OPSEC

<—— actual entry that way
**borrowed from a fav of mine**
OPSEC
¤DONT PUT YOUR LOVED ONES AT RISK¤
(I got this from one of my layout sites it’s very useful and a must in order to protect our military loved ones)
You never give out your deployment date or homecoming date (i.e. the stupid countdowns until your soldier is home again – INSTEAD!–try using a count up ticker to how long they’ve been gone or how long you’ve missed them).
‡Don’t give out your soldiers personal info (i.e. social security number, MOS, unit info, phone number, address AND also includes your personal info don’t give out your address, etc).
‡You do not discuss training exercises (i.e. as in what they are doing there and again no dates of when they’ll be leaving or coming home).
‡When deployed do NOT give out their location! OPSEC is about not giving out sensitive information.  Information doesn’t have to be "classified" to be sensitive (i.e. the news gives out sensitive information when they shouldn’t…because you see or hear something on TV does NOT mean it’s ok to be giving things like that out OR in news letters from your FRG group stating what is going on there or where your soldier is)!
‡ Also includes not giving out information on unit or personal morale of your military loved one (i.e. shows a sign of weakness and make an attack on a certain unit OR person more appealing).
‡ Don’t think the enemy isn’t trying to gather information from people like you because they are! (—-WHICH IS SOMETHING THAT WE ALL SHOULD REMEMBER—-)
That means not giving out that info in IMs, emails, over the phone, on websites and even to friends and family members (because they could let something slip out in a store or at work or where).  Below are direct paragraphs, quotes, etc from the above mentioned websites (again, you’re encouraged to check them out yourselves and read thru the articles entirely.
» Operations Security (OPSEC) is the only discipline that focuses primarily on unclassified information and activities.  Classified information constitutes only a small fraction of the information and activities that the majority of us process every day. Most of the information we deal with is unclassified. Many wrongly think that if information or activities are not important enough to be classified, then they do not need to be protected. However, government sources estimate that 75-90 percent of our adversaries’ information collection requirements can be satisfied through unclassified open sources. This article will explain what OPSEC is, what it can do for you, and how you can apply it in your unit. OPSEC is an integral element of Information Operations and Force Protection.
» The premise of OPSEC is that the accumulation of one or more elements of sensitive/unclassified information or data could damage national security by revealing classified information.
» We can never underestimate the capabilities or strength of conviction of terrorists or any other adversary. Nothing is more dangerous than people who are willing to die for a cause. Everything we do involves risk – the application of the OPSEC process develops effective countermeasures to help us accomplish our future missions – by analyzing and minimizing the risk that we may inadvertently reveal critical information to our adversaries.
» The most potentially damaging intelligence source is "..:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />US". We may, unknowingly, provide intelligence information to adversaries through carelessness or a lack of concern for OPSEC measures in the workplace and in daily contact with others. We may talk in public places about subjects best discussed only in the office with authorized personnel. We may also relate detailed accounts of our daily activities to family members without regard to what they might tell friends or acquaintances.
» The OPSEC may be applied to a wide variety of situations in a competitive or adversary environment. If you have ever given a surprise party or attempted to make your house look lived in while you were away, by arranging for someone to pick up your newspapers or installing a light timer, you have practiced OPSEC.
<span style="FONT-SIZE: 13.5pt; COLOR: black”>» Another definition (from NATO AAP 6 (U) ) would be: "The process which gives a military operation or exercise appropriate security, using passive or active means, to deny the enemy knowledge of the dispositions, capabilities and intentions of friendly forces."
» OPSEC (Operational Security) has strict rules, the following is the basic gist of them: The Ten OPSEC Points:

1. Don’t discuss current or future destinations or ports of call.
2. Don’t discuss current or future operations or missions.
3. Don’t discuss current or future dates and times of when military will be in port or conducting exercises.
4. Don’t discuss readiness issues and numbers.
5. Don’t discuss specific training equipment.
6. Don’t discuss people’s names and billets in conjunction with operations.
7. Don’t speculate about current or future operations.
8. Don’t spread rumors about current, future, or past operations or movements.
9. Don’t assume the enemy is not trying to collect information on you; he is.
10. Be smart, use your head, and always think OPSEC when using email, phone, chat rooms and message boards.

» Use extra caution in online chat rooms, forums, and online communities–even those with a ‘brand name’ such as Yahoo!, AOL, MSN or that define themselves as ‘military’ in origin. These can be monitored by individuals that have no reason to know personal information about your family, your soldier, or your soldier’s location. There is no guarantee that a chat room or forum described as ‘military’ has any security for transmitting information or restricting membership to military personnel and their families only.
Online Security Issues (for any branch)
For your own security and for your soldiers security, please do not give out your soldiers overseas mailing address to anyone but family and close friends. Do not post your soldiers overseas mailing address in chat rooms or message board communities. Do not give your soldiers overseas mailing address to people you have met in online communities.
When communicating online, USE CAUTION. You can generally use the rule "If in doubt, don’t."
Be careful what you share online and with whom you share it. This includes forums and email communication. Do not give out your soldiers last name, rank, social security number, location or overseas address.
Use extra caution in online chat rooms, forums, and online communities–even those with a ‘brand name’ such as MSN or that define themselves as ‘military’ in origin. These can be monitored by individuals that have no reason to know personal information about your family, your soldier, or your soldier’s location. There is no guarantee that a chat room or forum described as ‘military’ has any security for transmitting information.
Chat rooms, forums and online communities can be a great place to share ideas and exchange feelings. Keep it safe by not sharing your personal information or your soldier’s personal information.

… don’t be afraid, sometimes they co

me true! … music is my life