Lieutenant Colonel (LTC) Kevin Arata is the Director of the Online and Social Media Division of the U.S. Army. Since January 2009, he's worked on developing different social media platforms as methods of communication for the Army. We've asked him to share some of the ways that soldiers are using Facebook to connect with each other and their families.
Some people are shocked when they see a Facebook status update or message coming from a deployed soldier. At the U.S. Army, we see it as another positive move that allows our soldiers to feel... connected to friends and family at home, even when they're half a world away. Allowing our audience — including our soldiers — to connect and communicate through social networking is still considered risky business by some, and we do face unique challenges. The risks to operations security felt by some, or the fears that our soldiers will post "unbecoming" information, are outweighed by increased communication and sharing.
Soldiers: Past, Present and Future
In this era of persistent conflict and frequent deployments, service members are under constant stress due to the demands of the military lifestyle on both their psychological and physical well being. Facebook has made it easier to stay in touch with loved ones back home. Two months after we launched the official U.S. Army Page on Facebook, it has become a meeting ground for soldiers, their spouses and families to share insights, support and encouragement. In one of many examples, a proud mother of a soldier from Virginia wrote on our Wall about her regular chats on Facebook with her son:
There's no better way to get ready for joining the Army than to hear advice directly from soldiers who've lived it. Through our Page, recruits are able to ask questions of other current and past soldiers and gather many different perspectives much more quickly than through phone conversations or e-mails:
Old friends from previous assignments are also able to stay in touch, or even reconnect, through Facebook. In fact, just a few weeks ago my boss, Colonel Jim Miller, told me he recently linked up with three of his Desert Storm buddies on Facebook after nearly 10 years. He found out they were living within miles of him in Washington, D.C., and was able to get together for a reunion dinner.
Military Brats
"Brats" — the term commonly associated with those who grow up in the military — often face the challenge of being separated from friends as their families move to different military bases. When I was growing up, once you left a group of friends, you were relegated to keeping in touch by writing letters or racking-up long-distance phone bills. Often times, as those friends were moving too, contact was lost and so was the friendship. Now, military children can keep in touch much easier with their friends. My kids, having spent all of their lives moving from place to place, use Facebook to connect with friends from my previous duty assignments.
Army Senior Leaders
Often people assume social networking sites are a place only for young people, but our senior Army leaders understand it's a great place for them to connect with both their older peers and the young troopers who are the backbone of the U.S. Army. An increasing number of Army senior leaders now have Facebook Pages, including General Ray Odierno, where you can stay updated on their daily activities.
The Army is embracing a new way to communicate — one that increasingly involves connecting over a social networking site as much as it means communicating about the Army through an evening news broadcast. Along with our main Army Page, other units and installations are reaching out to establish a dialogue through more than 40 other official Army unit and installation Facebook pages. You can find a lineup of all the official social media platforms for the Army here.
Facebook captures the power of relationships in a way we've only begun to explore. Whether you're a general officer or a soldier deployed to Iraq who gets a glimpse of home through a Wall post or a photo, it's a powerful medium for our community of more than 1.1 million soldiers and their spouses, family members and children.
Lieutenant Colonel Arata hopes you'll join the conversation at the U.S. Army's Facebook Page.
See MoreSome people are shocked when they see a Facebook status update or message coming from a deployed soldier. At the U.S. Army, we see it as another positive move that allows our soldiers to feel... connected to friends and family at home, even when they're half a world away. Allowing our audience — including our soldiers — to connect and communicate through social networking is still considered risky business by some, and we do face unique challenges. The risks to operations security felt by some, or the fears that our soldiers will post "unbecoming" information, are outweighed by increased communication and sharing.
Soldiers: Past, Present and Future
In this era of persistent conflict and frequent deployments, service members are under constant stress due to the demands of the military lifestyle on both their psychological and physical well being. Facebook has made it easier to stay in touch with loved ones back home. Two months after we launched the official U.S. Army Page on Facebook, it has become a meeting ground for soldiers, their spouses and families to share insights, support and encouragement. In one of many examples, a proud mother of a soldier from Virginia wrote on our Wall about her regular chats on Facebook with her son:
There's no better way to get ready for joining the Army than to hear advice directly from soldiers who've lived it. Through our Page, recruits are able to ask questions of other current and past soldiers and gather many different perspectives much more quickly than through phone conversations or e-mails:
Old friends from previous assignments are also able to stay in touch, or even reconnect, through Facebook. In fact, just a few weeks ago my boss, Colonel Jim Miller, told me he recently linked up with three of his Desert Storm buddies on Facebook after nearly 10 years. He found out they were living within miles of him in Washington, D.C., and was able to get together for a reunion dinner.
Military Brats
"Brats" — the term commonly associated with those who grow up in the military — often face the challenge of being separated from friends as their families move to different military bases. When I was growing up, once you left a group of friends, you were relegated to keeping in touch by writing letters or racking-up long-distance phone bills. Often times, as those friends were moving too, contact was lost and so was the friendship. Now, military children can keep in touch much easier with their friends. My kids, having spent all of their lives moving from place to place, use Facebook to connect with friends from my previous duty assignments.
Army Senior Leaders
Often people assume social networking sites are a place only for young people, but our senior Army leaders understand it's a great place for them to connect with both their older peers and the young troopers who are the backbone of the U.S. Army. An increasing number of Army senior leaders now have Facebook Pages, including General Ray Odierno, where you can stay updated on their daily activities.
The Army is embracing a new way to communicate — one that increasingly involves connecting over a social networking site as much as it means communicating about the Army through an evening news broadcast. Along with our main Army Page, other units and installations are reaching out to establish a dialogue through more than 40 other official Army unit and installation Facebook pages. You can find a lineup of all the official social media platforms for the Army here.
Facebook captures the power of relationships in a way we've only begun to explore. Whether you're a general officer or a soldier deployed to Iraq who gets a glimpse of home through a Wall post or a photo, it's a powerful medium for our community of more than 1.1 million soldiers and their spouses, family members and children.
Lieutenant Colonel Arata hopes you'll join the conversation at the U.S. Army's Facebook Page.
