Doonesbury's 'The Sandbox' Goes Into Archive Status

Excerpt from the 2006 announcement of "The Sandbox" project, then located on Doonesbury.com

"The Sandbox," a digest of mil-blogs and other original military writing, was recently placed into archive-only mode, back-dated to April 30, 2014. While for much of its run, "The Sandbox" appeared on the Slate magazine website, the content is now located on servers maintained by the Washington Post.

The site was created in October 2006 by Garry Trudeau, creator of the "Doonesbury" comic strip. Trudeau has used his art and multimedia platforms to consistently illuminate challenges faced by military personnel and their families, including: multiple deployments and separations; Improvised Explosive Devices; Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder; Traumatic Brain Injury; Military Sexual Trauma; "Don't Ask, Don't Tell", and more. While new posts will no longer appear on the site, the content will be maintained indefinitely as a first-person testament to how military service members and families answered their country's call, and how they weathered those challenges with character and humor.

According to the April 30 post: "The Sandbox contains over 800 posts by more than 150 contributors. It is a vast body of work—the equivalent of three-and-a-half Lord of the Rings trilogies. You will be rewarded for roaming and exploring its depths." The final blog-post also features Doonesbury cartoons, photographs, and videos from its nearly 8-year history.

In 2007, some "Sandbox" content was published in a hardcopy anthology.

Content from the Red Bull Rising blog appeared on "The Sandbox" between 2010 and 2014. (Here's a list.)

In a post-script, editor David Stanford writes, "The Sandbox has been one of the most satisfying projects of my 35-year career as an editor. To all who contributed, thank you, for your service and your words. I am grateful for the friendships made here. Onward!"