116th Public Affairs Detachment

Story by Spc. Christopher Erickson

HOHENFELS, Germany — A fictional character has taken on the perspective of Soldiers deploying to Kosovo.

Dobie, a small stuffed animal with an Army uniform and drill sergeant hat, gives personality and provides insight on the ins-and-outs of how it feels and what it means to serve in a deployed environment with Kosovo Forces 12 Multi-National Task Force-East.

The idea was brought up by Maj. Davina French, planner with MNTF-E. French writes a blog under the title "Major Goof," which seeks to keep its audience updated on the KFOR 12 mission.

The KFOR 12 mission is French's third deployment. She decided she wanted to write a blog that updated people at home more than a few times a year and less than the daily letters she had written her first deployment.

"I figured I'd try social media and start this blog. There are a lot of military people who are interested in what we are doing," she said.

That interest can easily be satisfied by the instant nature of information on the Internet. Social media has generally replaced the handwritten letters of yesterday, and now provides the writer a wider audience at a moment's notice. Operational security must be considered in everything published, but staying connected is encouraged.

French's first entry was written about mobilization station training at Camp Atterbury, Ind., and the stuffed animal has continued to Hohenfels, Germany. The blog now has hundreds of followers.

"I try and take people through how we get to mobilization station; some of the activities we do. I've used Dobie as the footprint of what a Soldier does during training: from taser training to pepper spray to running in formations.

"Part of the blog is: How does a Soldier feel? I've taken a look at some of the hard things, emotionally. We go through a range of emotions in a deployment, from feeling happy to excited to tired. I'd like to take people on a yearlong journey through the emotions of a Soldier."

French said she wanted to provide not just a military perspective, but also a visual perspective to enable people at home to see some of what the deployed troops are seeing.

"It really is through one Soldier's eyesight," French continued. "I'm hoping that I'm reaching all levels of Soldiers, from privates to colonels. But [the blog exists] mostly to showcase the spirit of the Soldier. It really is a significant unimaginable thing. They just keep going."

French said some challenges did present themselves. She said not mentioning specific names or numbers is a challenge. Maintaining operational security often means writing vaguely, but she tries to capture the spirit of the deployment and the Soldiers involved without giving away any sensitive information.

The challenges, however, can be balanced by unexpected successes. Friends and families of deployed Soldiers can follow the blog and comment to "Davina and Dobie."

French recalled one quick anecdote about how one mother had posted a comment, writing "If you see my son, say hello!"

MNTF-E Public Affairs Officer Capt. Dan Murphy said the viral aspect of social media usage was unprecedented, citing French's example as just one positive aspect. Many Soldiers use Facebook, MySpace or other social media sites to stay connected no matter where in the world they may be.

"Using social media tools, such as blogs, enables families and friends at home to stay updated on the day-to-day activities in their Soldiers lives," Murphy said. "It can be fun to see the creativity in how people communicate their message.

French's blog can be found at www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Major-Goof/.
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Since the terrorist attacks on America, the North Dakota National Guard has mobilized more than 3,400 Soldiers and nearly 1,800 Airmen in support of the Global War on Terrorism. Currently, more than 700 Guardsmen are serving overseas. With a total force of about 4,400 Soldiers and Airmen, sufficient forces remain in the state for emergency response and homeland defense.

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