A little Info on OPSEC rules...
OPSEC, also known as Operational Security, is the principle that we, as Army wives and family members, should all abide by when talking about our soldiers. This means protecting the information you know about your soldier and his unit.
Generally, it means that you should not give out the following:
- Your soldier’s exact location overseas
- Any information on troop movements – this includes any movement while they are deployed and in transit to/from (including R&R). Do not ever give dates or times.
- Any information on weapons systems, how they train or numbers – for this reason, many pictures from overseas can easily violate OPSEC
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.
Some examples...
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. (We had this happen in Alaska the soldiers were held from coming home because an army wife talked about a specific date and time our soldiers would be arriving from NTC)
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.
The old saying loose lips sink ships still holds true today. Keep your soldier, your family and his unit safe by keeping the information you know to yourself.
Generally, it means that you should not give out the following:
- Your soldier’s exact location overseas
- Any information on troop movements – this includes any movement while they are deployed and in transit to/from (including R&R). Do not ever give dates or times.
- Any information on weapons systems, how they train or numbers – for this reason, many pictures from overseas can easily violate OPSEC
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.
Some examples...
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. (We had this happen in Alaska the soldiers were held from coming home because an army wife talked about a specific date and time our soldiers would be arriving from NTC)
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.
The old saying loose lips sink ships still holds true today. Keep your soldier, your family and his unit safe by keeping the information you know to yourself.
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