Knight Ridder: Soldiers warned again about Internet postings

Raw Story | September 6 2005

Knight Ridder reported Monday that soldiers stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan have been warned against posting sensitive information on the web. A similar directive was handed down in a memo dated February, 2005. The piece, by Joseph L. Galloway, states that military sources "expect to see immediate improvement," this time around.

Excerpts follow:

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For the second time in a year, Army leaders have sent a strong warning to all commanders that soldiers are continuing to post sensitive information on Web sites that ``the enemy reads and exploits'' for use against U.S. forces.

The August memo was headlined Chief of Staff of the Army OPSEC (Operational Security) Guidance.'' In it, Gen. Peter J. Schoomaker demanded that everyone Army-wide do a better job of training soldiers and policing operational security violations thatneedlessly place lives at risk and degrade the effectiveness of our operations.''

The Army chief's unclassified memo specified the Internet postings of such sensitive information as ``photos depicting weapon system vulnerabilities, and tactics, techniques and procedures.'' ...

Schoomaker added that Army headquarters and G-2 also would begin to track and report on a quarterly basis ``open source OPSEC violations.'' He wrote that within 30 days, the Army would publish changes to its operational security regulations that deal with Internet postings of sensitive photos and material.

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