US Army base turns to Facebook for information

Story by

Brad McCarty

A music and tech junkie who calls Nashville home, Brad is the Director TNW Academy. You can follow him on Twitter @BradMcCarty. (show all) A music and tech junkie who calls Nashville home, Brad is the Director TNW Academy. You can follow him on Twitter @BradMcCarty.

We’ve seen the US military branches embracing the Internet for quite some time now. From soldiers using the iPhone to keep up their blogs to the Army’s blogging network, Uncle Sam seems to be taking to the digital age quite well.

As storms ravaged parts of the US over the past few days, we’re told by Army Sergeant Nathan McClain that the Fort Bragg, North Carolina Facebook page has been used as a great source for delivering pertinent information in a timely and organized manner.

At around 6:30 PM local time on Saturday, storms moved through the Ft. Bragg area, causing downed power lines and forcing some of the gates (Access Control Points) to be closed. Instead of leaving people guessing, the Bragg Facebook page updated information for everyone, keeping people safe and helping to calm what was likely a fear-filled time.

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Not only did the updates from the Bragg cadre keep information flowing, the comments also provided a singular place for residents of the post to communicate with one another. From finding out when power would be restored to organizing cleanup activities, Bragg’s soldiers and families had an organized, singular point for information. In fact, according to McClain, the post’s Facebook wall provided much more information than local news organizations were able to give.

Our kudos go out to Sgt. McClain and the Ft. Bragg staff that turned to Facebook. We look forward to seeing more in the future.