OPSEC Newsletter

In This Issue:

Chat with the Chief

DoD Websites

Conference Update

FY13 OPSEC Regional

Training Events

Family OPSEC

OPSEC History

Historic OPSEC Posters

2013 National OPSEC

Conference is cancelled.

Please read how we are

addressing this, and be

sure to check our

website for more

training and education

options as they become

available.

www.ioss.gov

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Many thanks to those

who have contributed

articles and information

to this Newsletter!

Winter 2013

Think. Protect. OPSEC.

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Since our last publication, we have lost one of the original Purple Dragon team, Rear Admiral (RADM) Donald “Mac” Showers. Part of the initial 16 person team, RADM Showers was better known for convincing Admiral (ADM) Chester Nimitz that the Japanese might be targeting Midway. Based on the cryptologic achievements of the team

that deciphered the Japanese Navy messages, ADM Nimitz was able to get his force in position and in time to defend Midway.1 Less well known to the general public, but arguably as important, was his role as head of the Purple Dragon team. Under his direction, the team conducted a survey of all the processes associated with operations planning and execution. This survey included reviews of communications methods, reviews of movement of personnel and equipment, and personal interviews with each person performing an action related to the mission, from drafting messages to pilot communications. The methodology used by the team became the core processes known today as Operations Security, or OPSEC.2 We will miss the Admiral; however, as we celebrate 25 years of National Security Decision Directive (NSDD) 298, we know that his contributions on behalf of OPSEC will endure. You will see below updated information about the National OPSEC Conference, which is cancelled. We regret this decision, and are looking into more, and innovative, ways to get the word out about OPSEC.

1 “Course to Midway – Rear Admiral Donald Showers USN”

http://www.navy.mil/midway/showers.html 2 2008 National OPSEC Conference program “20 Years of Excellence in Operations Security”

In This Issue:

Chat with the Chief

DoD Websites

Conference Update

FY13 OPSEC Regional

Training Events

Family OPSEC

OPSEC History


2013 National OPSEC




sure to check our

website for more



available.

www.ioss.gov

______________




to this Newsletter!

Winter 2013


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e2

DoD Websites There are some great Department of Defense (DoD) websites you might want to bookmark. One focuses on social media and the other is a useful dictionary of military and associated terms. The Social Media Hub website (http://www.defense.gov/socialmedia/) includes a link to Education and Training information, links for Terms of Service Agreements, Site Registry and DoD policies, plus links to the DoD Component Social Media portals. The Education & Training page has a plethora of PDF files; web based training links, slides, and videos ranging from Best Practices for Keeping Your Home Network Secure, to Organizational Level OPSEC: Vulnerabilities and Indicators, to YouTube Uses in the Field. The website for the DoD Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms, 8 November 2010 as amended Through 15 November 2012, (http://www.dtic.mil/doctrine/dod_dictionary/), includes a PDF of the Joint Publication 1-02, a searchable link, and a browse-by-letter capability. In addition to the definitions, there is also a tab for military and associated acronyms. Other links on this website include the Joint Electronic Library (JEL), Universal Joint Task List (UJTL), Capstone Concept for Joint Operations (CCJO), Joint Doctrine, Education & Training Electronic Information System (JDLIS), Doctrine Networked Education & Training (DOCNET), and Joint Publication Executive Summary Podcasts. Please note: access to some of these sites is regulated by PKI.

Conference Update

In light of the current fiscal climate, IOSS will be cancelling this year’s National OPSEC Conference. To ensure OPSEC information is still available, the IOSS will be exploring the following interim options:

http://www.defense.gov/socialmedia/

http://www.dtic.mil/doctrine/dod_dictionary/

In This Issue:

Chat with the Chief

DoD Websites

Conference Update

FY13 OPSEC Regional

Training Events

Family OPSEC

OPSEC History


2013 National OPSEC




sure to check our

website for more



available.

www.ioss.gov

______________




to this Newsletter!

Winter 2013


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Scheduling Continuing Education Seminars via the virtual learning platforms (DCO and CENTRA)

Exploring options for integration of OPSEC presentations into other events

Exploring new awareness resources to be made available via the IOSS Website (www.ioss.gov)

Posting recorded presentations on the IOSS website

Please stay tuned and watch the www.IOSS.gov website for new information.

Family OPSEC When loved ones get deployed, it can be an emotional event, especially with concerns about their safety. However, there is something that you as a family member can do to help keep them safe; it is called Operations Security, or OPSEC. What is OPSEC? OPSEC is protecting critical information which can in turn, protect your loved ones. As a family member of the military community, you play a crucial role in protecting their wellbeing. Here are a few examples of deployment critical information to protect:

1) The unit’s deployment dates 2) The exact location where the unit is deployed 3) Detailed information about the mission or deployment

http://www.ioss.gov/


In This Issue:

Chat with the Chief

DoD Websites

Conference Update

FY13 OPSEC Regional

Training Events

Family OPSEC

OPSEC History


2013 National OPSEC




sure to check our

website for more



available.

www.ioss.gov

______________




to this Newsletter!

Winter 2013


Pag

e4

It is important to remember that the bad guys get most of their information from “open source” materials such as newspapers, television, social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, blogs, chat rooms, and many more. The posting of critical information in these sources could jeopardize the safety of your loved ones, as well as the safety of the entire unit. Unless you really know a person, you can never be sure who you are talking to or who is looking at your social media page. Remember to be cautious about what you post and what you say about military deployments. Do your part in contributing to OPSEC to help keep our military members out of harm’s way!

OPSEC History In 1988, NSDD 298 was signed, codifying OPSEC and naming the National Security Agency (NSA) as Executive Agency. 2012 was NSA’s 60th Anniversary, and the following piece was written to help celebrate that anniversary.

FY13 OPSEC Regional Training Events

March Regional Training in Indianapolis, Indiana

Sponsor: DFAS, 20-28 March

Courses Offered: OPSE-1500, OPSE-2500 and OPSE-3500

August Regional Training in Chesapeake, Virginia

Sponsor: Coast Guard, 1-9 August

Courses Offered: OPSE-1500, OPSE-2500 and OPSE-3500

Please visit www.IOSS.gov for a list of additional training

opportunities offered by the IOSS and by our training partners.


In This Issue:

Chat with the Chief

DoD Websites

Conference Update

FY13 OPSEC Regional

Training Events

Family OPSEC

OPSEC History


2013 National OPSEC




sure to check our

website for more



available.

www.ioss.gov

______________




to this Newsletter!

Winter 2013


Pag

e5

The traditional view of OPSEC has its ties in the formation of human combat. Ever since the first humans began warring for territory and resources, OPSEC has always been a key to the success or failure of a mission or objective. OPSEC is a process that identifies friendly, critical and unclassified information to determine what actions can be observed by an adversary; determines if information obtained by adversaries could be interpreted to be useful to them; and then executes selected measures that eliminate or reduce the risk of exploitation of friendly critical information. Beginning in the Vietnam era, the United States set out to review its security posture from the vantage point of the enemy. This new positioning was created as a result of abject failures during combat operations; after attacking specific targets, U.S. Forces would withdraw, but not see the rate of damage/destruction promised via intelligence reports. Somehow the enemy seemed aware of the operational strategy employed by the U.S. and was able to successfully predict strike times, size of the forces and locations of attack. U.S. combatant commanders sought to find out why. The commanders created a team of military and civilian personnel to investigate this Vietcong awareness. After researching the issue, it was discovered that unclassified information released without consideration of its sensitivity could be used to piece together a picture of strategic movements and operations. Using newspaper sources, word of mouth,

In This Issue:

Chat with the Chief

DoD Websites

Conference Update

FY13 OPSEC Regional

Training Events

Family OPSEC

OPSEC History


2013 National OPSEC




sure to check our

website for more



available.

www.ioss.gov

______________




to this Newsletter!

Winter 2013


Pag

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unencrypted communications, and supply shipment information, the team saw how an enemy force can use mundane information to form a hypothesis of where U.S. Forces would attack next. Once this information was given to the commanding officers, the U.S. began to employ counter-strategies in order to offset the damage this unclassified information was having on the war effort. Thus, began the formation of what we know today as Operation PURPLE DRAGON. From its beginnings in 1966 and 1967, PURPLE DRAGON proved to be one of the most effective operations ever put together by the U.S. Military. It prompted investigations into how the military massed and executed their forces and subsequently compared this to the flow of information from combat operations. Thus, unsecured information regarding troop operations was scaled back so that valuable and exploitable information could no longer flow as easily to the enemy.

Today, we still see the results of Operation PURPLE DRAGON with the institution of the National OPSEC Program mandated by the Reagan Administration, and with our nation’s posture on creating a balance of transparency, with needed secrecy.

These new postures have enabled a limited flow of data to the enemies of the United States and have saved countless lives. As threats continue to grow and as the world becomes a more dangerous place, OPSEC will always be there to protect our most precious commodity: information.

In This Issue:

Chat with the Chief

DoD Websites

Conference Update

FY13 OPSEC Regional

Training Events

Family OPSEC

OPSEC History


2013 National OPSEC




sure to check our

website for more



available.

www.ioss.gov

______________




to this Newsletter!

Winter 2013


Pag

e7

Historic OPSEC Posters In honor of NSDD’s 25th Anniversary, on the next couple pages and scattered throughout the Newsletter, are some OPSEC posters from years past.

In This Issue:

Chat with the Chief

DoD Websites

Conference Update

FY13 OPSEC Regional

Training Events

Family OPSEC

OPSEC History


2013 National OPSEC




sure to check our

website for more



available.

www.ioss.gov

______________




to this Newsletter!

Winter 2013


Pag

e8

In This Issue:

Chat with the Chief

DoD Websites

Conference Update

FY13 OPSEC Regional

Training Events

Family OPSEC

OPSEC History


2013 National OPSEC




sure to check our

website for more



available.

www.ioss.gov

______________




to this Newsletter!

Winter 2013


Pag

e9

Documents

OPSEC Newsletter