Stryker Brigade News

General Guidelines

In addition to observing the Army’s recommendations regarding the public disclosure of operational details, we ask that visitors agree to our own set of policies when leaving a comment or participating on our bulletin board. There are only a few, but the most important is the clear understanding that politics are NOT allowed here. From my perspective this has been the single most important factor in maintaining a community of support. Politics, particularly during wartime, tend to be divisive, not inclusive. We have contributors from across the political spectrum, but we are able to work as hard as we do on this site because we check our views at the door. We ask that you do the same.

Need for Clarification

However, recent events have forced the moderators and administrators of this site to clarify our definition of what we consider political. We have been accused by many visitors of censoring their views and only presenting one side of the story – of not allowing debate to flourish. I concede that with the increasing volume of feedback, and the large number of moderators it is extremely difficult to maintain 100% consistency in enforcement. We’re only human. We’re also volunteers offering our time to maintain a free resource. ;) So, provided below is my attempt at clarification.

We provide news and information regarding WHAT (good or bad) our Stryker Brigade soldiers are doing at home and overseas. Any discussion of WHY (pro or con) they are there belongs elsewhere.

The former falls within the realm of military issues, but the latter is a foreign policy matter decided upon by elected officials and their appointees (politics!). That’s the simple explanation, but forge on if you want more specifics.

The Nitty Gritty

I think political discussion can be broken into two broad categories. I reserve the right to expand this list later. ;)

1) Voicing Support for (or Condemnation of) Political Party Policies

“We need to do everything we can to keep XYZ party in office. Following their policies is the only way we will succeed!”

2) Political Activism

As defined by Wikipedia, “a political movement may be organized around a single issue or set of issues, or around a set of shared concerns of a social group. In contrast with a political party, a political movement is not organized to elect members of the movement to government office; instead, a political movement aims to convince citizens and/or government officers to take action on the issues and concerns which are the focus of the movement.”

So an example of political activism might be:

“We need to organize, rise up and convince everyone that…(insert personal mission here).”

Alternate Outlets

We are NOT implying that you don’t have the right to participate in these activities, but we ARE implying that we don’t condone those activities on our site. In fact, we are willing to provide a list of sites out there where people are engaging in political discussions about many of the topics we touch on here. No endorsements implied. Let us know (todd at strykernews.com) if you come across others.

Military.com

Military Families Speak Out

Gold Star Families For Peace

VoteVets (Political Action Committee)

Bring Them Home Alaska

BringHome172nd.org

Free Republic

World Affairs Board

Free Resources

There is one final option for those of you who really disagree with our policy. Start your own site and make your own rules. That’s what free speech is all about. We may ask that you avoid certain topics on our site, but there is nothing stopping you from publishing your unvarnished opinion elsewhere.

Blogger/Blogspot

My Space

Typepad

I appreciate you taking the time to read this, and I welcome any further discussion via email (todd at strykernews.com)

Regards,

Todd
Site Founder/Administrator