OPSEC violations?

Question

What exactly is an OPSEC violation. What should not ever be said, and what is ok to say?

I know the BASIC idea behind OPSEC, I was looking for more detailed information... (obviously nothing that could be considered a violation, lol)

Answer 1

Operation Security Violation. Never speak of or about a ongoing OP. When in doubt keep your mouth shut. As far as what is OK to say the safe answer is nothing unless told otherwise by chain of command.

Operations security (OPSEC) is a process that identifies critical information to determine if friendly actions can be observed by adversary intelligence systems, determines if information obtained by adversaries could be interpreted to be useful to them, and then executes selected measures that eliminate or reduce adversary exploitation of friendly critical information.

Answer 2

Opsec Violations

Answer 3

OPSEC violations differ command to command. When you get to your command (if you are in the Military) I would ask for the EEFI (Essential Elements of Friendly Information) list.
You should also recieve a OPSEC and security brief upon arrival.

Remember that OPSEC deals with Unclassified information that when combined with other unclassified information can be used to an enemy advantage - they get a little piece from you and others eventually they have most of what they need.

Most people consider leakage of classified information to be an OPSEC violation but is is actually a Security Violation.

OPSEC violations are almost never caught - the only instances I have seen are on BLOGS. Examples include talking in a public area about having trouble with a certain piece of equipment, supply difficulties and movement of leadership personnel.

Hope that helps

Answer 4

OPSEC... Operational Security

An OPSEC violation would be like a soldier calling home to his family, and reporting how many soldiers are in a certain area, discussing an upcoming mission over the phone, things like that...

Its pretty much anything that could possible give the enemy any kind of information that can hurt a soldier, unit, or a military effort all together.

Answer 5

There are several ways to violate OPSEC, but the foremost is giving information that will endanger the lives of troops either directly or indirectly.

This could be writing about an operation that is going to happen, talking in a public place about troop movements, plans, special equipment, etc.

When I was in Iraq, we had a problem with blogs. People were writing about things they shouldn't have. One fellow wrote about the death of some of our comrades. Not a bad thing in and of itself, but he went into graphic detail and posted it on the web.

This both gave the insurgency a boost of confidence by showing how detrimental their IEDs could be, as well as hurting the parents of these lads. (one of the parents found the blog and reported it. Needless to say, our blogger was disciplined)

As for what is OK, anything that is released through the high command or the PR people, and any information that is basically harmless or well known to the world at large.

Answer 6

BASICALLY IF YOU THINK ITS SENSITIVE DON'T SAY IT!

The OPSEC people would like for you to say nothing, nothing at all, everything is sensitive to them.
Basically and practically you don't want to discuss anything regarding his work over there. Be very careful about discussing where he is, what he does, his schedule, where he goes, ect. Phone conversations are easy to tap into, especially cell phones and most especially the Iraqi/Afghanistani ones. Also be careful what you post on myspace, even the photos can give away location and security of the FOB he live in. Its really pretty scary how ingenious these people are at getting what they want. I admit i tell my mom stuff i probably shouldn't, its hard and nearly impossible to be perfect. Just be careful what you say in public. Will the OPSEC police hunt you down, NO, but it is potentially dangerous.

Answer 7

Dave Stark has an excellent answer, as do some of the other contributors. It's worth noting that although material may not be 'CLASSIFIED,' it's still considered sensitive. Sensitive material includes drill schedules for ARNG units, social security numbers, unit strength reports, and training or work plans. None of this is classified, but it should only be discussed with people that 'need to know.' Letting any of this sensitive material out of your custody is an OPSEC violation.

Answer 8

An OPSEC violation could be something as simple as throwing a POD (plan of the day) into the trash instead of a burn bag, or any other item that while not classified can, when combined with other information, reveal intentions or plans that are classified. Improper disposal of classified information is covered under other instructions.

Answer 9

OPSEC violations would be revealing any type of classified information about an ongoing mission. With regard to family members, it would be things like when or where your soldier is deploying or redeploying, when or where your soldier is going to downrange, any missions they might go on, etc.

The reason of course being that the enemy has access to these public forums and can get that info easily to use against your soldier.

Answer 10

OPSEC is the acronym for Operations Security.

A violation of OPSEC would be releasing information to hostile elements that would inform them of our plans for the future -- for example, deployment schedules of units, the numbers and types of equipment they carry, where the next patrol is going, what route it will take, what support they will have, what is the unit's objective, etc.

So while it might be okay to say "My boyfriend is in the Army", it is less acceptable, and possibly dangerous, to say, "My boyfriend is a SAW gunner in the first squad, second platoon, Alpha Company, 3/152 Infantry, stationed in Kirkuk, and he's going on a sweep to Faisul at 2130 hours tonight to search for weapons caches."