F.N.G.

Odelay.

My name is Milo Freeman. You might know me from my blog 'The Calm Before the Sand" (See blogroll at left). I'm 24 years old, soon to be 25, which I imagine makes me the young whippersnapper of this crew, but don't worry--you won't find any lack of life experience here.

First off, I'd like to thank the motley sea-dogs of Low and Left for inviting me onboard. I've been an OG reader of this blog since back in the day, and I was genuinely saddened when the site closed down. However, now that we're back up, I'm happy to be here. Big ups to iamcoyote for inviting me to the roster, as well as to Seven of Six, himself a wartime vet. SoS could be described as my "Blogfather." So anyway, thanks again, and I hope that I can prove a valuable member of this team.

A bit about me: I'm a United States soldier, currently on Active-Duty in Germany. For security reasons, that much is all I care to divulge for now, but I am also proud to state that I am a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom. On the domestic front, I have a wife, "Anne," whose posts can be seen at my main website. We've been married for nearly three years now, and we share our home with an attention-starved cat, Allie. We have no children.

My career with the Army is approaching an end. I've decided, after much debate, to leave the Army and move back stateside to Idaho. I'm an aspiring writer, and I plan to focus more on my blogs in the coming months, as well as on starting a family. I'm also in the final stages of writing a novel for young adults, and plan to be seeking out agents by fall. In addition, I'm in the process of applying for membership with Iraq Veterans Against the War, and I've been invited to write as a columnist for their publication, SITREP. This latest is a new development, but I am very excited at the prospect. More news on those areas of interest as events warrant.

I am proud to have served my country. I am proud to have earned the title of "soldier." But I am also a proud progressive and Buddhist, and I am deeply opposed to what I witnessed in Iraq. I plan to use this new blog to voice my thoughts on foreign policy, war as a construct in the American consciousness, and yes, conditions for troops on the ground. I still have several years remaining on my Army contract, and so for the next four years or so, I will be a member of the Individual Ready Reserve. This means that I will live and work as a civilian, but may be subject to a call-up again at any time. To be truthful, I don't care for this option, but its better than trying to serve my faith and my wife within a war-machine whose agendas I no longer champion.

Make no mistake: my posts will not be uplifting. They may be informative, meditative, even humorous at times. But I will always try to punch my readers in the gut. This is an unpleasant war, in an unpleasant time, during an unpleasant period for American politics and life. I love my country, but I always be first to hold up her sins to the light. I do this, lay bare her failings, her secrets, because I love her, and because I believe that she can be better. We deserve better, America, and there is no greater trigger for my outrage than all the ways in which we daily sedate and delude ourselves: with sound-bites, with talking-head platitudes, with--yes--little yellow magnets on the sides of our cars.

We deserve better America. Our troops deserve better. You deserve better.

To close up, thanks again, Pretzelheads, for bringing me in. It's an honor and a privilege. Everyone else, strap in and put your heads between your knees.

We will be experiencing turbulence.