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The Peoples Republican Army (PRA) intelligence officer reacted quickly to the news that an American unit was deploying to Cortina in the next 72 hours. CNN was already covering the surprise announcement and, as the PRA captain turned on his set, a CNN reporter announced from Fort Bragg, NC, that the 2d Brigade of the 82d Airborne Division had been tapped for the mission. Behind the talking head, the captain could see the Brigade sign outside its headquarters. He noted the unit designation, 325th Infantry, and smiled. He loved the Internet.

Firing up his computer, the captain quickly ran a search for U.S. Army links. The Army Homepage was at the top of the search results. He clicked and was immediately linked to the website. Within 30 minutes, the PRA knew the order of battle for the 2d Brigade, 82d Airborne Division. He had not only commanders' names and pictures, but also the names of their families. He knew assignment histories, education, and awards. Yes, the Internet was truly a treasure house; the PRA had the command and staff structure of the 2d Brigade down to company level. Depending on the unit's individual web page, he had pictures and names of company commanders and their first sergeants. He went in to see his commander, confident that his U.S. counterpart was not going to find a web page listing all the information on the PRA.

TTP: If that sounds at all far-fetched, it is not. That is EXACTLY how the 1-509 S2 section develops its Blue Force database. In many cases, units list key figures down to the company level along with pictures. Battalion leadership biographies go into complete professional, educational, and often personal details. All of that information violates standard OPSEC and force protection measures! The 1-509 Infantry (ABN), as the OPFOR at JRTC, does not offer up such information.

Remember the Name, Rank, SSN of Code of Conduct or survival, evasion, resistance and escape (SERE) training? What good does it do to train soldiers not to divulge tactical information or personal data if units are going to offer it up on a plate? The worldwide web is just that, a World Wide Web of information that can be accessed by anyone with a computer and a modem. Consider when publishing a unit web page whether it is wise to give the unit's complete order of battle and leadership structure. Unit leaders are high value targets so why make them easier to identify? Why offer personal data on tactical leaders that can be used as a PSYOP weapon? You can rest assured that had such information been available on the Internet in 1990, Saddam Hussein's intelligence staff would have been using it!

Use this thought as a guideline:

If you would like to know that about a potential enemy, the same potential enemy would like to know that about you!