Marching Up To Freedom Land by Joan Baez
Lol !
Hi Dr. Marc
Heh - unfortunately it's the grunts that he's jerking around."I suspect he is fully "in touch" with himself - or, possibly, just touching himself."
I believe that is a question before the courts right now. It's hard to legally square the idea that corporations that sell information to make a profit somehow have greater or more first amendment rights than actual, breathing, citizens who intend to express political opinions."Am I right in believing that there are "journalists" who are deemed as such by virtue of their blogs and/or web sites? If so, then wouldn't a blog be considered a "newspaper"?"
Author of OPSEC reg says it is not a big change
This is buried in a Washington Post story on milbloggers.
This is just a small part of a very long article and there still appears to be a great deal of uncertainty caused by the new reg. If Maj. Ceralde is right then the regulation as written is not a model of clarity based on all the educated people who thought it was a big change....
... Army OPSEC Program Manager Maj. Ray Ceralde, who helped author the revision, said bloggers shouldn't be concerned.
According to Ceralde, the new regulation does not require bloggers to have each post approved by officers, but rather instructs bloggers to alert commanders and OPSEC officers when they initially create a blog. This is similar to the policy already put in place in Iraq, he said. "Soldiers have the right to express themselves as long as they don't reveal information that will subject their unit or personnel to harm," Ceralde said.
...
Are Bloggers Journalists?
You cannot imagine the difficulties surrounding that issue as it concerns civilian bloggers, before you even get into the distinctions between military and civilian law. I don't myself buy into the argument that bloggers are de facto journalists, although it is possible that on occasion they may be performing or engaging in a process that is akin to journalism. This has primarily come up as concerns shield laws (do bloggers have the same protections afforded journalists -- to the extent they have them -- when it comes to the right to not reveal sources or give up documents, video tape, etc. to govt. officials.) Here's the problem with that one: if everyone is a potential "journalist," then how does a society enforce some kind of norm that says everyone has an obligation to testify when called upon to do so?
Well, if military members are journalists, what does that do to their obligations to not publish information, footage, photographs, etc? Wouldn't their first amendment protections trump any other obligations?
Don't think so.
Bloggers, it seems to me, are press critics involved in a larger community conversation.
For all sorts of reasons, the larger military benefited from having its members' voices being heard, even when those voices were critical, in part because those voices were sometimes critical, because it was precisely the fact that those voices were sometimes critical that gave them credibility.
Desert Storm Redux
One of the best known "portal" bloggers makes an interesting point -- since this is only an Army reg, other services' milbloggers will continue uninterrupted. If the Marines end up getting more attn for what their troops are doing in the combat zones, again?
http://instapundit.com/archives2/004774.php
I know where I am working right now, we have had some huge secuirty problems, at levels above FOUO. so realistically, I can't see every blogger getting fired, but who knows. We have had some big OPSEC issues come to light. Hell, go to the warden thread.
Wow
I just caught wind of this thread and must admit I am shocked... I want to read the whole thing and check out all of the links before I say anything more but this is the exact opposite of what I would have expected.
Can someone from USMC higher please smooth my ruffled feathers and assure me we aren't going to see a parallel response from the Corps? This kind of crap is an initiative KILLER.
Originally Posted by Ender
Initiative? Who issued you that?
Sam Liles
Selil Blog
Don't forget to duck Secret Squirrel
The scholarship of teaching and learning results in equal hatred from latte leftists and cappuccino conservatives.
All opinions are mine and may or may not reflect those of my employer depending on the chance it might affect funding, politics, or the setting of the sun. As such these are my opinions you can get your own.
A closer review of the new regulation:
As I read this, just about everything that relates to the military can fit in the category of FOUO in this definition -- particularly when it includes the key phrase tactics, techniques, and procedures. In my view, this includes doctrine, lessons learned, and any discussion of current operations.1–5. Definitions
c. Sensitive information.
(1) Sensitive information (formerly known as sensitive but unclassified (SBU) information) is information requiring special protection from disclosure that could cause compromise or threat to our national security, an Army organization, activity, family member, Department of the Army (DA) civilian, or DOD contractor.
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(3) Examples of sensitive information include, but are not limited to:
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(e) Unclassified information designated For Official Use Only (FOUO) … Examples include but are not limited to: force protection, movement and readiness data, tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs), proprietary information and information protected by copyright, pre-decisional documents, draft publications, and information concerning security systems.
This part of the regulation states that Army personnel (all categories) may not disclose any sensitive data (including the broad definition of FOUO above) in -- letters, resumes, articles for publication, blogs, etc...2–1. All Army personnel
Operations security is everyone’s responsibility. Failure to properly implement OPSEC measures can result in serious injury or death to our personnel, damage to weapons systems, equipment and facilities, loss of sensitive technologies and mission failure. OPSEC is a continuous process and an inherent part of military culture and as such, must be fully integrated into the execution of all Army operations and supporting activities. All Department of the Army (DA) personnel (active component, reserve component to include U.S. Army Reserve, Army National Guard, and DA civilians), and DOD contractors will—
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b. Protect from disclosure any critical information and sensitive information to which they have personal access.
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c. Prevent disclosure of critical and sensitive information in any public domain to include but not limited to the World Wide Web, open source publications, and the media.
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g. 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.
(2) Supervisors will advise personnel to ensure that sensitive and critical information is not to be disclosed. Each unit or organization’s OPSEC Officer will advise supervisors on means to prevent the disclosure of sensitive and critical information.
The policy is written so broadly that I don't know how anyone in the Army can participate in this forum... or write home... or write for publication. Just about everything I do and write about is included in this regulation.
I don't know how Military Review, Parameters, Armed Forces Journal, or any other publication that is available on the web (or in libraries) will be able to exist under these rules -- unless all of the authors will be those who are completely out of the system.
I'm grateful that LTC Yingling got his article out before this regulation hit the streets...
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