Operations Security Guidance
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What is OPSEC? In short, OPSEC is keeping potential enemies from
discovering critical DOD information, such as when units are
mobilizing, where they are traveling, or what processes are
involved. It protects US operations – planned, in-progress, and
completed. Success depends on secrecy and surprise, so we can
accomplish the mission more quickly and with less risk. Potential
adversaries and even friendly nations want this information, and
will not only pursue military members for the data, but may also
look to family members.
What Can You Do? There are many countries and organizations that
would like to harm Americans and degrade US influence in the
world. It is possible and not unprecedented for military
personnel, spouses and family members to be targeted for
intelligence collection. This is true both in the United States
and overseas.
o Be Alert. A foreign agent may use a variety of approaches to
collect sensitive information. This sensitive information can
be critical to the success of a terrorist or spy, and
consequently, deadly to Americans. Their methods have become
very sophisticated, with the internet being the preferred
method of gathering information. You should assume that
anything you communicate via the internet (email, blog,
status update, etc.) or unsecured phone call is available to
the public, including those who may wish to do us harm. And
while snail mail may be more secure, it could also be
intercepted or the information in it mistakenly made public.
Family members should be aware of this as well, or they may
unknowingly provide all the necessary information to
compromise our mission. Regardless of how it becomes public,
you must remember that you are still responsible for it.
o Be Careful. There may be times when you can’t talk about the
specifics of your job. It is very important to conceal and
protect certain information such as flight schedules, ship
movements, exercise and operation names, and dates and
locations. Where and how you discuss this information is just
as important as with whom you discuss it. Something as simple
as a phone conversation concerning where you are going on
liberty can be very useful to our adversaries.
o Protecting Critical Information. Even though this information
may not be classified, it is what the Department of Defense
calls “critical information.” Critical information deals with
specific facts about military intentions, capabilities,
operations, or activities. If an adversary knew this detailed
information, US 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, you will often know some bits of
critical information. Do not discuss them outside of your
immediate family and especially not over the telephone or
through the internet.
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 Examples of Critical Information. These bits of
information may seem insignificant. However, to a trained
adversary, they are small pieces of a puzzle that
highlight what US forces are doing and planning. Remember,
the elements of security and surprise are vital to the
accomplishment of US goals and collective DOD personnel
protection.
 Position and movement of US Naval vessels.
 Details concerning locations and times of
exercises, port calls, etc.
 Details concerning security procedures.
 Comments on daily military activities / operations.
 Discussion of areas frequented by US personnel.
 Detailed information about mission of assigned
units.
 Operational plans.
 Descriptions of overseas military bases.
 Family members’ personal information.
 How to Keep Family and Friends Informed. Simply put,
avoid specific details concerning dates, times, locations
and exercises/operations, and instead stick to general
information. Details concerning our deployment will be
passed by the Command through PAO and the Family Readiness
Officer, who can strike the appropriate balance between
satisfying families’ and friends’ curiosity and
maintaining the security of our operations. The details
can wait until we have returned home and are telling our
sea stories.
An Example of OPSEC Failure. In early October 2000, “Tom” sent an
email to his wife, telling her that he would be in Aden, Yemen for
a port call on Tuesday. Tom’s wife then posted this to the web
page she’d been maintaining for other family and friends to stay
up to date on Tom’s latest deployment. Armed only with Google and
some background information he’d collected from Tom’s
neighborhood, a terrorist agent figures out that “Tom” is Petty
Officer Tom Smith aboard the USS Cole. The terrorist group that
the agent works for has been planning an attack using a small boat
and explosives. The only problem is that they have limited
resources, and are unable to keep a boat laden with explosives on
the water for days or weeks at a time. They can only keep it
afloat for a day. But now that their agent has provided the date
of Tom’s upcoming liberty, they know what day that will be. On
Tuesday, the boat is loaded and the terrorists sail around the
harbor until the US warship comes in. On 12 October 2000, Al
Qaida did just that. The terrorists on the small boat actually
waved and smiled at the crew of the USS Cole as they floated in
close enough to the ship to detonate their cargo. As a result, 17
sailors were killed and many more injured.