The OP In OPSEC...Doesn’t Stand for "Optional"
A. Service members and their families must be aware of their personal responsibility in securing operational information. OPSEC is essential to our force protection and our ability to effectively carry our military operations. Casual conversations about sensitive information or speculation about surroundings at all times when discussing operational matters.
B. Security Posture.
1. Defense conditions are classified secret, while force protection conditions are unclassified.
2. Vulnerability of oconus installations to sabotage or penetration is classified secret if U.S. Intelligence information is made.
C. Deployments.
1. The identity of units planned for deployment is confidential until an official announcement of the deployment is made.
2. General geographic location of units deployed ( I.E. City, Country or Area) is unclassified.
3. Specific geographic location of units deployed is confidential.
4. Details of allied military participation in operations is secret.
5. The Global reach of the World Wide Web requires special precautions to be taken when posting information. The following types of information shall not be posted to publicly accessible websites:
1. Do not post exact deployment dates or redeployment dates
2. Do not reveal camp locations, including nearby cities. After the deployment is officially announced by Military officials, you may discuss locations that have been released, normally on the Country level.
3. Do not discuss convoy routes (“we traveled through Takrit on our way to X”)
4. Detailed information on the mission, capabilities or morale of a unit
5. Specific names or actual nicknames
6. Personnel transactions that occur in large numbers (Example: pay information, powers of attorney, wills, etc)
7. Details concerning security procedures, response times, tactics
8. Don’t discuss equipment or lack thereof, to include training equipment
9. Don’t speculate about future operations.
10. If posting pictures, don’t post anything that could be misconstrued or used for propaganda purposes. A good rule of thumb is to look at your picture without your caption or explanation and consider if it could be re-captioned to reflect poorly on coalition forces. For example, your image might show your Soldier rescuing a child from a blast site, but could be re-captioned to insinuate that the child being captured or harmed. (it’s happened!)
11. Avoid the use of count-up or count-down tickers for the same reason as rule #1.
12. Be very careful if posting pictures of your loved one. Avoid images that show significant landmarks near their base of operations, and black out last names and unit affiliations.
13. Do not, ever, post information about casualties (coalition or enemy) before the official release of the information.
14. Do not pass on rumors (“I heard they’re coming home early”, etc)
Stay safe ladies! If you have further questions on it don't be afraid to ask an administrator. We are here to help you!
B. Security Posture.
1. Defense conditions are classified secret, while force protection conditions are unclassified.
2. Vulnerability of oconus installations to sabotage or penetration is classified secret if U.S. Intelligence information is made.
C. Deployments.
1. The identity of units planned for deployment is confidential until an official announcement of the deployment is made.
2. General geographic location of units deployed ( I.E. City, Country or Area) is unclassified.
3. Specific geographic location of units deployed is confidential.
4. Details of allied military participation in operations is secret.
5. The Global reach of the World Wide Web requires special precautions to be taken when posting information. The following types of information shall not be posted to publicly accessible websites:
- Information that is for official use only (FOUO). This type of information would pose an unacceptable risk to the Marine Corps, especially in electronically aggregated form. While records containing FOUO information will normally be marked at the time of their creation, records that do not bare such markings shall be assumed to contain FOUO information.
- Analysis and recommendations concerning lessons learned which would reveal sensitive military operations, exercises or vulnerabilities.
- Reference to unclassified information that would reveal sensitive movements of military assets or the location of units, installations, or personnel where uncertainty regarding location is an element of a military plan or program.
- Personal information including compilations of names or personnel assigned overseas, sensitive, or routinely deployable units.
- Names, locations, and specific identifying information about family members of Marines and Marine Corps employees.
- Technical information that can be used or be adapted for use to design, engineer, product, manufacture, operate, repair, overhaul, or reproduce any military or space equipment or technology concerning such equipment.
- Unclassified information pertaining to classified programs. The clearance review procedures for unclassified information pertaining to classified programs proposed for posting to a publicly accessible web sites must take into account the likelihoods of classification compilation.
1. Do not post exact deployment dates or redeployment dates
2. Do not reveal camp locations, including nearby cities. After the deployment is officially announced by Military officials, you may discuss locations that have been released, normally on the Country level.
3. Do not discuss convoy routes (“we traveled through Takrit on our way to X”)
4. Detailed information on the mission, capabilities or morale of a unit
5. Specific names or actual nicknames
6. Personnel transactions that occur in large numbers (Example: pay information, powers of attorney, wills, etc)
7. Details concerning security procedures, response times, tactics
8. Don’t discuss equipment or lack thereof, to include training equipment
9. Don’t speculate about future operations.
10. If posting pictures, don’t post anything that could be misconstrued or used for propaganda purposes. A good rule of thumb is to look at your picture without your caption or explanation and consider if it could be re-captioned to reflect poorly on coalition forces. For example, your image might show your Soldier rescuing a child from a blast site, but could be re-captioned to insinuate that the child being captured or harmed. (it’s happened!)
11. Avoid the use of count-up or count-down tickers for the same reason as rule #1.
12. Be very careful if posting pictures of your loved one. Avoid images that show significant landmarks near their base of operations, and black out last names and unit affiliations.
13. Do not, ever, post information about casualties (coalition or enemy) before the official release of the information.
14. Do not pass on rumors (“I heard they’re coming home early”, etc)
Stay safe ladies! If you have further questions on it don't be afraid to ask an administrator. We are here to help you!