By Tammy Munson | Leave A Comment
For the last couple weeks, the soldiers from 4th ID 2nd Brigade have been coming home here at Ft. Carson. I’m so happy to see these soldiers coming home safe and sound to their families. ( for me – its also a bit depressing LOL We have a LONG way to go )
On Facebook, Twitter and several other social networking sites, I’ve been seen LOTS of OPSEC (operational security) violations recently. Quite frankly – it worries me!
I understand spouses, kids, and other family members are excited that their soldier is on his/her way home. I would be too if SGT Daddy was on his way home.
The thing is that they are not safe until the wheels are up on the “bird” (plane) and our troops that are still there are not safe when we violate OPSEC. The same thing goes for when your loved one is leaving for mission,etc.
Ever heard the phrase – “loose lips sinks ships” well the same rule applies for tweets, facebook updates and the like. So please don’t post information about flights, times, operations, etc.
For those that aren’t quite sure what OPSEC is .. here are some tips from the DOD (Dept of Defense)
Don’t discuss current or future destinations/ ports of call/deployment bases .
Don’t discuss current or future operations or missions.
Don’t discuss current or future dates and times of exercises or missions.
Don’t discuss readiness issues and numbers.
Don’t discuss specific training equipment.
Don’t discuss people’s names and operations.
Don’t speculate about current or future operations.
Don’t spread rumors about current, future, or past operations or movements.
Don’t assume the enemy is not trying to collect information on you; he/she is.
The bottom line is Be smart about OPSEC and always think OPSEC when using email, phone, chat rooms and message boards. It not only protects your loved one but mine as well.
ABOUT Tammy Munson
Tammy is mama to 2 daughters, and wife of 14 years to her husband, Dan. They all live in small town{read more}
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tammy — this is such a great post. while my husband and i are not in the armed forces, several loved ones are. it worries me every single time i read information that i’m guessing would fall under OPSEC. thanks for the education … and i sure wish more people would listen/read this entry. i know they post because they are working through their own emotions, but it puts ours loved ones in harms way.
Totally agree! But how do you get others to listen and understand how important this is?
Forward Tweets and FB posts to Pentagon. Those military types love to be disciplined. But really, I know that sounds harsh, but as a taxpayer, I hate to think of the unnecessary BILLIONS of $s that would need to be spent to RESCUE / COUNTER / REESTABLISH military and other secret operations should these transmissions fall into the wrong hands. Never truly quantified was the cost of operations jeopardized by the Valerie Plame outing. Not to mention all of the innocent people that were put in harms way because people connected dots, that weren’t necessarily connected. My $0.02 towards the billions.