Marines Cut Social Networking Access

The US Marines have decided to block all social networking sites from its networks, effective immediately. The driving force behind the new ban is the fear of info leakage and the risk to operation and communications security. In contrast, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff have an active presence on Twitter, the DoD is setting up a new site complete with social networking tools, and the Army allows access to Facebook on all its bases.

Now it all boils down to “mission critical need” whether the Marines will allow Web 2 access while continuing to offer its own brand of social networking within its networks.

Absent from the announcement to ban social networking is the consideration of the Marines themselves. The rules of war have changed over the years, it’s certainly not your daddy’s Army, and all the tech advances in communication has offered much more than just a pen and paper with which to write home. While it may be argued that constant communication with “home” is a distraction that soldiers can’t afford, so can you argue that the closer ties to “home” ease worry and therefore a much larger distraction.

Let’s consider those soldiers on the ground putting their asses on the line first and foremost. What do you say?