There's a fine line between the necessity to expose a malcontent and it being better to ignore him. I want to ignore Yon. I have for years and hence I did not know many of the negative actions he had taken. Yon does not want to be ignored and he will commit to all sorts of negative behavior to get attention. He may or may not have already forgotten his call to find me, but his new focus is on CJ Grisham. The behavior demonstrated here is unacceptable.
When Yon had proven his intent in the Blackfive thread
I told him this:
"Yon, I've oft stated the 1st Amendment protects the right of idiots to prove how stupid they are. I see you are using it to the fullest extent of your capacity."
This would almost sound like Yon was suddenly understanding of CJ, in a patronizing manner. To understand the background on this, one needs to understand that CJ Grisham has been open about having PTSD and how he is struggling to overcome the negative effects. But Yon would later clarify that his intention was not at all to ask readers to honor the trials that come with combat, but to attack Grisham and end his career.
What is clear in this thread by Yon attacking a Warrior with PTSD, is that Yon does not understand what PTSD is, nor how it is dealt with. But in the storyline, several readers step forward with messages of support for CJ's battle to overcome the effects, and at least one other steps up to say that not only does he have PTSD, but is also currently deployed and fully functioning.
The difference in Yon reaction to the other soldier is stark. But Yon has to correct his readers on why he's posting the information on CJ. It is not to invoke compassion or understanding of CJ. It is to condemn him as "insane." Yon's intention is not to suggest to CJ professional help. CJ already has the therapy the Army offers. Yon's intention is to prevent CJ from deploying and thinks that by sending the information to CJ's command, he'll achieve it. Yon's intention is to accuse CJ of insanity, and he does.
Yon finds it necessary to clarify for readers that in no way was his call for sympathy to be taken as such. He makes clear this is yet another hatchet job. He finds it unfortunate that some have misunderstood that intent.
While he admits "PTSD is out of my lane," he finds that labeling someone insane because they have PTSD is in his lane. While he has never earned a combat patch, he considers himself a combat expert. While he never achieved a rank higher than E5, he believes it is his duty as a journalist to report a Soldier to his commander and exercise every available means to destroy the Soldier.
He then states his motivation. Some Warriors that have gone through countless hours of PTSD training, that have seen PTSD firsthand, or even felt the effects of PTSD, note the symptoms in Yon. His spring meltdown did bear some of the symptoms of PTSD and other journalists have claimed to have PTSD, but anyone that thinks it could afflict Yon are "milkooks" and "insane" acting on the orders of General McChrystal to take him down.
While I have compiled screen shots primarily of Yon's words, this is primarily because that was the relevant part of the thread which was very long. A few fans of Yon piled on to attack CJ and several readers stood up to defend CJ. If there is any positive note to the overall thread, it is that as Yon's animosity and attack became more clear, fewer of his fans were willing to engage in the behavior. But it was not the only revelation Yon exposed about himself.
Let's note that Yon states he does not want sympathy or a free pass. That is good because I will give him neither and neither have Combat Veterans that he labels "milkooks" and "insane."
Some of Yon's words here are shown solely to demonstrate that repetitious threat and others to demonstrate similiarities with his "readers."
Let's start with his demands that his opponents "research." Had he done one iota of research, he would have known that CJ Grisham is complying with Army Regulations concerning his milblog. As a First Sergeant, Grisham was called to Washington because of his Milblog, to answer charges levied by a civilian against his blog, because he is complying with regulations concerning it. This had nothing to do with Grisham breaking any regulation but it did result in a change of military position.
But Yon has a perenial problem with Milblogs, particularly if written by a member of the Active military. After Yon linked to CJ in what he considered a detrimental post, he later links to Quattro, a blog by a Public Affairs Officer, whom Yon revels in taking down. This presents a couple of interesting comparisons.
Curiously, a look at the Forrest Higgs profile and blogs demonstrates little in common with Yon, other than photography. In fact, Higgs seems oblivious to anything to do with war. The only hint that Higgs has any thought of Afghanistan is that he follows Rachel Robb, which is a new blog and one I need to look at again. It could be a gem. The more pertinent theme in each of these demands is to know name and rank and then question the authorization of the person to use their 1st Amendment rights.
The purpose of his demands to know who people are, is fairly clear. He wants to silence any that questions his expertise. In the case of the rants at Blackfive, it only took a lack of "admission" that his primary target, Uncle Jimbo, was a "fraud, misleading his readers," to label them as "quacks," and a "disgrace to the uniform."
This allegation of an "OPSEC violation" (it's not) comes before the attack on Grisham's sanity above. It comes before Yon reports Grisham to his command. But it also demonstrates that Yon has been attempting to cause something he believes to be an OPSEC violation. As Yon was actively attempting to create an OPSEC violation, it demonstrates that he does not value OPSEC (Operational Security), which is the thing he is alleged (and demonstrated by others) to have broken, putting Our Troops in harms way.
Continuing with the B5 thread, which occurred first, we see that his attacks and inquiries into the "name, rank," and position demands is designed as a means to silence critics. And we see that he blames a conspiracy by Milbloggers and Servicemembers to end his embed. Whether this is paranoia or deflection of responsibility for his own actions can be contended, but he clearly cannot understand sarcasm, claiming that Uncle Jimbo's clearly sarcastic remarks are an admission of conspiracy at high levels.
At this point and in other places, we see his antipathy towards all things PAO (Public Affairs Officers). In the link above to Quattro, he attacks a PAO, for blogging, while a PAO's job is to get information out. This is particularly detrimental to his case, as it is the PAO who is responsible for decisions on embedding "journalists" with units.
Yon, this is what research looks like. What research is not is asking readers to engage in a hatchet job of your "competion." And these are your words Yon. You may claim they are taken out of context, but minimally, those sites you do not control maintain the permanent record and do not allow you to delete things you later find detrimental. Screenshots don't allow you to change the record.
In my parting shot, Yon claims that a single factual error is sufficient to dismiss all things by an author. In the above words of Yon, there are many factual errors as there are contained in Yon's "dispatches," some of which he even apologized for. While all humans are subject to errors, the "dismissal" by Yon can be interpreted in two ways. 1) Because he is prone to factual errors, none of his words are worth reading. Or 2) Because he dismisses so few of the allegations against him, he accepts all others as factual.
I don't know at this point if the "Yon Watch" will become a regular series or not. That is dependent on Yon. In the last few days, I've learned many things about him. He has threatened me and has asked his fans to find me, but that will not be a deterrent to Yon Watch. If on the other hand, he ends his attacks on Veterans, on Troops, and his "bad behavior," for which he does not want an excuse, I will have little reason to focus too much of my attention on him. Frankly, I have important things to do, and this takes time away from more important things, but I cannot stand idly by while he attacks men greater than himself.
In this series of screenshots, I see a man vehemently attempting to destroy a Combat Veteran. I see a man that has libeled a Soldier and all Veterans with PTSD, by mischaracterizing it as "insanity." I see a man that has no respect for Our Troops, but is only concerned with his own fame and fortune. I see a bitter man that has no concept of sarcastic humor and blames others for his falling numbers. I see a man that will attempt to regain his former glory by any means possible, whether that is destroying better men than himself, reporting or eliciting OPSEC violations, or libeling them as insane.
But let's be honest, if the senior PAO in Afghanistan or the General in charge of the theater wanted to disembed Yon, they didn't need to conspire with anyone. They each had the authority to disembed him without request to anyone else. Multiple individuals have stepped up with personal stories of Yon's OPSEC violations and how those personally impacted them and their missions. While I have not published those here, as those individuals have not personally authorized me to do so, the senior PAO in Afghanistan need only state that he believed such an infraction occured, not demonstrate proof, to disembed Yon.
Yon clearly states that he was disembedded, though he does not detail why.
The updated Banned by Yon list (according to MY on 26 Jan 2011)
Carrie Cos...tantini >
Fred Schoeneman
Terri Cornwell Szendrodi
Beth Donovan
Hyun Kim
Laura Beaver >
Chuck Ziegenfuss
Mrsg- N-Greyhawk
Troy Steward
Cory Kline >
MaryAnn Phillips
Alexander Brent
Stewart Nusbaumer
Mary Parsons
Eric Pitzen >
Aunty Brat >
Cass McDonough #15
Jo Ellen Wilson Marlow
Foxfier Sailorette
Baboo Scmurf
Howie Mantit
Rolfe Sorensen
Waron TerrorNews #14
(It should be noted that some people are upset that they've been banned but aren't the list. Of note is that the text list on left is Yon's 26 Jan list while the screenshot on the right are the remnants of his 25 Jan conversation, where Loopy Libertarian is banned, but not listed the next day as such by Yon. The entire rest of the conversation is missing because he removed them from the thread.)
Neither Jimbo nor CJ need someone else to defend them. Both are perfectly capable of mounting their own defense. On the other hand, no bully should be allowed to attack Honorable men with impunity. No Honorable Man should leave the wounded on the battlefield, even if they are capable of eliminating the enemy on their own. I have emailed with both in the wake of these events. CJ has been in the field, preparing for another combat tour, but he has now been able to testify in his own defense.
In answer to the situation with the School Board (which is the event Yon claimed was dangerous.)
And in response to Yon's threats and libel that PTSD is insanity. (Links to works by CJ Grisham)
The Tarnak Saga:
1) The Bridge Over the River Tarnak Looking at Fact and Fiction of the incident
2) From Tarnak Bridge to Bruhaha Looking at Yon's obsession for Menard
3) The Tarnak Scalp That Wasn't Looking at Yon's claims of scalping Menard
4) The Yon Conspiracy Over Tarnak: Looking at Yon's Conspiracy Theory Origins
5) Overview of the Michael Yon Saga
Deviant Behavior
1) Yon OPSEC Violations: It can't be more blatant but some are in disbelief
2) Yon Publicizes Video of American Soldier Losing Legs.
3) Banned By Yon!
4) Yon's Attack on PTSD as insanity
5) The Banning of an Angel
Stumble It!
