Matthew "Blackfive" Burden enlisted in the military when he was seventeen. After serving as a Sergeant in Airborne and Special Operations units, he received a Commission as an Armor (Cavalry) Officer. Matt served in units in across the globe in many military areas before working as an Intelligence Officer for the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA). After a sixteen year career, he left the military in July of 2001.

To honor the sacrifice of a good friend who gave his life in Iraq to save a convoy, Matt began Blackfive.net to support the military and military families, tell the stories that are not getting told in the media, and raise public awareness of the sacrifices being made. Blackfive.net is one of the most popular military blogs and has garnered many awards.

As a result of the military blogging phenomenon, Simon & Schuster published "The Blog of War" which Matt authored and edited - a book about the effects of Web 2.0 on the military and bloggers' stories from war.

Matt has a Masters of Science degree (Computer Science) from the University of Chicago where he received the Faculty Award. He also has an MBA from the University of Illinois. When not blogging, studying, or playing with his kids, Matt works as an executive in the IT field for a firm in Chicago. And if he had more time, he'd open a pub where veterans would get their first Guinness "on the house." (Paratroopers would get two).