Naval Institute Launches 'Raw, Unvarnished' Website for Enlisted Service Members and Junio Officers

GET THE GOUGE Website Complete with Insider Blogs, Interactive Games and Video

Gouge (gouj) noun (U.S. Navy slang): essential piece of information; the heart of the matter

March 3, 2008 — The tag line on its homepage pretty well sums it up: Get the Gouge is a Website for Warriors. It is raw, unvarnished, authentic material. Get the Gouge contains graphic images, salty language, and depictions of combat and its aftermath.

"This site is edgy, modern and literally up to the second," says Julia Ayres, Editor of Get the Gouge and former Navy Lieutenant. "There is nothing else like it anywhere in the military. There are plenty of places senior officers can search on the internet for information but until now, there's nowhere the average Sailor or Marine could go to get the real scoop. Well…that's changed with Get the Gouge. Get the Gouge does not offer the official watered-down version, but rather offers you real deck plate level information on topics that you need to know." (www.getthegouge.com) A Gouge reader was impressed enough to offer this unsolicited review, "Finally, a website for the average Sailor, Soldier, Airmen and Marine."

The website attempts to meet America's young service members right where they are. It offers sound advice, provocative thoughts, shares outrages and inspirational accounts, cutting edge photos and videos. For those who want 'good Gouge,' need 'good Gouge' or have it to offer, GTG provides a community that becomes a home away from home for these young people serving the nation. 'Good Gouge' is insider information. It encourages the free exchange of information among users and ideas not found on traditional military blogs and forums.

A quick look at some of the unique features found at Get the Gouge:

Combat Diaries: Gives first-hand accounts from the front lines of the war through the journals of service men and women serving in country. The Gouge Combat Diaries provide an unrivalled opportunity to experience combat through unfiltered, authentic accounts. Currently there are 7 authors (Navy, Marine, Army and Coast Guard) covering Iraq, Afghanistan and Africa. Combat Camera includes a special combat-friendly video camera imbedded with troops.

Interactive War Games: 24 Insurgents Killed, 3 Marines Saved, tells the true, first-hand account of the heroic actions of Sgt Jeremiah Workman in rescuing three Marines trapped inside an insurgent stronghold. Users of Get the Gouge can experience Sgt Workman's battle to save the Marines and test their courage under fire by playing the Gouge exclusive Operation Phantom Fury from Kuma War Games. Do you measure up?

Combat Eye Pics and Videos: Go inside the wire for an intimate view of life in the military through first-hand photos and videos. GTG readers have the opportunity to continue the story by uploading their photos and videos.

Shots from the Inside: Interactive media presentations on hot military topics from award-winning photojournalist Lucian Read. Currently, the hard-hitting interactive multimedia presentations include: Seven Wounded Warriors, including Lieutenant Colonel Timothy Maxwell, who was named one of the "Best and Brightest" for 2007 by Esquire magazine; Ramadi Surgical: Six Weeks with a Front-Line Medical Unit in Iraq; Scenes from the Battlefield: Marines and Sailors on the Front Lines; and Tenacious Optimism: A Marine Platoon Commander in Iraq.

"Get the Gouge has the potential to engage all the services," said Tom Wilkerson, CEO of the Naval Institute. "While the term 'gouge' is largely found in Navy, Coast Guard and Marine Corps vernacular, we hope young service members in the Army and Air Force embrace the site as well and share their experiences, thoughts and dreams with their sea services counterparts."