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Quoted – Military under Fire for Biblical Gunsights – Marketplace Radio

January 22, 2010 by 4 Comments

Military under fire for biblical gunsights

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The military is scrambling to decide what to do about some of the gunsights it’s been buying for the Army and Marines. References to biblical passages are inscribed on them.

There is a long tradition in the American military of soldiers and sailors inscribing personal messages on their weapons. Whether its tanks or airplanes or the bombs that they drop. That is soldiers doing the inscribing, not manufacturers, which is why the Pentagon is scrambling to decide what to do about some gunsights it’s been buying for the Army and Marine Corps.

Cabrini College business professor Scott Testa says using Christianity in marketing isn’t unusual, though doing it on military weapons is.

“You’ll have everything from real-estate agents, insurance agents, retailers, where they’ll actually quote Scriptures in their marketing materials.”

http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2010/01/20/pm-god-and-guns/

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Quoted – Fort Hood soldiers turn to social media – Fierce Government IT

November 15, 2009 by 4 Comments
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In the wake of the mass shooting that left 13 people dead and 30 wounded last week, soldiers and their families at Fort Hood turned to social networking to deal with the carnage that occurred in their backyard.

Social media gave people an opportunity to talk about what happened, and it allowed the military a chance to let people know that the base’s media relations office was answering questions as quickly as possible.

It comes at an ironic time because DoD has not decided whether to buy into the idea that social networking is a good way to communicate. Although the Pentagon has given the green light to some social media sites, it is still examining the potential threats and benefits associated with social networking for the military.

Scott Testa, a Cabrini College business professor with expertise in social media, told Federal Computer Week that it was natural to turn to social networking to communicate after the shotting attack. “You have a lot of people in the military that were raised on texting and now social media,” Testa said. “They’re not watching the network news; they’re getting all their news electronically.”

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Quoted – Military uses social media to share info on Fort Hood shootings – Federal Computer Week

November 7, 2009 by 2 Comments
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Facebook and Twitter quickly became a way to communicate during and after the attack

The Army’s public affairs staff at Fort Hood used Facebook today to publish a note saying the media relations office is inundated with requests and is answering queries as quickly as possible.

The post, which appeared on the Army’s official Facebook page, is just one way social media is being used in the wake of the mass shooting that left 13 people dead and at least 30 others wounded, according to the Army.

It is not surprising that so many people turned to social media first to communicate about the shootings, said Scott Testa, a Cabrini College business professor with expertise in social media.

“You have a lot of people in the military that were raised on texting and now social media,” Testa said. “They’re not watching the network news; they’re getting all their news electronically.”

Testa said he saw social media help clarify conflicting reports in the hours after the shootings. Individuals on the base were able to confirm or deny reports of lockdowns and other incidents via Twitter, he said.

While social media can help clear up conflicting reports, it also has the power to perpetuate false information, he said.

“That’s why the government has to put out info via these channels,” he said. “You can’t let it fester if the information is wrong; you have to respond to that.”

A review of the benefits and risks of using social media within the Defense

http://fcw.com/articles/2009/11/06/fort-hood-social-media.aspx

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