Army Orders Bases to Stop Blocking Twitter, Facebook, Flickr
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By Noah Shachtman
- June 10, 2009 |
- 3:13 pm |
- Categories: Army and Marines, Info War, Military Life
The Army has ordered its network managers to give soldiers access to social media sites like Facebook, Flickr, and Twitter, Danger Room has learned. That move reverses a years-long trend of blocking the web 2.0 locales on military networks.
Army public affairs managers have worked hard to share the service’s stories through social sites like Flickr, Delicious and Vimeo. Links to those sites featured prominently on the Army.mil homepage. The Army carefully nurtured a Facebook group tens of thousands strong, and posted more than 4,100 photos to a Flickr account. Yet the people presumably most interested in these sites — the troops — were prevented from seeing the material. Many Army bases banned access to the social networks.
An operations order from the Army’s 93rd Signal Brigade to all domestic Directors of Information Management, or DOIMs, aims to correct that. Issued on May 18th “for official use only,” the document has not been made public until now.
It is “the intent of senior Army leaders to leverage social media as a medium to allow soldiers to ‘tell the Army story’ and to facilitate the dissemination of strategic, unclassified information,” says the order, obtained by Danger Room. Therefore, “the social media sites available from the Army homepage will be made accessible from all campus area networks. Additionally, all web-based email will be made accessible.”
The operations order (OPORD) doesn’t apply to all GI Bases overseas, or those run by the other armed services, which aren’t affected by the decree. Nor does the order overturn the long-standing, military-wide ban on sites like MySpace, YouTube and Pandora. And it’s almost certain some Army posts that still block the now-approved web 2.0 networks. Still, it’s a click in the right direction for the armed service which seems to be making a slow but steady recovery from its lingering hostility towards social media.
The full OPORD, after the jump.
FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
COPY ____ OF ____ COPIES d HQS, 93 SIGNAL BRIGADE FORT EUSTIS, VA 23604
18 1500 May 09
OPORD 09-14, WEB FILTERING STANDARD
References:
a. Signal Command Theater, OPORD 09-01, 100 Day Plan b. FRAGO 2 TO SECTION 6.2 TO TAB C TO APPENDIX 2 TO ANNEX C TO ARMY NETOPS OPORD 05-01(U) c. JTF-GNO ODM 059-07, IAP ACL/Security Filter Update for 15MAY2007.
Task Organization. N/A.
1. SITUATION: The Army has recently made access to several social media websites available from the Army home page within the .mil domain.
Access to these sites or a subset of these sites is available from some installations across CONUS and restricted at others. Similarly, web-based email is available from some installations and restricted at others. IAW 7 th Signal Command Theater 100 Day Plan, and in an effort to establish a web filtering standard for DOIMs across CONUS, the 93d Signal Brigade Commander directs all DOIMs to allow access to specific social media sites and access to web-based email from their respective campus area networks.
2. MISSION: Permit access to specific social media websites and all web-based email from the installation campus area NIPR network NLT 22 May 09.
3. EXECUTION:
a. Concept of Operations: IOT support the intent of senior Army leaders to leverage social media as a medium to allow soldiers to “tell the Army story” and to facilitate the dissemination of strategic, unclassified information, the social media sites available from the Army homepage http://www.army.mil, will be made accessible from all campus area networks. Additionally, all web-based email will be made accessible from all campus area NIPR networks in the 93d AOR.
b. Task to subordinate Units.
(1) All DOIMs will modify their web filtering systems to allow access to
the following web sites NLT 22 MAY 09 :
(a) Facebook, http://www.facebook.com
(b) Delicious, http://www.delicious.com
(c) Flickr, http://www.flickr.com
(d) Twitter, http://www.twitter.com
(e) Vimeo, http://www.vimeo.com
OPORD 09-14, WEB FILTERING STANDARD 15 1700 May 09
(2) IAW JTF-GNO ODM 059-07, IAP ACL/Security Filter Update for 15MAY2007, The document can be found at:
https://www.jtfgno.mil/operations/odm/2007/ODM_059_07/ODM_059_07.doc
All DOIMs will block access to the following sites:
(a) YouTube, http://www.youtube.com
(b) 1.FM, http://www.1.fm
(c) Pandora, http://www.pandora.com
(d) Photobucket, http://www.photobucket.com
(e) MySpace, http://www.myspace.com
(f) Live365, http://www.live365.com
(g) hi5, http://www.hi5.com
(h) Metacafe, http://www.metacafe.com
(i) MTV, http://www.mtv.com
(j) BlackPlanet, http://www.blackplanet.com
(k) StupidVideos, http://www.stupidvideos.com
(l) Filecabi,http://www. filecabi.net.
(3) All DOIMs, be prepared to make the necessary modifications to their Blackberry servers to allow mobile applications of these sites accessible and functional once STIG compliance is verified.
(4) Notify 93d Signal Brigade, Current Operations once completed via email at XXXXXX@us.army.mil
(5) Exemptions for other social media sites will be submitted in RFI format to 93d Signal Brigade Current Operations section at (757) XXX-XXXX, DSN XXX-XXXX, or XXXXX@conus.army.mil.
c. Coordinating Instructions: The POC for this tasking is Mr. XXXXXXX, 93d Signal Brigade, (757) XXX-XXXX, DSN XXX-XXXX, XXXXXX@us.army.mil 4. SERVICE AND SUPORT: N/A 5. COMMAND AND SIGNAL: CPT XXXXXX 93 d SIG BDE S3, DSN: 826-2664, Commercial: (757) XXX-XXXX Email: XXXX@us.army.mil
ACKNOWLEDGE:
GARRISON
COL
OFFICIAL:
Kuntz
S3
DISTRIBUTION: All
FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
[Photo: DoD]
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[...] Filecabi,http://www. filecabi.net. via Army Orders Bases: Stop Blocking Twitter, Facebook, Flickr | Danger Room | Wired.com. Tags: access, army, blocking, DOIM, websites This entry was written by jeredb and posted on June [...]
Good to see government making progress in opening up social media sites.
There’s a great community of about 12k government 2.0 professionals on the site I run and access issues are the #1 problem for people trying to use social media.
Steve Ressler
Founder, GovLoop.com – “Facebook for Government”
[...] Hello to Your Countrymen By Jess This is not necessarily true. I have a friend from elementary school who has actually Facebook chatted [...]
[...] The Army ordered its bases to stop blocking Twitter, Facebook and Flickr: http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2009/06/army-orders-bases-stop-blocking-twitter-facebook-flickr/ [...]
FOUO….
I find it rather amusing that they still block Photobucket, but allow Flickr, as well as a whole bunch of other photo-hosting sites. Wonder what it is about photobucket that the military doesn’t like (the Navy/Marine Corps network has photobucket blocked as well)
Weird what they allow and what they don’t, I suppose they have their reasons but it rather smacks of handholding as if upon entering the military, soldiers lose all common sense and can’t tell good from bad.
Of course they for get that every soldier with an iPhone or similar can watch YouTube videos, as well as everything else they block, on base.
93rd Signal sucks balls. Worst brigade in the Army.
I’m happy that our soldier have to opportunity to view their relative and friends from social website.
watch true blood online
Now if US Army had a Cyber War division.
Our Battalion’s Cyber weapons exercises
http://warintel.blogspot.com/2009/06/key-posts-cyber-warfare.html
Gerald
Anthropologist
Mmmmmm Blair….
@ibnsuleiman: Yes, it does seem weird from the outside. Yes, many soldiers lack common sense, and yes, the .mil has its reasons.
Here come the photos that LIEberman and whats-her-name are threatening congress about to protect their interests: http://rawstory.com/blog/2009/06/lieberman-and-graham-wage-their-own-private-cover-up-war/comment-page-1/
Lieberman and Graham wage their own private cover-up war
by Larisa Alexandrovna
Senators Joe Lieberman (I-Conn) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) have threatened all-out Congressional thermonuclear war over any additional release of detainee abuse photos. In a joint statement to the press, the duo is claiming that concern for national security is the impetus for such an aggressive move:
“We will employ all the legislative means available to us including opposing the supplemental war spending bill and attaching this amendment, which was unanimously adopted by the Senate, to every piece of legislation the Senate considers, to be sure the President has the authority he needs not to release these photos and any others that would jeopardize the safety and security of our troops.
“The release of the photos will serve as propaganda and recruiting tool for terrorists who seek to attack American citizens at home and abroad. We should strive to have as open a government as possible, but the behavior depicted in the photos has been prohibited and is being investigated. The photos do not depict anything that is not already known. Transparency, and in this case needless transparency, should not be paid for with the lives of American citizens, let alone the lives of our men and women in uniform fighting on our behalf in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere.
“Let it clearly be understood that without this legislation the photos in question are likely to be released. Such a release would be tantamount to a death sentence to some who are serving our nation in the most dangerous and difficult spots like Iraq and Afghanistan. It is this certain knowledge of these consequences of having the photos released that will cause us to vote against the supplemental and continue our push to turn our important amendment into law.”
[...] to a post in Wired.com’s Danger Room blog, the Army has changed its stance on allowing soldiers to access certain social media sites and [...]
[...] At Ease, Facebook, Twitter: Soldiers Can Access You On Base Now — MySpace? Not So Much [Time Wasters] Jun.11, 2009 in FeedNews The Army’s network administrators have stopped blocking base access to social networking sites including Facebook, Twitter and Flickr, as well as persona e-mail accounts, Wired reports. [...]
[...] The Army’s network administrators have stopped blocking base access to social networking sites including Facebook, Twitter and Flickr, as well as persona e-mail accounts, Wired reports. [...]
[...] Noah’s entire story, along with the full text of the operational order, here. [...]
[...] Noah’s entire story, along with the full text of the operational order, here. [...]
[...] Noah’s entire story, along with the full text of the operational order, here. [...]
Terrific! Now *WE* can start fighting the info war!
[...] Noah’s entire story, along with the full text of the operational order, here. [...]
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[...] orders Social Media sites unblocked Army Orders Bases to Stop Blocking Twitter, Facebook, Flickr | Danger Room | Wired.com __________________ Jason Physical Evaluation Board Forum Administrator New Members- Read [...]
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It is a welcome decision to allow the soldiers to use social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter and Flickr. It will definitely improve the morale of troops working in adverse conditions.Thanks.
Bijubina.
Rumsfeld learned with Abu Ghraib:
soldiers + cameras = WMD (weapons of mass DOCUMENTATION)
This kind of Soviet-style restriction is so often NOT OPSEC driven; it’s CYA for the senior “leadership”-driven.
[...] U.S. Army order issued on May 18th permits access to five social media sites (Facebook, Flickr, Delicious, Twitter and Vimeo) within [...]
interesting development to be sure. I wonder how long until the paranoid fringe appropriates this as another channel for disinformation.
here’s two related articles that you will enjoy too:
http://globalblognetwork.blogspot.com/2009/06/us-military-tweets-news-from.html
http://globalblognetwork.blogspot.com/2009/06/gov-accidentally-posts-sensitive-list.html
Lets hope that it doesn’t lead to more occurrences of the story at the second link!
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[...] story’ and to facilitate the dissemination of strategic, unclassified information.” (2) The Chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen is also hoping to leverage social [...]
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