Friday Afternoon - The Pentagon

So where did we leave off in the slowest moving blog story ever? Ah yes, I had just arrived at the Pentagon.

So, we are all herded into a meeting room. That was when I spotted CJ, Greyhawk and Matt. We barely had time to greet each other and really no time for me to introduce CDR Junge when a Marine ordered us to be quiet and into seats. LOL Like being back in school. He had a few words, then we were up and out. He was accompanied by a Sailor that was supposed to keep our group moving along.

The tour went by in a blur. I could have spent a good long time in the hall commemorating the US Military's humanitarian contributions of the last 60 years. But it was not to be.

Very quickly we were in a conference room full of military PAOs. The majority of those being Army. Not a surprise, the tour was organized by Army including Lyndy Kyzer, who made cookies! The Army is an overwhelming, confident presence. They have been out in front in many ways and their numbers allow them to dominate.

There was also an appearance by Secretary of the Army, Pete Geren. And I liked what he had to say. He told us that he never appreciated the power bloggers wield until the Dan Rather "Fake but accurate" scandal.

In the middle we heard from the Marines. They don't have much of a social media presence but the Marine that spoke to us conceded this with wry humor. He said they were following the Burger King model. That McDonald's spent a ton of money on selecting store locations every year. Burger King just watches and puts a restaurant on the nearby corner. If their plan is to follow Army's lead, they will do well.

Someone, I think it was CJ, brought up the @USArmy vs. Ashton Kutcher challenge. Lindy protested that she never said "war". I laughed and piped up, "I did!".

Next up, the Air Force & COL Michael Caldwell. You can't believe how enthusiastic this guy was. I am telling you he stopped just shy of doing cartwheels. I think he loves his job. One of his guys found me at the Conference the next day and made an amazing offer....but I digress.

Following the Air Force was, incredibly enough, the Coast Guard who were evern MORE enthusiastic than the Air Force. CDR Ron LeBrec pledged lots of access and even pitched ideas for us to blog about. You know....they have a ship coming into Boston Harbor in a few months. Maybe I can get a special tour......after all ADM Allen HEARTS Social Media.

Batting last was RDML Frank Thorp. Well, you know how predisposed I was to liking a Sailor named Frank.......

We discussed possibly getting an overarching Twitter account along the lines of the Army's @USArmy for the Navy Twitter accounts to fall under. RDML Thorpe told us they were working on this. He joked that it was not because I suggested it, but I piped up and said "I'm fine if you do it just because I said so."

Seriously, a lot of people in the Navy are working just as hard as any other service to reach out to those of us in the "New Media".

OK, so here comes the totally cool part.

Oops, sorry, I have to run. I promise, I'll have the rest up soon.

I'm going to publish this part later, but I will be back to throw in more links.