Pvt. Aaron Reyes, a forward observer with Headquarters Company, Division Special Troops Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division, listens to the latest iTunes podcast of the ‘Cav Roundup’ Feb. 14. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Jeffrey Ledesma, 1st Cav. Div. Public Affairs.

People are able to listen to the most up-to-date information on what’s happening on the ground through the eyes of MND-B Soldiers through this new partnership.

The official homepage of the Army, www.army.mil, is always looking for fresh ways to tell the Army story and with Cav Roundup and ‘iTunes’ combo in hand, they struck gold.

Cav Roundup delivers daily news and operational updates every weekday from the Iraqi capital and is now posted on the Army homepage.  Lt. Col. John Robinson with the Media Services Division, Soldiers Media Center, Office of the Chief of Army Public Affairs, said that as part of a push to get products seen by a larger audience they submitted the daily radio show along with other Army products to iTunes.

“My intent was to make more approved Army products, such as the Cav Roundup, available on social sites on the internet, such as iTunes,” said Robinson the director of the Media Services Division in Washington D.C.

The Cav Roundup is sent to iTunes as a podcast.

A podcast is a media file, typically audio or video, that is distributed by subscription over the internet. The feeds can then be played back on mobile devices and personal computers.

 “Doing this broadens our reach with quality Army products and it also makes more people aware of the kind of material they will find on the Army homepage,” Robinson said. “It’s important to [MND-B] Soldiers and their families because we are entering and developing a new and innovative way to explain their mission to the American public, as well as our global audiences.”

A broadcast noncommissioned officer and a co-producer of the daily radio show, Sgt. Scott Pittillo said he thinks this is an awesome venture that will expand the audience of the show and consequently bring the story of the MND-B troopers to more ears, minds and hearts. 

 “Putting the Army’s story out there will give the public a more rounded perspective on the war and the Soldiers who fight in it,” added the 29-year-old native of Hendersonville, N.C.

On a more personal level, a forward observer with Headquarters Company, Division Special Troops Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division, Pvt. Aaron Reyes said that with the radio show on iTunes, Soldiers can make sure family members and friends can get more than the just the news they see on television.

 “They can get a closer look at what were doing here and know that we’re doing okay,” Reyes, a native of Hillsboro, Ore., added.

Robinson said although he doesn’t have any insight on the number of people who download the daily radio show on iTunes, he can say that ever since he began placing more material on other social sites the audience on the Army homepage has grown dramatically.