OPSEC: The Rules

Many people seem to think that OPSEC & PERSEC are not important, and that the "rules" don't really have to be followed. People think because their Facebook profile is set to private, that no one can get at their information. But the sad truth is that that information is easily obtained if your lips are too loose, private profile or not. These rules are in place to keep all our troops safe, and their families back home safe.

What is OPSEC?
Operations Security, or OPSEC, is keeping potential adversaries from discovering our critical information. As the name suggests, it protects our operations planned, in progress, and those completed. Success depends on secrecy and surprise, so the military can accomplish the mission faster and with less risk. Our adversaries want our information, and they don't concentrate on only sailors to get it. They want you, the family member.

Protecting Critical InformationEven though information may not be secret, it can be what we call critical information. Critical information deals with specific facts about military intentions, capabilities, operations or activities. If an adversary knew this detailed information, our mission accomplishment and personnel safety could be jeopardized. It must be protected to ensure an adversary doesn't gain a significant advantage. By being a member of the military family, you! u will often know some bits of critical information. Do not discuss them outside of your immediate family and especially not over the telephone.

Examples Of Critical InformationDetailed information about the mission of assigned units. Details on locations and times of unit deployments. Personnel transactions that occur in large numbers (Example: pay information, powers of attorney, wills, deployment information). References to trends in unit morale or personnel problems. Details concerning security procedures.

Puzzle PiecesThese bits of information may seem insignificant. However, to a trained adversary, they are small pieces of a puzzle that highlight what were doing and planning. Remember, the elements of security and surprise are vital to the accomplishment of our goals and our collective personnel protection. Where and how you discuss this information is just as important as with whom you discuss it. Adverse agents tasked with collecting information frequently visit some of the same stores, clubs, recreational areas, or places of worship as you do. Determined individuals can easily collect data from cordless and cellular phones, and even baby monitors, using inexpensive receivers available from local electronics stores. If anyone, especially a foreign national, persistently seeks information, notify your military sponsor immediately. He or she will notify the unit OPSEC program manager.

What Can You Do?There are many countries and organizations that would like to harm Americans and degrade our influence in the world. It's possible, and not unprecedented, for spouses and family members of U.S. military personnel to be targeted for intelligence collection. This is true in the United States and especially true overseas! What can you do?

Be Alert! Foreign governments and organizations collect significant amounts of useful information by using spies. A foreign agent may use a variety of approaches to befriend someone and get sensitive information. This sensitive information can be critical to the success of a terrorist or spy, and consequently deadly to Americans.

Be Careful! There may be times when your spouse cannot talk about the specifics of his or her job. It's very important to conceal and protect certain information such as flight schedules, ship movements, temporary duty (TDY) locations, and installation activities, for example. Something as simple as a phone discussion about where your spouse is deploying, or going TDY, can be very useful to our enemies.

OPSEC IS A FAMILY AFFAIR - DISCUSS OPSEC WITH YOUR FAMILYAll Family Members Are Part Of The Military OPSEC Team. They Need To Protect Information To Ensure The Safety Of All Our Soldiers, Sailors, Airman, Coast Guards, Civilians, And their Families. You Are A Vital Player In Our Success!As a family member of our military community, you are a vital player in our success, and we couldn't do our job without your support. You may not know it, but you also play a crucial role in ensuring your loved one safety. You can protect your family and friends by protecting what you know of the military day-to-day operations. That's OPSEC.There are a few other things we would like to remind you about OPSEC. When posting pictures please be sure to black out anything that has your last name on it (or your SO). I.E. name tags. Don't discuss people's names and billets in conjunction with operations. Please don't discuss halfway points or discuss percentages. (example: there is only 20% left on this deployment) This is very important!!

OPSEC rules for internet useDo not post exact deployment dates or redeployment datesDo not reveal camp locations, including nearby cities. After the deployment is officially announced by Military officials, you may discuss locations that have been released, normally on the Country level.Do not discuss convoy routes (“we travelled through Takrit on our way to X”)Detailed information on the mission, capabilities or morale of a unitSpecific names or actual nicknamesPersonnel transactions that occur in large numbers (Example: pay information, powers of attorney, wills, etc)Details concerning security procedures, response times, tacticsDon’t discuss equipment or lack thereof, to include training equipmentDon’t speculate about future operationsIf posting pictures, don’t post anything that could be misconstrued or used for propaganda purposes. A good rule of thumb is to look at your picture without your caption or explanation and consider if it could be re-captioned to reflect poorly on coalition forces. For example, your image might show your Soldier rescuing a child from a blast site, but could be re-captioned to insinuate that the child being captured or harmed. (it’s happened!)Avoid the use of count-up or count-down tickers for the same reason as rule #1be very careful if posting pictures of your loved one. Avoid images that show significant landmarks near their base of operations, and black out last names and unit affiliationsDo not, ever, post information about casualties (coalition or enemy) before the official release of the information.Do not pass on rumors (“I heard they’re coming home early”, etc)(partial credit to militarysupport.forumotion.com; other credit to opsecprofessionals.org)