What is OPSEC?
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 Military Members to get it. They want you, the family member.Even though information may not be secret, it can be what we call critical information. Critical information deals with specific facts about military intentions, capabilities, operations or activities. If an adversary knew this detailed information, our mission accomplishment and personnel safety could be jeopardized. It must be protected to ensure an adversary doesn't gain a significant advantage. By being a member of the military family, you will often know some bits of critical information. Do not discuss them outside of your immediate family and especially not over the telephone.
Detailed information about the mission of assigned units.
Details on locations and times of unit deployments.
Personnel transactions that occur in large numbers (Example: pay information, powers of attorney, wills, deployment information).
References to trends in unit morale or personnel problems.
Details concerning security procedures.
Puzzle Pieces
These bits of information may seem insignificant. However, to a trained adversary, they are small pieces of a puzzle that highlight what were doing and planning. Remember, the elements of security and surprise are vital to the accomplishment of our goals and our collective personnel protection.
Where and how you discuss this information is just as important as with whom you discuss it. Adverse agents tasked with collecting information frequently visit some of the same stores, clubs, recreational areas, or places of worship as you do.
Determined individuals can easily collect data from cordless and cellular phones, and even baby monitors, using inexpensive receivers available from local electronics stores.
If anyone, especially a foreign national, persistently seeks information, notify your military sponsor immediately. He or she will notify the unit OPSEC program manager.
What Can You Do?
There are many countries and organizations that would like to harm Americans and degrade our influence in the world. It's possible, and not unprecedented, for spouses and family members of U.S. military personnel to be targeted for intelligence collection. This is true in the United States and especially true overseas!
What can you do?
Foreign governments and organizations collect significant amounts of useful information by using spies. A foreign agent may use a variety of approaches to befriend someone and get sensitive information. This sensitive information can be critical to the success of a terrorist or spy, and consequently deadly to Americans.
Be Careful
There may be times when your spouse cannot talk about the specifics of his or her job. It's very important to conceal and protect certain information such as flight schedules, ship movements, temporary duty (TDY) locations, and installation activities, for example. Something as simple as a phone discussion about where your spouse is deploying, or going TDY, can be very useful to our enemies.
OPSEC IS A FAMILY AFFAIR - DISCUSS OPSEC WITH YOUR FAMILY
All Family Members Are Part Of The Military OPSEC Team. They Need To Protect Information To Ensure The Safety Of All Our Soldiers, Sailors, Airman, Coast Guards, Civilians, And their Families.
You Are A Vital Player In Our Success!
As a family member of our military community, you are a vital player in our success, and we couldn't do our job without your support. You may not know it, but you also play a crucial role in ensuring your loved one safety. You can protect your family and friends by protecting what you know of the military day-to-day operations. That's OPSEC.
Be Alert
OPSEC and HeartsOfOurTroops.com
We here at HOOT take OPSEC very seriously. We have the right to remove anything we feel violates OPSEC.
OPSEC rules must be followed at all times! You may not discuss the following things:
If you post any picture that includes your SO in uniform please make sure that their name tag has been edited out.
We here at HOOT do not allow any type of ticker (count up or down) pertaining to Military movements. If we find that it is a ticker related to the military but says till my birthday ect. When dealing with a questionable ticker it will be removed from your siggy and you will be PMed. You can then explain it and if it doesn't violate and we give you permission they can put it back up.
Super mods have the ability to remove such items from your siggy.
You must provide a link if it is questionable.
You may not make a post showing your paper chain or any other kind of object you personally use to count down.
Please note that HOOT follows a VERY strict OPSEC. While we understand that not all branches, commands ect follow the OPSEC rules set forth here on HOOT we have made our rules strict because with over 600 girls and 100's of different commands that follow different parts of OPSEC. Some are more strict then other. It is nearly impossible for us to go through each command and determine what violates for that command and what doesn't, therefore we have decided to have a blanket rule for all of HOOT to follow. For example, some commands do not allow the discussion of past movement in a current deployment and some do. Because of this we do not allow the discussion of past movements in a current deployment. If you do make a post about this please be sure that you have a media or command link showing that this information has been released. This goes for ANY post that violates HOOT OPSEC, not just discussing past movements in a current deployment.
We try and catch as many violations as possible but it is nearly impossible to do so with as many members we have that post. If you see a violation please report the thread and we will take care of it. Also if you do receive a PM about a violation please do not get rude with us if it is not a violation. Simply explaining that the information has already been revealed (or whatever the circumstances may be) will do. If you receive an infraction and you did not violate OPSEC please PM us and we will fix the problem. If your PM is rude we will not reverse your infraction.
Our main concern is the safety of our military so anything we feel is objectionable will be removed. If it doesn't violate OPSEC and you think we might find it object-able please post a waiver at the end of your post explaining why it doesn't violate.IF YOU'RE NOT SURE DON'T POST IT!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thank You
Ryan Beaver, Josh Abbott, Amberlyn(Me) and Brandon Rhyder
Amber's Angels