Her War, Her Voice!

Operations Security, or OPSEC, is keeping potential adversaries from discovering our critical information. As the name suggests, it protects our operations planned, in progress, and those completed. Success depends on secrecy and surprise, so the military can accomplish the mission faster and with less risk. Our adversaries want our information, and they don’t concentrate on only servicemembers to get it. Please do not post any information regarding unit locations, deployment dates, unit morale, etc.

Example-
Profile: Mrs.Andrews
“Hello, my name is Julie Andrews, and I am the 28 year-old proud army wife of Specialist Joe Andrews. He works on tanks, and I’m praying he won’t be out and about, but he says he will. We just moved to Fort Knox, and he is scheduled to deploy in September. He should be in Baghdad for the full year deployment. I’m not sure how he or our son, Owen (who is a wonderful six-year-old just starting first grade) will handle him being gone. We are already alone since he is training, so I guess we are getting a taste of the life!”

From this example, we can gather when/where/and what Specialist Joe Andrews will be doing in Iraq. This is a safety issue for not only Joe, but also his entire unit. Keep dates, ranks, jobs, and mission information OUT of your blogs and posts. This IS the internet and accessible to anyone.

Also, this is a good example to use to discuss PERSEC (personal security). From this example, we can deduce that Julie Andrews is new to Fort Knox and likely looking for a friendly face. We also know she is alone now, very nervous and worried about how she is going to make it. We also know that little Owen will be going to an elementary school at Knox and most likely, Julie Andrews will be completely alone every day. Anyone wanting to tail her or little Owen could completely take advantage of her situation with this knowledge. None of us want to think that someone would use this information, but the reality is they can and will. Don’t make you or your family an easy target by providing this information.

Here’s a better example for Julie’s profile-
Profile: Milfiance
“Hello. I am a proud army fiance and I have endured two deployments. Who knows when the next one is coming, but we all have to be prepared, right? I am a mother, and I am crazy about my fiancé and how wonderful he is with my son, Jonathan. Who knew I would be marrying into the military lifestyle, but we are all facing the same issues here. I’m looking forward to helping out anyway I can, and I’m also looking forward to learning more along the way.”

With this profile information, we can still connect with Julie, still understand her, but she is protecting herself, her spouse and her son. Although OPSEC needs to be completely followed at all times, PERSEC is a personal issue. It is up to you how much you want to put yourself out there. It is completely possible to use real names if you choose and to give us any information you want. Just be aware of how you present your information.

And, also, since we are on a public forum, if you see anything that seems a bit off or if someone contacts you wanting personal information, please report it immediately. We are strict in ensuring all avenues of safety are upheld as much as possible, and we will immediately remove anyone acting inappropriately. Her War or the Courage Community will NEVER contact you asking for any personal information.
Now that all the business is out of the way, get to talking and let’s get moving!