OPSEC

As for my military friends, you already know this, so you can ignore this post. haha OPSEC has been shoved down our throats from the time we started dating our men lol I just wanted to make this post for my family and friends back home, because of Mick's upcoming deployment, who may not be familiar with it.

Below is some information about OPSEC that I want you guys to read. It's not too long, I promise. I just want everyone to know ahead of time, that I'm not going to be able to give out any exact information over the phone, internet, email, etc. I wont be able to say the exact date of when he is leaving for his deployment, or the exact date of when he is coming home, or exactly where he is or what he is doing (I may not even know in detail what he's doing) Unless we are talking in person, face to face, I will not be able to tell you any exact info. So if you ask me "when is Mick coming home?" and I say "soon" or "sometime this month" dont think I'm being stingy with info or being bitchy or anything like that haha! Understand it is for the safety of my husband and his unit. Also, if i do see you and tell you any of this information, please try your hardest to follow the same rules and do not leak this info on the phone or internet... only in person! Chances are, if you slipped up, (it's been done thousands of times in the past) that everything would be fine and no trouble would be had. However, when it comes to the safety of my husband and the future of my family, I'm not willing to take chances, so I hope you all take OPSEC seriously and follow these simple rules.

Also, to my military friends, if you see me posting anything that you feel might be too much information, please send me a message and let me know. (but just dont be a jerk about it haha)

Here is the OPSEC info that is posted on a Marine Wives forum that I want you all to read:

"OPSEC, also known as Operational Security, is the principle that we, as Military wives and Military family members, should all abide by when talking about our soldiers. If you’ve been on any military related message board on the internet, you have more than likely seen a warning to be sure to practice OPSEC. This means protecting the information you know about your soldier and his or her unit.

Generally, it means that you should not give out the following:

(1) Your soldier’s exact location overseas

(2) Any information on troop movements – this includes any movement while they are deployed and in transit to/from theater (including R&R). Do not ever give dates or times.

(3) Any information on weapons systems, how they train or numbers – for this reason, many pictures from overseas can easily violate OPSEC.

If your soldier is in a special operations unit, the OPSEC guidelines can be stricter. You may not be able to say he or she is deployed at all, much less where. His unit and/or FRG should provide the OPSEC guidelines for these situations.

Always abide by the rules set forth by his unit. Just because it is on the news does not mean that you can talk about the issue. By talking about it, you are only verifying the information.

CORRECT: "My soldier is deployed in support of Iraqi Freedom or Enduring Freedom."

INCORRECT: "My soldier is in XYZ Unit and is stationed at ABC Camp in XXX city in Iraq."

Give only general locations IF his unit allows it. The above incorrect statement is entirely too much information.

INCORRECT: "My soldier’s unit is returning from deployment and flying into XYZ Airport at 8pm next Thursday."

Never give dates or times for troop movements. Keep in mind that “next Thursday” is a date. This includes R&R dates as well as deployment and redeployment dates. Planes have been delayed for days or weeks because an excited family member made this information public.

INCORRECT: "Please pray for my soldier. He called today and told me he is going out on a very dangerous mission tonight. They will be gone for three days and I’m very worried about him."

When our soldiers are in dangerous situations, it is natural to want to reach out to others. But the above statement puts your soldier and his unit in danger. You could have very well just alerted the enemy about their mission.

It is important to realize that putting together the bits and pieces needed to create the larger picture can be amazingly simple on the internet. Many mistakenly believe that if they don’t talk about it all at once, the information is safe. This is wrong and dangerous to assume.

The internet is a wonderful tool, but in regards to our military, it is a very dangerous one as well. It takes only minutes of searching online to find enough pieces of information that could potentially endanger our soldiers.

The old saying "loose lips sink ships" still holds true today. Keep your soldier, your family and his or her unit safe by keeping the information you know to yourself. You never know who is lurking and gathering information."