The END of Military Blogging

[American Patriot]

The END of Military Blogging
Blackfive ^ | 5/2/07 | Blackfive

The most excellent Noah Shachtman of Wired's Danger Room has a great article with lots of milblogger reaction to the new OPSEC regulations that will end military blogging as we know it. Yes, that's right - the end of soldier blogging from the war zones.

Army Squeezes Soldier Blogs, Maybe to Death Noah Shachtman Email 05.02.07 | 2:00 AM

The U.S. Army has ordered soldiers to stop posting to blogs or sending personal e-mail messages, without first clearing the content with a superior officer, Wired News has learned. The directive, issued April 19, is the sharpest restriction on troops' online activities since the start of the Iraq war. And it could mean the end of military blogs, observers say.

Military officials have been wrestling for years with how to handle troops who publish blogs. Officers have weighed the need for wartime discretion against the opportunities for the public to personally connect with some of the most effective advocates for the operations in Afghanistan and Iraq -- the troops themselves. The secret-keepers have generally won the argument, and the once-permissive atmosphere has slowly grown more tightly regulated. Soldier-bloggers have dropped offline as a result...

Read the whole piece.

Next, be sure to read Major Elizabeth Robbins award winning paper about military blogs "Muddy Boots" - which General Petraeus praised. It is pure genius and I'm glad Noah linked to it. I believe that Major Robbins is or is on the way to somewhere dangerous.

The Bottom-Line to the this bad piece of regulation: The soldiers who will attempt to fly under the radar and post negative items about the military, mission, and commanders will continue to do so under the new regs. The soldiers who've been playing ball the last few years, the vast, VAST, majority will be reduced. In my mind, this reg will accomplish the exact opposite of its intent. The good guys are restricted and the bad continue on...

Operational Security is of paramount importance. But we are losing the Information War on all fronts. Fanatic-like adherence to OPSEC will do us little good if we lose the few honest voices that tell the truth about The Long War.

Instead, the US Army should adopt Major Robbins recommendations, allow for unit bloggers, and restrict bloggers with the same rules as the military gives embed reporters (with UCMJ exceptions). Maybe, then, we can start winning some battles on the information front.

Update: Steve Schippert sends this link to a video by Brad Levinson of the first panel of the 2006 MilBlog Conference. At the very end, I make a prediction that I've been praying would never happen.

"If the Army restricts bloggers, all you will have are pissed-off dissident bloggers who are willing to take a risk...every Article-15 schlep will be blogging and all of the guys in this room who are trying to get the stories out, will not. That'll be the end."

Update 2: Wired also has an interview posted with the creator of the new regulation. And treating reporters as Al Qaeda moles.

Update 3: Reader Paul asks if I'll continue to post messages and emails from my friends in the war zone. For my answer, see below.

Update 4: John, a US Army Reserve Officer in Iraq, writes:

If the mil thinks they can keep this reservist from blogs, KMFA

Update 5: General Casey is not the most Public Affairs minded General ever. Can't say much else on a PG13 blog.

Update 6: Just did an interview with Wavelength (Tech Radio) about this issue. The link is to the raw interview (mp3 file). The edited version will hopefully include Noah Shachtman and will be on Public Radio across the country

[American Patriot]

Army Squeezes Soldier Blogs, Maybe to Death

Noah Shachtman 05.02.07 | 2:00 AM

The U.S. Army has ordered soldiers to stop posting to blogs or sending personal e-mail messages, without first clearing the content with a superior officer, Wired News has learned. The directive, issued April 19, is the sharpest restriction on troops' online activities since the start of the Iraq war. And it could mean the end of military blogs, observers say.

Military officials have been wrestling for years with how to handle troops who publish blogs. Officers have weighed the need for wartime discretion against the opportunities for the public to personally connect with some of the most effective advocates for the operations in Afghanistan and Iraq -- the troops themselves. The secret-keepers have generally won the argument, and the once-permissive atmosphere has slowly grown more tightly regulated. Soldier-bloggers have dropped offline as a result.

The new rules (.pdf) obtained by Wired News require a commander be consulted before every blog update.

"This is the final nail in the coffin for combat blogging," said retired paratrooper Matthew Burden, editor of The Blog of War anthology. "No more military bloggers writing about their experiences in the combat zone. This is the best PR the military has -- it's most honest voice out of the war zone. And it's being silenced."

Army Regulation 530--1: Operations Security (OPSEC) (.pdf) restricts more than just blogs, however. Previous editions of the rules asked Army personnel to "consult with their immediate supervisor" before posting a document "that might contain sensitive and/or critical information in a public forum." The new version, in contrast, requires "an OPSEC review prior to publishing" anything -- from "web log (blog) postings" to comments on internet message boards, from resumes to letters home.

Failure to do so, the document adds, could result in a court-martial, or "administrative, disciplinary, contractual, or criminal action."

Despite the absolutist language, the guidelines' author, Major Ray Ceralde, said there is some leeway in enforcement of the rules. "It is not practical to check all communication, especially private communication," he noted in an e-mail. "Some units may require that soldiers register their blog with the unit for identification purposes with occasional spot checks after an initial review. Other units may require a review before every posting."

But with the regulations drawn so tightly, "many commanders will feel like they have no choice but to forbid their soldiers from blogging -- or even using e-mail," said Jeff Nuding, who won the bronze star for his service in Iraq. "If I'm a commander, and think that any slip-up gets me screwed, I'm making it easy: No blogs," added Nuding, writer of the "pro-victory" Dadmanly site. "I think this means the end of my blogging."

Active-duty troops aren't the only ones affected by the new guidelines. Civilians working for the military, Army contractors -- even soldiers' families -- are all subject to the directive as well.

But, while the regulations may apply to a broad swath of people, not everybody affected can actually read them. In a Kafka-esque turn, the guidelines are kept on the military's restricted Army Knowledge Online intranet. Many Army contractors -- and many family members -- don't have access to the site. Even those able to get in are finding their access is blocked to that particular file.

"Even though it is supposedly rewritten to include rules for contractors (i.e., me) I am not allowed to download it," e-mails Perry Jeffries, an Iraq war veteran now working as a contractor to the Armed Services Blood Program.
The U.S. military -- all militaries -- have long been concerned about their personnel inadvertently letting sensitive information out. Troops' mail was read and censored throughout World War II; back home, government posters warned citizens "careless talk kills."

Military blogs, or milblogs, as they're known in service-member circles, only make the potential for mischief worse. On a website, anyone, including foreign intelligence agents, can stop by and look for information.

"All that stuff we used to get around a bar and say to each other -- well, now because we're publishing it in open forums, now it's intel," said milblogger and retired Army officer John Donovan.

Passing on classified data -- real secrets -- is already a serious military crime. The new regulations (and their author) take an unusually expansive view of what kind of unclassified information a foe might find useful. In an article published by the official Army News Service, Maj. Ceralde "described how the Pentagon parking lot had more parked cars than usual on the evening of Jan. 16, 1991, and how pizza parlors noticed a significant increase of pizza to the Pentagon.... These observations are indicators, unclassified information available to all … that Operation Desert Storm (was about to) beg(i)n."

[American Patriot]

(Second half of above article)



Steven Aftergood, head of the Federation of American Scientists' Project on Government Secrecy, called Ceralde's example "outrageous."


"It's true that from an OPSEC (operational security) perspective, almost anything -- pizza orders, office lights lit at odd hours, full or empty parking lots -- can potentially tip off an observer that something unusual is afoot," he added. "But real OPSEC is highly discriminating. It does not mean cutting off the flow of information across the board. If on one day in 1991 an unusual number of pizza orders coincided with the start of Desert Storm, it doesn't mean that information about pizza orders should now be restricted.
That's not OPSEC, that's just stupidity."


During the early days of the Iraq war, milblogs flew under the radar of the Defense Department's information security establishment. But after soldiers like Specialist Colby Buzzell began offering detailed descriptions of firefights that were scantily covered in the press, blogs began to be viewed by some in the military as a threat -- an almost endless chorus of unregulated voices that could say just about anything.


Buzzell, for one, was banned from patrols and confined to base after such an incident. Military officials asked other bloggers to make changes to their sites. One soldier took down pictures of how well armor stood up to improvised bombs; a military spouse erased personal information from her site -- including "dates of deployment, photos of the family, the date their next child is expected, the date of the baby shower and where the family lives," said Army spokesman Gordon Van Fleet.


But such cases have been rare, Major Elizabeth Robbins noted in a paper (.pdf) for the Army's Combined Arms Center.


"The potential for an OPSEC violation has thus far outstripped the reality experienced by commanders in the field," she wrote.


And in some military circles, bloggers have gained forceful advocates. The Office of the Secretary of Defense, for example, now regularly arranges exclusive phone conferences between bloggers and senior commanders in Afghanistan and Iraq. Major Robbins, for one, has argued strongly for easing the restrictions on the soldier-journalists.


"The reputation of the Army is maintained on many fronts, and no one fights harder on its behalf than our young soldiers. We must allow them access to the fight," Robbins wrote. "To silence the most credible voices -- those at the spear's edge -- and to disallow them this function is to handicap ourselves on a vital, very real battlefield."


Nevertheless, commanders have become increasingly worried about the potential for leaks. In April 2005, military leaders in Iraq told milbloggers to "register" (.pdf) their sites with superior officers. In September, the Army made the first revision of its OPSEC regulations since the mid-'90s, ordering GIs to talk to their commanders before posting potentially-problematic information. Soldiers began to drop their websites, in response.


More bloggers followed suit, when an alert came down from highest levels of the Pentagon that "effective immediately, no information may be placed on websites … unless it has been reviewed for security concerns," and the Army announced it was activating a team, the Army Web Risk Assessment Cell, to scan blogs for information breaches. An official Army dispatch told milbloggers, "Big Brother is not watching you, but 10 members of a Virginia National Guard unit might be." That unit continues to look for security violations, new regulations in hand.


See the Wired blog Danger Room for additional information on the Army's blogger ban.
Comment on this story.

[American Patriot]

Rick Donaldson’s “Reality Check” Blog and Podcast.

Thu, 3 May 2007 / 0945

BLACKFIVE: The END of Military Blogging

Filed under: US Military, Survival, Terrorism, First Amendment


Somewhere in the back of someone’s little mind is the idea that even our own military can’t be properly trusted with the secrets they are already entrusted with.

A long time ago, perhaps 7 or 8 years ago, the military told several of us to “sanitize” our web sites of anything that gave our name, images, family information or anything along that line. We were asked to use personal email addresses that did not include our real names.

I was personally asked, not ordered by a Commanding Officer if I would simply remove a biography from one of my web sites, because it had information in it that said “Who I am”. I thought, at the time,”Well, that might be a good idea if I were worried about someone coming to get me or my family”.

However, if there is ONE thing I have taught my children well, it is to “be not afraid of who you are”. We each and everyone of us, in the United States are Americans. I have fought to keep and defend the freedoms we now have.

That includes my freedom of speech and the freedom of speech of all of those in this country, even those with whom I disagree completely. Even Liberals (as much as it pains me to say it). But, this goes, in my humble opinion, well beyond the pale.

I have read, and enjoy, many of the blogs by military members. I write myself from a very unique perspective of being inside looking out at times. One thing I take very seriously though, is National Security. I’ve never given information out that would affect anyone’s mission. Troop movements, and information regarding missions are completely verboten in my writing. I don’t tell what I do, exactly, and I never will since it’s no one’s business but mine, my employer and my government — and even then, anything I MIGHT say is carefully written so as not to include anything sensitive.

Most, if not all military members whose blog sites I’ve perused are also careful as well.

Military members, and civilians alike are all part of this great nation and this is, indeed a form of censorship. Why? Simply because it comes from the Government itself.

Preventing the dissemination of classified material is one thing. It’s against the law. But, preventing a Soldier, Sailor, Airman or Marine a chance to speak his or her mind, and to, well, basically vent sometimes. Venting is… good therapy. I know, I’ve seen combat a couple of times in my life, and I’ve never spoken much about to anyone, ever, anywhere. Some friends know about my background, but I never felt the need to tell everything.

But, sometimes I wonder why I didn’t tell the stories, why I haven’t used the writing ability I have to tell what happened — mostly because, I guess, to me it was personal and sometimes sharing such things isn’t really good for the listener. But, honestly, some people find themselves in scary, dangerous situations and they handle it badly, or they handle it well. Perhaps, and I’m reaching now because I really do not know, but perhaps our Military sharing stories and having a place to “bitch” about things is a kind of help that no mental health professional could ever give them.

More importantly to me, these folks have an outlet to put down what, in effect might be the last words they ever write down. Why prevent them from sharing with the world their thoughts? If I were being sent into battle, and were to die in that battle, I damned sure would want my last thoughts recorded before that battle.

Yes, this is… tough to think about, and tougher to write, but looking at it from a perspective of having been in the military, I had a job to do, and I couldn’t think about what might be, what was going on with my family while performing my duty, and it is a very, very unique aspect of all military people.

The Mission comes first, before self, before family, before even your own life. Even, I guess before Blogging.

I will say this last thing. This is a mistake, because those of us still working in the industry who are forced eventually to stop writing our thoughts because of a bad policy will cease working with the government, because, frankly these “policies” are directly contrary to the Constitution of the United States, and contrary to all I stand for. If and when such “thought crimes” come under attack by our own government, then everything, EVERYTHING for which I worked for the past 30 years will become null and void.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I submit to you that banning blogging and personal emails to our military is wrong thinking, wrong headed and completely against all common sense. I would urge the Command to rethink this very, very carefully, and to reconsider what you’re asking of people who are already in the trenches doing the dirty work. I’d ask you to reconsider this policy change, which appears to be based completely upon what may be “urban legend” and narrow mindedness.

Otherwise, do not ask for the best, the brightest and the hope of the future to join you in your fights, because, frankly they will not come.

[American Patriot]

http://www.fas.org/irp/agency/army/opsec-blog.pdf

[Jag]

Defense Department blocks some Web sites

By ROBERT WELLER, Associated Press Writer Mon May 14, 4:32 AM ET



DENVER - Soldiers serving overseas will lose some of their online links to friends and loved ones back home under a

Department of Defense policy that a high-ranking Army official said would take effect Monday.

The Defense Department will begin blocking access "worldwide" to YouTube, MySpace and 11 other popular Web sites on its computers and networks, according to a memo sent Friday by Gen. B.B. Bell, the U.S. Forces Korea commander.

The policy is being implemented to protect information and reduce drag on the department's networks, according to Bell.

"This recreational traffic impacts our official DoD network and bandwidth ability, while posing a significant operational security challenge," the memo said.

The armed services have long barred members of the military from sharing information that could jeopardize their missions or safety, whether electronically or by other means.

The new policy is different because it creates a blanket ban on several sites used by military personnel to exchange messages, pictures, video and audio with family and friends.

Members of the military can still access the sites on their own computers and networks, but Defense Department computers and networks are the only ones available to many soldiers and sailors in

Iraq and

Afghanistan.
Iraqi insurgents or their supporters have been posting videos on YouTube at least since last fall. The Army recently began posting videos on YouTube showing soldiers defeating insurgents and befriending Iraqis.

But the new rules mean many military personnel won't be able to watch those achievements — at least not on military computers.

If the restrictions are intended to prevent soldiers from giving or receiving bad news, they could also prevent them from providing positive reports from the field, said Noah Shachtman, who runs a national security blog for Wired Magazine.

"This is as much an information war as it is bombs and bullets," he said. "And they are muzzling their best voices."

The sites covered by the ban are the video-sharing sites YouTube, Metacafe, IFilm, StupidVideos, and FileCabi, the social networking sites MySpace, BlackPlanet and Hi5, music sites Pandora, MTV, and 1.fm, and live365, and the photo-sharing site Photobucket.

Several companies have instituted similar bans, saying recreational sites drain productivity.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070514/...vun046d63MWM0F

Jag