In its perennial effort to restrict the kinds of information available to America’s enemies in the wide open Internet world, the Army has issued an updated policy on what qualifies as “operational security” and how the service may restrict the release of such data.
Since as early as 2005, the Army – and, to a lesser extent, other services – has been battling the proliferation of weblogs, or “blogs,” authored by service members often on deployment. Army public affairs and intelligence specialists have been worried that the freewheeling nature of blogs risks divulging certain details of attacks and vulnerabilities that could aid insurgents, who they say scan the internet for tidbits to help in their attacks.
The new Army regulation further defines what qualifies under the “operational security” guidelines and appoints an Army Web Risk Assessment cell to execute a quarterly examination of personal Web sites, releases from family readiness sites, non-government unit pages, blogs as well as .mil sites.
The new regs were first reported by former DT editor Noah Shachtman who now writes for Wired magazine.
The opsec rules preclude bloggers from writing about or posting pictures or videos:
Do not publicly disseminate, or publish photographs displaying critical or sensitive information. Examples include but are not limited to Improvised Explosive Device (IED) strikes, battle scenes, casualties, destroyed or damaged equipment, personnel killed in action (KIA), both friendly and adversary, and the protective measures of military facilities.
The funny thing is the public affairs office in Iraq has already gotten into the “new media” world, airing its own YouTube videos of attacks against enemy positions like this one…
And this one…
It’s been a constant struggle for the services to balance the rights of free speech with the genuine need to keep information useful to the enemy out of his hands – especially in the electronic media world. The updated regulations give a lot of leeway to unit commanders to regulate the information flow from their soldiers, but one has to wonder whether superiors will err on the side of caution and ban out of hand all blogs authored by troops on deployment.
So far, only a handful of so-called “Milbloggers” have been disciplined for their posts, with one of the best known cases revolving around Spec. Colby Buzzell, whose blog “My War” was shut down a few years ago after his postings gained momentum in the mainstream media and irked his commanders.
Buzzell parlayed his success into a book deal, but others who are caught in the opsec net may not be so fortunate.
The new Army order also covers personal emails, which have always been flagged by commanders who see the risks of compromising information, as well as discussion board entries.
Consult with their immediate supervisor and their OPSEC Officer for an OPSEC review prior to publishing or posting information in a public forum.
(1) This includes, but is not limited to letters, resumes, articles for publication, electronic mail (e-mail), Web site postings, web log (blog) postings, discussion in Internet information forums, discussion in Internet message boards or other forms of dissemination or documentation.
It remains to be seen how intensively the Army will investigate these postings for opsec violations which would take a tremendous amount of manpower considering the over 130,000 troops deployed to Iraq alone.
My "little" niece is shipping out to Iraq today, a mere 2 weeks after initial training. I would like to be able to send her video greetings, but this has become much harder with the new policy. What's more, I find it very comforting (in a strange way) to see reports from the field, fairly unrefined by the propaganda machine, to better understand what she will be going through.
I understand the need for secrecy, but I would think the soldiers would not reveal anything that would compromise their own safety. What's more, I fear this policy shuts the most effective voices for positive morale, and at the same time stops a pipeline for relatives to communicate with each other. Meanwhile, the insurgents continue posting videos of their own. This can't be useful.
See my blog post at http://angrylabrat.blogspot.com/2007/05/no-videos-for-troops.html.
Posted by: AngryLabRat at May 15, 2007 01:24 AM
Quite possibly all of the crusades started the same way--Islam cannot accept other beliefs (irregardless that Islam is based on Judiasm, as is Cristianity). Are we not into the nerxt crusade to " save the world" from Islam? Islam does not appear to be flexible in this regard.
Posted by: Les at May 5, 2007 12:52 AM
Mmmmm .50 cal - We like the big boomers!!! God bless Mr.Barrett!
Posted by: Kevil1 at May 5, 2007 12:00 AM
chocolate chips camo & ak? Are an iraqui soldier.
Posted by: Choosker at May 3, 2007 09:29 AM
great film of knocking out mortar crew . supposedly waited for crew to gather in vehicle to pick the whole shebang out . the fire team in the second film was highly motivational . these men are no hippie whimps slacking off on the job . their enthusiasm , communication , absence of fear , hunting style and target hits are an inspiration . i am thinkin can the enemy spot U if U can spot them . are our soldiers safe at their eagles nest hunting post ? can something sneak up on them ? do they have a disciplined mascot that could bark or attack ? a wolfshund , maybe , a German Sheperd . www.wolfshund.net/galerie/index.php even if we pull out ; it doesn't mean we receded . even the dems say they will leave about 60 or 80 thousand troops in Iraq . the rest will be DET s at safe harbor aboard steel platforms of carries and such . we are not running out . its more like we are filling in the gaps with Iraqi soldiers and we are their advisors . we can shower in air naval gunfire , supplies , medivac and spec ops . Walter Reed will be replaced with a whole new state of the art hospital . Gates and Bush approve . fortune favors the brave while it leaves the timid behind . recommend behavioral psychology as a first choice to counter act delayed stress syndrome . your dog is your best friend .
Posted by: doctari at May 3, 2007 08:20 AM
Defently did not see any airforce badges. Those are Army ACU's with the 2nd division patch on the sholder. Other Guys are Iraq army.
Posted by: Mike at May 3, 2007 07:42 AM
Nice try guys, they're Iraqis firing the AKs...But what about the Joes battling without their ACHs on? Bet Sarge had something to say about that back at the platoon hooch...
Posted by: Christian at May 2, 2007 02:01 PM
I find it funny people can never get over the hysteria about U.S soldiers using AK's.Its clearly an Iraqi soldier,you can tell by the uniform and helmet.
Posted by: Xander at May 2, 2007 01:56 PM
AKs used by our soldiers? Impossible I say! Was the video filmed by Boeing?
Posted by: Siconik at May 2, 2007 01:25 PM
Are those guys Air Force? They have Air force badges...... The youTube says 'stryker brigade'
Posted by: Foreign.Boy at May 2, 2007 11:17 AM
The second video is an official one?
That's surprising - it shows a coalition soldier firing an AKM...
My "little" niece is shipping out to Iraq today, a mere 2 weeks after initial training. I would like to be able to send her video greetings, but this has become much harder with the new policy. What's more, I find it very comforting (in a strange way) to see reports from the field, fairly unrefined by the propaganda machine, to better understand what she will be going through.
I understand the need for secrecy, but I would think the soldiers would not reveal anything that would compromise their own safety. What's more, I fear this policy shuts the most effective voices for positive morale, and at the same time stops a pipeline for relatives to communicate with each other. Meanwhile, the insurgents continue posting videos of their own. This can't be useful.
See my blog post at http://angrylabrat.blogspot.com/2007/05/no-videos-for-troops.html.
Posted by: AngryLabRat at May 15, 2007 01:24 AM