STAND TO!

TODAY'S FOCUS

ARMY.MIL: The Importance of Web Communication

What is it?

ARMY.MIL is the official public U.S. Army homepage. It is publicly available and accessible to anyone with access to the Internet. By being online with ARMY.MIL, the Army disseminates cutting-edge news and information to about 4 million people a month about its Soldiers, policies, organizations and functions of the Army. The audience - made up of Soldiers, civilians, the general American public, and even international audiences - can get their official, timely and accurate information from ARMY.MIL, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

What is the Army doing?

ARMY.MIL falls under the Office of the Chief of Public Affairs and is a critical tool to tell the Army story.

ARMY.MIL works closely with all the various commands, organizations and installations within the Army to ensure the American public understands the importance of the Army's mission.

By consistently updating ARMY.MIL with the most timely news and information from all over the Army, the site has been ranked in the top 1 percentile of all public Web sites in number of viewers and has won the Thomas Jefferson Award for Outstanding Flagship Web site.

Why is this important to the Army?

As the Web evolves, people are turning to it to share information in the blink of an eye. ARMY.MIL is dedicated to telling the stories of our brave men and women in uniform and the families and communities that support them.

Just as the Army is dedicated to being a world-leader in technology and winning its missions, ARMY.MIL is dedicated to being an ever-improving Web site that keeps a world-wide audience up-to-date on the Army story.

What efforts does the Army have planned for the future?

Be on the look-out for changes coming to ARMY.MIL in the next few weeks. Some will be subtle. Some will be obvious. All will better serve the Army and the wider ARMY.MIL audience. Next week, another STAND-TO! will specify the exciting changes coming to ARMY.MIL, and why they are important.

Resource:

U.S. Army Public Web site

INFORMATION YOU CAN USE

- 2008 Strategic Communication Guide - Read the 2008 Army Strategic Communication Guide for key messages and updates

- Strategic Communication Coordination Group (SCCG) Workspace

- Army Public Affairs Portal

- Stories of Valor

- Speaker's Toolkit

- Information Papers with " 2008 Army Posture Statement"

A CULTURE OF ENGAGEMENT

The Army Community Relations Calendar

Blogger's Roundtable

CALENDAR

2009: Year of the NCO

January 2009: National Eye Care Month

Jan. 20, 2009: Presidential Inauguration

SOCIAL NETWORKING

• Army Media Player
• Flickr: Army images
• YouTube: Army videos
• Twitter: Army updates
• del.icio.us: Army links

NEWS ABOUT THE ARMY

• Servicemembers rehearse for upcoming presidential inauguration (ARNews)
• Hail to the faux chief we have chosen as rehearsal stand-in (NYT)
• SMA: 'NCOs, the glue that holds the Army together' (ARNews)
• Training, UAVs, key to Army aviation in the field (ARNews)
• Accessions Command introduces new Army spouse DVD (ARNews)
• Related image under the Blog section: Guardsmen give their civilian employers a peek at their other, riskier job (NJ)

WAR ON TERROR NEWS

• U.S. troops on edge as rules shift In Iraq (WP)
• Behind the lines with the Taliban (LAT)
• 46 die in Taliban attack on Pakistani troops (NYT)
• Afghan militants cross into Pakistan in bold attack (LAT)
• Audio: Missions leave no Soldier behind in Afghanistan (NPR)
• Afghanistan's path to stability is full of challenges for Obama (USA)
• Inexplicable wealth of Afghan elite sows bitterness (WP)

OF INTEREST

• Vice President elect visits U.S., Afghan leaders in Afghanistan (ARNews)
• Wisconsin National Guard couples quickly tie knot before deployments to Iraq (MWJ)
• DOGS: Four Army dogs to aid Secret Service in guarding new president (LAT)
• Some Army surplus is unlikely to be used (USA)
• Hackers deface NATO, U.S. Army Web sites (CIO)
• Obama to wait on Gitmo closure (WT)

WORLD VIEW

• Obama promises to move swiftly in adopting new approach to Tehran (GRD | Story)
• Army lures recruits with virtual reality war game (TO | Story)
• Israeli raids as reserves move in (BBC | Story)
• Israel pounds Hamas leaders' homes as troops edge closer to urban areas (TO | Story)
• Commentary: 'Soon we'll have nowhere left to run. Nowhere in Gaza is safe' (IND | Story)
• Extracted from The Spiders of Allah by James Hider: 'I'm hit, ' I shouted, amazed by the fact I had been wounded (TOI | Story)

WHAT'S BEING SAID IN BLOGS

• Year of the NCO: Reflections from Dr. Jack (USACAC)
• Year of the NCO: 2009 ~ No one is more professional than I (QMBL)
• One "Dear John Doe" letter, and three G's (SBz)
• Army assembles, 'Mad Scientist' conference. Seriously. (Wired)
• U.S. Army recruiting at the mall with video games (TO)
• Image: New Jersey employers who flew on Army helicopters to greet New (NJ)
• Disney's salute to the Armed Forces (AHH)

ARMY SPORTS

Sports at a glance

Top Army football stories

Vermont guardsman crashes truck, then wins bobsled event

Colgate beats Army 64-42

Army stops losing streak to Mercyhurst