OPSEC (Operational Security): Keeping the Military Safe
October 15, 2007
OPSEC, also known as Operational Security, is the principle that we, as Army wives and Army family members, should all abide by when talking about our soldiers. If you’ve been on any military related message board on the internet, you have more than likely seen a warning to be sure to practice OPSEC. This means protecting the information you know about your soldier and his or her unit.
Generally, it means that you should not give out the following:
(1) Your soldier’s exact location overseas
(2) Any information on troop movements " this includes any movement while they are deployed and in transit to/from theater (including R&R). Do not ever give dates or times.
(3) Any information on weapons systems, how they train or numbers " for this reason, many pictures from overseas can easily violate OPSEC.
If your soldier is in a special operations unit, the OPSEC guidelines can be stricter. You may not be able to say he or she is deployed at all, much less where. His unit and/or FRG should provide the OPSEC guidelines for these situations.
Always abide by the rules set forth by his unit. Just because it is on the news does not mean that you can talk about the issue. By talking about it, you are only verifying the information.
CORRECT: "My soldier is deployed in support of Iraqi Freedom or Enduring Freedom."
INCORRECT: "My soldier is in XYZ Unit and is stationed at ABC Camp in XXX city in Iraq."
Give only general locations IF his unit allows it. The above incorrect statement is entirely too much information.
INCORRECT: "My soldier’s unit is returning from deployment and flying into XYZ Airport at 8pm next Thursday."
Never give dates or times for troop movements. Keep in mind that “next Thursday” is a date. This includes R&R dates as well as deployment and redeployment dates. Planes have been delayed for days or weeks because an excited family member made this information public.
INCORRECT: "Please pray for my soldier. He called today and told me he is going out on a very dangerous mission tonight. They will be gone for three days and I’m very worried about him."
When our soldiers are in dangerous situations, it is natural to want to reach out to others. But the above statement puts your soldier and his unit in danger. You could have very well just alerted the enemy about their mission.
It is important to realize that putting together the bits and pieces needed to create the larger picture can be amazingly simple on the internet. Many mistakenly believe that if they don’t talk about it all at once, the information is safe. This is wrong and dangerous to assume.
The internet is a wonderful tool, but in regards to our military, it is a very dangerous one as well. It takes only minutes of searching online to find enough pieces of information that could potentially endanger our soldiers.
My Aunt Suzie served in the Peace Corps, I never met her either, she died well before I was born. My sister and my brother both served in the Coast Guard.
My husband is currently deployed to Iraq. He's on his second 15 month tour. I'm so proud of him, because although he doesn't agree with this mission, he's got a love for America that stirs me up. My thoughts and prayers are with him and every other member of our military today. Those who have served, and are serving.
Here's the link:
http://ga4.org/campaign/gibill
Thanks so much, everyone.
Mary
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/05/13/rumsfeld-on-2006-election_n_101537.html
I haven't posted here in awhile, so, maybe I'll tell you all a little bit about myself and my family. My husband is a Medic in the Army. He's currently serving his second 15 month tour in Iraq. We have four little kids, ages 8, 6, 4 and 2. I love America, and my husband does too. However, we do NOT love what America has become over the past 8 years.
Because of this, it pains me greatly to see any animosity between Democrats that support Hillary Clinton and those that support Barack Obama. I know that this has been a, shall I say, vigorous campaign. Especially the last few months. The media has been ferociously spinning and promoting divisiveness between us by beating to death stories that are negative towards both Clinton and Obama. It's good for their ratings. Anything that might smell slightly of scandal or at the least strife is leaped upon by hungry news organizations like a three year old dives into his birthday gifts or a chocolate Sundae.
For those of you that are feeling anger, bitterness, or just apathy towards either Obama or Clinton, I am asking you as a person who has sacrificed personally for this country over the last 6 years to please, just go and look at the faces of the men and women who have been killed in Iraq. Look at the condition of our Army barracks, look at what happened at Walter Reed Hospital. Please, give yourselves a gut check. Think about what it would be like for you or for your kids to be separated from a loved one for 15 months. Not knowing day to day if they are safe or not. If the war is not your number one issue anymore, please think about what the financial cost of it is doing to our economy. In the end, we are all Americans, and I think that we all love this country and want it to be great again.
If I've offended anyone, I'm sorry. I don't mean to. I am not as eloquent as I would like to be, but I do love America, and I want more than anything to see this country rise up and regain her standing in the World.
Part of my desire to remove him from office is intensely personal. After Rush Limbaugh made disparaging comments about soldiers who oppose the war, I wrote a letter to McConnell telling him that he needed to condemn Limbaugh's remarks. You know, that dirty S.O.B actually took the time to write back defending Limbaugh and claiming that he has been a strong supporter of the troops. I've written this guy before about the need for MRAP vehicles in Iraq and Afghanistan and he didn't bother to acknowledge me then, but he'll go to bat for Limbaugh??? With my husband on his second 15 month tour, I am loathe to see McConnell re-elected.
McConnell is a guy who has consistently run dirty campaigns and has stood by George Bush through it all. I want this guy out of office. So, since Washington state generally goes Blue, and KY has been RED for quite a long time, do you think it's worth my while to register to vote here? Or should I just stay involved in Washington state?
Thanks!
Anyone who has read my first post, about my husband currently serving in Iraq, knows that he asked me to look into Senator Joe Biden. I am so glad that I listened to him. Normally, I'm the one who's right in our relationship (love ya, honey), but this time, that brilliant Sergeant, who I am so honored to call husband, was 200% correct.
Did anyone count how many times the other candidates referenced Joe by name, stating that they agreed with him? At one point, Hillary gave him such a lovely compliment, it sounded like an endorsement!
Liz, sometimes a little "chummy" with the opposition gets more done. There's an old saying with which we are all familiar, "You catch more flies with honey". Our country is in such a shambles right now that we are going to have to have someone at the helm who can truly be what George Bush claimed to be: a person who can truly work in a bipartisan way to effect real change. (I almost said "a uniter, not a divider!", but that made me want to wretch!)
I was much more impressed with Obama tonight than I have been to date. I liked the little bit of fire that he showed, but he did stumble on that question about immigration the way that Hillary did in the last debate.
I'm not sure who came in behind Obama, I'd have to say Hillary. God love her, you know, as a female, I'd love to finally have a woman in the White House. But, my instinct tells me that if she is the nominee, we are going to lose by another slim margin. I come from rural Montana, and have spent time in a lot of different places since my husband joined the Army. I have friends from all walks of life. In all honesty, I have only two friends that last we spoke, were leaning Hillary.
I now reside in Kentucky, and I was thrilled to see our state go to a Democratic Governor just over a week ago. Kentucky is pretty much a RED state these days too, which tells me that this election is ours to lose. With the right candidate on the ticket, we can win the White House with a clear majority. I sincerely believe that Joe Biden is the man who can deliver sweet, sweet Victory to the Democratic Party and restore Integrity to the Office of the President. Americans deserve Joe Biden.
Good night, friends...
Peace, from an Army wife.
The story is here: Link How big is this story going to get? I see it said another person states that he was asked to pose a certain question to Hillary as well. The girl in this story also implies that Clinton must have known who to ask because when the staffer showed her the question, it said "College Student" next to it, and according to her, she was the only college student in the area. She also states that a Clinton intern asked her not to speak to any more media outlets about the story and if she did, could she please inform a staffer. The girl says she's under no obligation to do that, which is of course, true.
Just wondering what's going to happen in the next 51 days. I feel the winds changing and a storm coming, ...I hope the Biden ship catches a sail full and Captain Joe steers her through the wild political sea straight to the White House!
(I have a cute image of Joe in a Pirate hat with a patch over his eye and that rakish grin on his face in my head now!)
My husband has been gone for just about two months now. He has already seen more violence this time round than he did during Iraq Freedom I and II. What is this now, Iraqi Freedom VIII????!!! Alright, that's some sarcasm there, I think they may have finally quit naming them, but I don't know for sure. What I do know is this. There is absolutely one clear reason why my husband is in Iraq today. George Bush and his Administration have done a terrible job as stewards of this country.
Before he left, my husband told me to "Give the politicians hell, honey!" I promised that I would do whatever I could to make sure that his voice was heard from his post in Iraq. We were talking one day, not too long after he finally made it to Iraq, and I mentioned that I was thinking of donating to John Edwards campaign. At that point, my husband said, "Baby. I told you. I want you to look at Joe Biden. Have you done that yet?" I told him that no, I hadn't, but I didn't really see the point he wasn't getting any coverage. At that point, my husband got angry. He doesn't get angry often, but this time he did. He reminded me that it is my duty as a citizen of the United States of America to make a well informed decision. Properly chastised, I resolved to start doing some research.
What I found amazed, yet baffled me. Joe Biden was incredibly qualified to be President of the United States. Is he perfect? No. Is Hillary, or Barack, or Edwards perfect? NO. However, I do think that when all of the pluses and minuses are tallied, Joe Biden stands heads above the other candidates. He is intelligent, and well schooled in foreign policy. His seat as Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee has prepared him to tackle world affairs.
When Pakistan went to hell in a handbasket a few days ago, President Musharraf and Benazir Bhutto both called Joe Biden before calling President Bush. They didn't call Clinton, Obama, or Edwards.
It may not seem like much to some, but Biden's son is in the National Guard and will deploy to Iraq in 2008. This is important to me, and tells me that as he has a very personal stake in this conflict being resolved, he will do anything within his power as President to do so. His plan to get us out of Iraq without leaving chaos behind is more comprehensive and actionable than that of any other candidate.
Why, you ask, is it important to get out of Iraq without leaving the region in chaos. I can give you the answer in simple terms. The Iraqi people have suffered enough under our policies. If we simply abandon them, we give them more reason to hate us than they already have. It is a matter of National Security to leave in a responsible manner.
If you haven't already read Joe's plan for Iraq, you should. It can be found here: Link I ask you, as the wife of a soldier, to listen to what my husband wants you all to hear. We do have a real alternative to the top tier candidates. Please, please, please...weigh your options carefully and make a well informed decision.
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