A SOLDIER'S PERSPECTIVE
THE WEB'S LEADING MILITARY BLOG SINCE 2004
Robert Young Pelton is a self-described adventurer and writer. He recently ventured into Afghanistan and somehow got an embed with American troops documenting the “absurd tale” of our mission there.
On he website he flaunts that he was the only one left standing after many of these adventures, probably as a result of some “me first” selfishness in survivability. He’s taken on Chechnya, Liberia, Iraq, Afghanistan, and now the milblogging community – even to the point of threats of lawsuits. Well, Mr. Pelton, here’s another target for you.
In his recent Men’s Journal smear piece, Pelton laces our Soldiers with all sorts of smears, opening his hit piece by comparing Soldiers to space aliens. The article is about the new human terrain teams (HTT) in Afghanistan. It’s sort of a hybrid of combining civil anthropology and military missions to better understand the nature of fighting (and living) in Afghanistan. Pelton refers to the Soldiers as “eggheads” in his smear.
The problem with Pelton is that he’s a militarily ignorant writer. He doesn’t understand the nature of how we operate and that fact is front and center in his writing. He compares our regulations to something the Taliban would be jealous of. He describes the Soldiers as the “dominant tribe” on the FOB and having “bad haircuts” with their “guns[sic] banging against their butts”.
Pelton obviously has a lot of disdain for American troops. What do you expect from a liberal, I guess? His thinking process is that our troops are responsible for all the violence and not the other way around. His “an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind” (not one of his quotes) philosophy is sickening. Reading his article, it’s amazing there are even enough people intelligent enough to understand him when he talks! All his examples make our military look like an aimless conglomerate of lost souls.
The milblogs have picked up on his snarky descriptions of our mission as “f***-you occupation parades” and we aren’t happy about it. The pitchfork brigade is in full swing, starting with Old Blue. HTT members have contacted us about the piece he’s written to try and tell their side of the story and Pelton’s misrepresentations (more to follow).
The Army has written a post calling Pelton’s actions unprofessional. Pelton published information that he agreed not to after being told the information was “off the record”. To get around this, Pelton asked someone else about the individual ON THE RECORD, knowing that the information wasn’t meant for public consumption. Very unprofessional indeed. Though I guess you shouldn’t expect more from him. He denigrated one of the senior officers by referring to him only as FUBAR, for a t-shirt he was seen wearing – an Army joke that he wouldn’t understand having no idea how the military works or about our inner sense of humor.
Pelton seems to think that everyone is upset because he highlighted perceived problems with an Army system. Quite the contrary. Pelton could have easily told the story and not denigrated the cast of it. He intentionally added in details with to make the military look foolish AND dumb. We all know how stupid some leadership and individuals can be, but to make them look like fools in the public arena was uncalled for.
He tries to convince us that a member of a THT doesn’t know he’s a member of a THT. His failure to correctly transcribe events is obvious. I mean, hell, I was on a THT. I don’t think I’d ever refer to it as an HTT. It rolls of the tongue differently, it means something completely different. He only fools the fools reading his article that have no idea what the military is about when he tries to convince us that a person doesn’t know what kind of team they are on. Come on! Really?! Or it could just be that he’s making the whole thing up. Given the quality of his writing and obvious feelings about the troops and our mission, it isn’t that far-fetched.
Pelton is a smear artist and should be banned from all future military embeds. He has no interest in journalistic integrity. He doesn’t care to tell the Soldier’s story unless that story makes us look bad.
You take on Old Blue and you take us all on!
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Anatomy of a Military Dating Scam
Lisa: I also met him on Are You Interested... and got the poems :-) If
RYP
I have posted my responses to your comments on other folk’s blogs.
“We all know how stupid some leadership and individuals can be, but to make them look like fools in the public arena was uncalled for.” Sure Ok..sounds like a plan.
Seriously…aren’t you a little late to the party?
best
RYP
CJ
I like to make a grand entrance. Aren’t you a little late to military hate convention? I actually have a real job that requires REAL adventure.
Susan Katz Keating
Here’s how I see it. Pelton, AKA “Snarkiest Man Alive,” wrote a silly piece for a silly magazine, and a lot of folks called him out. Now he’s mighty irked that we didn’t take him seriously. But… the article wasn’t serious. So what’s the problem, here?
Bob the Liberal
I agree, CJ. This guy is slime. I have a feeling some childhood trauma caused this. Maybe his daddy was a soldier who kicked the crap out of him.
Or maybe he didn’t do it enough…
olga
I was reading the article and I was going ‘huh??’ almost all the time – the entire article sounded like a desperate pick-up story to score a chick at the anti-military and/or anti-war rally… if he was trying to be funny, he utterly failed. However, the Old Blue indicates that there is a more sinister reason behind RYP smear article.
LL
He reminds me of a woman in a red dress that I saw in Vegas……. I wonder if he rocks the sothron drawl.
Old Blue
Good review, CJ. Thanks for the nod, too. I was absolutely stunned with the hysterical response that came from Pelton.
That’s okay. He’s gloating over his “victory” in his “cafe” with his groupies. Whatever makes him feel warm and smug… err… snug. It’s all good in the ‘hood.
I hope he sleeps well every night until the alarm goes off.
Mickey
sounds to me that he was dropped on his head at birth…. just a thought
yankeemom
Just another ego-driven “journalist” trying for the big prize. He should hook up with Maddow – they could right a fantasy novel about the stoopid, ignorant, evil, lame military that he so “admires” (phhhttt)…but of which he has absolutely no comprehension.
Every time he leaves a comment, he shows once again he has no class or professionalism.
WOTN
It’s like Obama’s continuing refusal to acknowledge the positive effects of the Petraeus Plan. He just goes on and on with the unjustificable defense of his false portrayals. He continues to denigrate anyone that points out the misportrayals or question the authenticity of it.
http://waronterrornews.typepad.com/home/2009/03/what-is-a-milblogger-and-what-is-their-role-in-the-debate.html
pkdmslf
I just picked up an adventure travel book (I Wouldn’t Start From Here) and the Forward to the U.S. Edition is written by Pelton. He makes snide remarks about all Americans in that piece. I think he (and Europeans who look down on Americans)fail to realize that they couldn’t do what they do and live the lives they do if it wasn’t for the U.S. Don’t get me started.
brat
I have also been following this fiction writer’s back and forth with various milbloggers. Part of his assertions has been to declare that “real” journalists have to be held to a higher level of truth and integrity than us milbloggers, so how DARE any of us question his fictions. Even if I know less than ZERO about military matters,(but it appears more than RYP) I take umbrage with that viewpoint. Fact is, he got called out by REAL military people, and he also learned that milbloggers actually hold ourselves up to very high standards of truth and integrity.
What he didn’t understand – but might now – is that the military and the milbloggers actually read, and all talk to each other. *gasp*
I KNOW that this individual is integrity deficient because when challenged on the truth of his novella, he immediately swung into threatening mode. “Oh, I’ll stick my lawyer on you.” Boo-friggin-hoo! He didn’t count on being unable to intimidate our military.. Fool!
He can huff and puff all he likes. His readers may be fooled by his bs. Lucky for us, we have the real experts to read and learn from.
I understand that he is Canadian, too. So sorry, y’all
I don’t need to tell any of you that not all Canadians judge US military heroes by their haircuts. What IS it with that, anyways? First Meo and now this guy. Maybe they can get together and compare notes. Just sayin’.
I know I don’t need to remind you all that not ALL Canadians are as ignorant about the US military, or as disrespectful, to think that such smears would go unanswered. SOME of us hold you all in high regard as warriors of truth and integrity.;)And yes, we actually check – and recheck – our facts before we rush to “print”. Shocking, I know.
And yes, RYP, just as you found it necessary to do an op/ed (because it has been proved not to be factual reportage) so, too, can I give my own op/ed. I had chosen not to write on this matter thus far, seeing as the military seems to have taken good care of you. However, I do believe I feel another op/ed coming on. lol
Thanks, CJ! I’ll be writing, and linking to you and Old Blue and Susan.
CARRY ON!