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Loose lips still sink ships
Posted 8/20/2012 Updated 8/20/2012
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by Senior Airman Whitney Tucker
27th Special Operations Wing Public Affairs
8/20/2012 - CANNON AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. -- "Click, click, click," said Tech. Sgt. Shawn Donnell, 27th Special Operations Wing information operations NCOIC. "For many years that's all Operations Security meant to me, breezing through a PowerPoint every 12 months."
According to Air Force Instruction 10-701, the purpose of OPSEC is to mitigate the vulnerability of Air Force missions by eliminating or reducing successful adversary collection and exploitation of critical information.
"I like to think of OPSEC as a big, elaborate puzzle made up of tiny pieces," Donnell said. "Those little pieces are what our enemies are after. On their own, they are useless, but if you accumulate enough, these bits of information can be used to create a comprehensive picture. It's our responsibility to keep critical information in-house and out of enemy reach."
At Cannon Air Force Base N.M., critical information is most commonly leaked in one of four ways: elicitation, imprudent social media usage, mishandling of personally identifiable information, or failure to adhere to the wing's 100 percent shred policy.
Elicitation, or social engineering, occurs when an individual is manipulated into performing actions or divulging confidential information. Elicitation often takes place in social settings where a member is most likely to be caught off guard, Donnell said. Social media can also pose a risk to OPSEC when information about confidential topics, such as weapons systems and mission capabilities, are made public by web posters.
"Cannon personnel are required to shred all documents prior to disposing of them," he continued. "When you fail to do so, that information can fall into the wrong hands and have consequences you never imagined or intended. Our shred policy and PII policy go hand-in-hand in many ways. When PII is made available to the wrong people, it puts not only our personnel, but their families at risk."
Because many lapses in OPSEC can be attributed to ignorance, information operations personnel are doing everything in their power to educate Airmen and civilians alike.
"We conduct regular Heartlink briefings for military spouses," Donnell said. "During these meetings we inform them what is okay to talk about and what isn't. We also remind them what safe practices are for social media."
"To target our service members, we give Commando Pride Airman Center briefings for brand new Airmen," Donnell continued. "They are the future of our Air Force so it's important to set a firm foundation."
From turning wrenches on the flightline to instructing student loadmasters, Donnell has fulfilled many different roles in the world's greatest Air Force. But it wasn't until he became a part of the information operations team that the importance of safeguarding critical information really hit home.
"It was a wow moment," Donnell said. "I completed training for this position and I realized OPSEC is a lot bigger than death by PowerPoint. It's protecting our people and our assets; it's having control over the damage our enemies can inflict on us. I am a lot more aware of my own actions and that is what I hope for all of our members."
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