Request to Active Duty, Vets, and those who know them

I'm not sure if I put this in the right spot, so I'll understand if it needs to be moved.

My request is simple and goes out to active duty military members, veterans with inside scoop and friends and family who are in contact with their deployed loved ones. In relation to "hazard" zones, if you know something, PLEASE don't post details....especially about troop movement or dates! Having just read something about the G.W., this prompted me to make a heartfelt plea to everyone. One innocent post could put lives in jeopardy.

I am nothing more than a veteran myself who is concerned with Operational Security. It is not a conspiracy, it is not a request to keep anyone from talking, but unless it's old school (a hand written note), don't put details down about troop movements or anything else that could potentially bring harm to our loved ones. It is simply a request to bear in mind that other eyes can and DO read what you write on here, on Facebook, in your emails, and have the technology to listen to vocal conversations as well. Casual posts on Facebook by loved ones have caused entire units to have to change their plans. It DOES happen!

So please....if you know something and you care, don't post details about troop movement until after they have arrived to their destination, or the mission is complete. Don't even post details of when they are coming home. Keep them safe - keep it old school!

Facebook status: "took some heavy fire today from the taliban, bagged 3!"

Is this really a big problem here on ATS?

reply to post by MavRck


If that's true, it's wrong. But that's not what this thread is about. I'm assuming you're making an "anti" point, am I correct? If I've misinterpreted, please accept my apology. While that status may be off-putting, it doesn't reveal positions, dates, or anything else. I support the good men and women I know who would never write such things, even in the heat and horrors of battle. The ones that do write such things need more help than we can imagine, but still pale in comparison to their enemies who dance in the streets when they "bag" some of our own, decapitate them, then parade their bodies around for all to see while filming it for a youtube upload. That's assuming they opted out of the live video execution. It's easy to judge when you're not there, and some of our guys and gals snap.

But again, this post is about not revealing details about troop movements.

reply to post by MMPI2


Actually, as I just mentioned, someone posted about the G.W. I am not aware if this has been made public yet or not, but it is not the first time I've seen information filter out that has not been made public yet.

As they say. "Loose lips sink ships". Starred and flagged.

I've seen many a patrol binned because someone decided to tell their girlfriend that they were going out on patrol at a certain time of the day

You just want to hope that your bosses intercept the info and give you a bollocking rather than the enemy.

CX.

reply to post by Gseven


Loose lips sink ships.

The sharp ears of enemy agents are always listening.

The only secret is the one never told.

Good advice.

Stuff about the USS GW and the accompanying vessel group has been all over the internet since it departed from Yokosuka the day before yesterday:

www.nytimes.com...

I've been on ATS since early 2006 and I don't think I can recall any posts that disclosed top secret destinations, or troop positions that would jeopardize a mission.

Originally posted by Gseven
I'm not sure if I put this in the right spot, so I'll understand if it needs to be moved.

My request is simple and goes out to active duty military members, veterans with inside scoop and friends and family who are in contact with their deployed loved ones. In relation to "hazard" zones, if you know something, PLEASE don't post details....especially about troop movement or dates! Having just read something about the G.W., this prompted me to make a heartfelt plea to everyone. One innocent post could put lives in jeopardy.

I am nothing more than a veteran myself who is concerned with Operational Security. It is not a conspiracy, it is not a request to keep anyone from talking, but unless it's old school (a hand written note), don't put details down about troop movements or anything else that could potentially bring harm to our loved ones. It is simply a request to bear in mind that other eyes can and DO read what you write on here, on Facebook, in your emails, and have the technology to listen to vocal conversations as well. Casual posts on Facebook by loved ones have caused entire units to have to change their plans. It DOES happen!

So please....if you know something and you care, don't post details about troop movement until after they have arrived to their destination, or the mission is complete. Don't even post details of when they are coming home. Keep them safe - keep it old school!

Agree totaly,,,seconded.

And yes ATS is an "International" BBS site (Anyone on here who remember's those get my vote of confidence )

reply to post by MMPI2

Stuff about the USS GW and the accompanying vessel group has been all over the internet since it departed from Yokosuka the day before yesterday: www.nytimes.com... I've been on ATS since early 2006 and I don't think I can recall any posts that disclosed top secret destinations, or troop positions that would jeopardize a mission.

As I said earlier, I wasn't aware if news about the G.W. was publicized or not. I was simply using that as an example.

I've been on and off (and lurking) on ATS for quite a few years myself - while I don't have a photographic memory, I do recall seeing things show up that have not been made public yet. It doesn't have to be "top secret", and if it were, then none of us would know. Please don't invalidate or shrug this off as if this forum isn't that important or that the people here would never do that. Maybe not intentionally, but they have. This sort of thing happens all the time with loved ones passing on "innocent" information that they know about, but not necessarily the general public knows about.

Let me expand on this - it isn't just limited to troop movement, (i.e., "hey guys, my son/brother/sister/etc. is on such-and-such ship headed for the so-and-so sea - they are about 45 miles off the coast of x and saw a USO"), it can also be about training exercises ("dude, my friend is training in x, and they had something really weird happen") or even logistical things (movements of supplies, vehicles, etc.).

See what I'm saying? It is a very real issue right now, and has been for a long time in forums and social networks all over the web. We can be our own worst enemies sometimes without even knowing it. Even though I'm addressing Americans, this is not limited to America. Well meaning friends and family, and even the media over the years have most certainly caused deaths and danger by compromising locations and/or travel plans.

I'm simply requesting for people to not divulge info and to be aware of whatever information they do have. As unimportant as something simple may seem, it may be all the info "someone else" needs to put things together and organize a plan of attack.