OPSEC, the threat, and you...

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Gloria Wilson
  • 354th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
EIELSON AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska --  Operations security is always vital to mission success and although there may be times that the need to practice good OPSEC procedures increases, such as up-tempo operations like Red Flag-Alaska, Icemen need to understand that solid OPSEC needs to occur all the time. 

While bad OPSEC can lead to mission degradation and even put lives at risk, smart OPSEC can have the opposite effect. Doing your part in ensuring consistent security measures are applied to critical information can help ensure mission readiness. Everyone has a role in applying OPSEC and contributing to the security of the installation as a whole.

Staff Sgt. Darrell Ramey, 354th Fighter Wing OPSEC program manager, said it's easy to get complacent and think that personnel are not at risk in Alaska, due to its remote location, but cautions that adversaries still seek to actively collect and exploit available information here.

"Asymmetric warfare requires us to think and act while keeping the adversary's mindset in perspective," he said. "We must acknowledge the threat and react to protect information while preventing exploitation."

He explained that everyone needs to be informed about the ways adversaries try to gain access to information and what steps we can take to cut them off from that critical information.

First, all members should be familiar with the wing and unit critical information lists, the lists designed to capture information deemed most important to protect.

"All aspects of mission readiness are directly tied to our ability to protect information and information systems." said Mr. Robert Cologie, 354th FW Plans, Programs, and Combat Forces Integration chief. "Adversaries, old and new, are seeking information and synthesizing it into intelligence at a break-neck pace. Protection of information and information systems are vital to our national strategy and sound OPSEC practices are vital to counter ill intentions." 

Mr. Cologie added that Ralph Peters, noted military strategist and journalist, summed up the role information plays in the military today best with: "If petroleum based fuel powered the great armies of the 20th Century, 21st Century militaries run on information. Destroy or corrupt communications, data processing, and information storage networks and the capabilities of everything in our arsenal, from missiles to infantry platoons plummet." 

Reflecting on that statement one may be able to better grasp that the world is in an era that information is power. Also, it is important to note that whether or not information is obtained through a carelessly tossed note, an e-mail sent to an unsecure e-mail address, or from a person who said the wrong thing, that information can be sent anywhere in the world in a matter of seconds. 

By understanding how an adversary might try to gain access to our information, Sergeant Ramey said we can protect ourselves from putting our information at risk. Some of the common methods used to gain access to our information are surveillance - either electronically or in person - which he described as someone listening in on conversations, tapping into phone lines or intercepting e-mails.

Other forms of exploitation include: elicitation - individuals actively trying to gain information by asking questions, offering favors, money, gifts, etc.; imagery - individuals taking photos of key facilities, flightline, power plant, gates, aircraft, fuel storage, personnel, etc.; and dumpster diving - individuals gathering documents from trash or shred bins or unattended work areas.

"When everyone is aware of methods used against us, we can more efficiently apply countermeasures to protect our critical information," said Sergeant Ramey. "Countermeasures can effectively cut off our adversary's ability to collect against us."

Some countermeasures to bolster OPSEC integrity include:

Knowing your surroundings 

· Ensure all people listening have a "need to know" of any information you could be talking about.
· Don't talk shop while off duty - you could be giving out information to people that don't have a "need to know"
· Use secure communication - Secure Encrypted Telephones, Secret Internet Protocol Router Network (SIPRNET) and other as appropriate
· Don't discuss critical information over unsecured phones or e-mail or in unsecured environments.
· Don't try to talk around classified or critical information.
· It's better to go talk to someone in person than to risk a disclosure of information.
· Report the unusual
· Ensure all people in your work area belong - if someone is present that shouldn't be there, verify their credentials and make sure they are either escorted out of your work area or taken to the area they are trying to find
· If someone you don't know is asking you questions concerning your job, the materials you work with or other information that makes you feel uncertain, do not answer! Seek guidance and report it! 

The Air Force Office of Special Investigations has created the Eagle Eyes program to facilitate the gathering of key indicators at a central point. A series of unusual events can be connected to create a picture of a potential plan to collect intelligence, exploit personnel, or even strike against us. The 24-hour contact number for Eagle Eyes is 377-5130.

For more information about OPSEC in the 354 FW, call Sergeant Darrell Ramey at 377-5352, or Master Sgt. Joseph Zeigler at 377-5713 or your unit OPSEC monitors.