HOOAH! Like we said ... horse hockey! NOTHING'S DIFFERENT!!!
We respect every Soldier’s First Amendment rights, while also adhering to Operations Security, known as OPSEC, considerations to ensure their safety on the battlefield. That said, we feel the need to clarify a few points made in the May 2 story titled, “Army Squeezes Soldier Blogs, Maybe to Death.”The story stated Soldiers could not post blogs or send personal e-mail messages without first clearing the content with a superior officer. Simply put, personal e-mails don’t need approval by a superior officer prior to sending since they are private communication. Only an e-mail containing sensitive information that is later posted in a public forum would be of concern.
In addition, it is not the regulation’s intent for every blog entry to be approved by an immediate supervisor and operations security officer, but Army personnel do need to consult with an immediate supervisor and OPSEC officer when initially establishing their blogs so they are aware of OPSEC concerns.
It also mentioned, "Even soldiers' families -- are all subject to the directive as well." To be clear, commanders cannot order Family Members to practice OPSEC. The intent is to ensure Family Members are aware of OPSEC to help safeguard critical and sensitive information. This helps to ensure Soldiers’ safety, technologies and current and future operations are not compromised.
Soldiers, Civilians, contractors and Family Members all play crucial roles to protect critical and sensitive information from getting into the wrong hands. At stake is not a Soldier’s First Amendment rights, but rather his or her life as well as the lives of fellow Soldiers. I’m confident many Americans, if not all Americans, can understand that sentiment.
-- Paul Boyce
U.S. Army, The Pentagon
