Military Loved Ones and the Internet
By Libby Hopkins
Until Vietnam, American wars were truly an enigma to families and the country back home. Still photos, long awaited letters, films created by United States officials, and news reports whose information came from government spokespeople were all that loved ones and the American public could see. In contrast, due to most American families having television in their homes by the time of Vietnam, actual visual footage of war was broadcast directly into regular Americans’ living rooms.
Fast forward to the present, real time news with graphic visuals transmitted digitally by embedded reporters is commonplace. Further, loved ones can often communicate with their deployed service members in actual time via email, text or Facebook messaging, and can even see one another and the troops’ surroundings while communicating via Skype, Face Time or the like. Consequently, parents, spouses and other loved ones can have access to up-to-the-minute information about the service member and his/her unit’s whereabouts, combat situation, location, movements, schedule and leave expectations. When a loved one gets excited and innocently shares that information with friends and loved ones publicly on social media, there can be dire consequences.
Something as simple as, “So excited that John’s coming home from Fallujah on Thursday in time for the birth of the baby”, posted on Facebook or Twitter, could trigger consequences ranging from the entire unit’s leave being delayed or cancelled, to tipping off the enemy as to the unit’s plans to move out, possibly jeopardizing missions, damaging national security, causing territory to be overtaken or even the loss of American or allied troops, or civilian lives. » Read more
