Apple Thoughts - News & Reviews on all things Apple

"It's not quite an about-face for the Army, but the release of a blogging app does show the service is willing to embrace social media and smartphones as it reaches out to young, technologically-inclined recruits."

There are more details at the press release site, but it doesn't look like it's restricted to just military personnel. Any Army supporter can use the app, and they expect it to include photos and videos, provide information on the US Army as well as connections to the Army's sites such as the recruiting site GoArmy.com and the official US Army site. It's available now as a free download in iTunes [link].

"The hottest new battlefield weapon in Baghdad is also a hot item on the home front. Apple's iPod Touch is proving to be a valuable tool to members of the U.S. military, according to a report in Newsweek. The report notes that the iPod performs many functions in this time of "networked warfare," enabling soldiers to be linked with other soldiers, as well as intelligence resources, such as aerial images from drones and translation software."

One of the biggest benefits is the linking with other soldiers in what they call "networked warfare," not to mention resources they may need in the field. Some of the resources are aerial images, translations of spoken and written Arabic, Kurdish and two other Afghan languages and using video from tribal leaders to give villagers messages. One of the best things is the training curve on its use, which is a lot shorter since they are already familiar with how the iPod Touch/iPhones work.