Thursday, September 11, 2008

Online radio show gives voice to military

The host of a radio program available worldwide on the Internet gives servicemembers a chance to tell their stories.

“This is one way that I can serve the military,” Dave Whitten, host of “Voice of the Troops,” a weekly, hour-long show on Phoenix station
KFNX and carried on the station’s Web site, said in an “ASY Live” BlogTalkRadio interview.

“ASY Live” is part of the DoD’s America Supports You program.

“I grew up in a very military household,” Whitten said. “I always kick myself for not serving.”

The idea started for Whitten a year and a half ago, he said, after listening to the radio and television and sensing a need to bring to light the voice of the individual servicemember.

“You hear all the bad stuff that goes on,” he said. “Let’s face it, war is not pretty. … But you never (get) to hear the good stories about the good things our troops (are) doing.”

The program airs Sundays at 7 p.m. PST and is available on the Web at 1100kfnx.com.

“I give them an hour every week to talk about whatever they want without cutting them up into sound bites,” Whitten said. Topics range
from post-traumatic stress disorder to military history.

It’s important, especially with current conflicts, to talk to those who are directly affected, Whitten said.

The show also discusses recent topics of interest and the ramifications of new military policy.