Blog de Puree

The Department of Defense recently released a new U.S. Army regulation about operations security (OPSEC) that seems to sharply restrict soldiers’ ability to blog, send e-mail and have other public discourses via the Internet. This has started an outcry about soldiers’ rights to blog about their experiences and to share their perspectives.

In a nutshell, Uncle Sam wants soldiers who want to blog to get permission from their commanding officers and chain of command before they set one up. But there is some confusion about whether the need to have each blog post reviewed by a superior officer. Read literally, the regulation (AR 530-1) could mean the end of military blogs.

Here is a link to a PDF of Army Regulation 530-1, marked for official use only, which outlines the rules for operations security.

For the uninitiated, operations security deals with the release of information and actions that could affect military tactics and strategy, as well as day-to-day operations. For example, Private Knucklehead of the 82nd Airborne Division is stationed in Baghdad and is helping to quell violence in the northern section of the city. He starts a blog and after his first day writes about his experiences, where they are and what his platoon did draw the enemy out to engage them. Unknowingly, Private Knucklehead just released information that could be used by the enemy to determine which American military unit is in the area, what tactics they’re using, what their goals are, and possibly who the soldiers which means their families might even be targeted. The next day, when Knucklhead’s platoon goes back into their sector of operations, the enemy now has the upper hand with intelligence gained from the blog. Soldiers could die because of the information released, as well as the military losing the initiative with a delicate strategy against an agile and adaptable Iraqi insurgency.

It’s no wonder the military takes this so seriously. The Washington Post recently ran a fascinating story about this issue. It outlined some past and present soldier blogs and the difficulties that the authors ran into, as well as how the military is wrestling with blog security issues.

The Danger Room blog on Wired.com pointed out several inconsistencies in AR 530-1. In an interview with Loita C. Baldor of the Associated Press, Major Ray M. Ceralde, who worked on the new regulations, made it clear that the Army does not want to block soldiers from setting up or posting comments to blogs, or seek approval every time they post. “Not only is that impractical, but we are trusting the soldiers to protect critical information,” he said.

But the language of the regulation clearly states otherwise:
Consult with their immediate supervisor and their OPSEC Officer for an OPSEC review prior to publishing or posting information in a public forum.
(1) This includes, but is not limited to letters, resumes, articles for publication, electronic mail (e-mail), Web site postings, web log (blog) postings, discussion in Internet information forums, discussion in Internet message boards or other forms of dissemination or documentation.

Additionally, Maj. Ceralde said that unit commanders also have the authority to establish more restrictive requirements for their soldiers.

The Danger Room blog comes to the conclusion that, while soldiers can blog, with this regulation, the army can bust them any time it wants if it believes the content is affecting operational security. An accurate conclusion.

However, this catch 22 is nothing new for the military. It has been going on for generations. I myself experienced it when I served. In the end, the regulations are there as a guideline and the military can crack down on those who blatantly disregard them. Essentially, soldiers and the media must use common sense and think twice before they hit the Post, Publish or Send button. While the freedom of speech is sacred, soldiers and the media should think about what they write and whether it will endanger the lives of those who are serving in the military. A May 3 article by the Associated Press via the Washington Post outlines the common sense element.

For more information on military blogs and a great repository of them all, check out www.milblogging.com