least some people say they still enjoy reading it. My intent is to write in interesting and original ways about the war without being critical of the US or the Army, without compromising security or operations, and without saying anything remotely unflattering about the great military personnel and civilians with whom I served.

Here are some of Molin's reviews of contemporary mil-poetry collections:

• Walter E. Piatt's "Paktika." Piatt deployed to Iraq twice and Afghanistan once, when he was a battalion commander in Eastern Afghanistan Paktika Province. He is a past commandant of the U.S. Army Infantry School, and is currently a deputy commanding general with the 10th Mountain Division. Unfortunately, "Paktika" seems to be out of print, but his 2003 collection titled "She Came to the Door to Wave Good-bye" is still available here.

• Paul Wasserman's "Say Again All." Wasserman is an Army Aviation NCO. His chapbook is available through Lulu.com here.

• Elyse Fenton's "Clamor." Fenton is the wife of a combat medic. The 2010 collection is available on Amazon here. Another review of her work, suggested by another Red Bull Rising blog reader, appears here.

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