Do you think the military should block soldiers choice of websites?

I was reading an article and wondered what the rest of ATSers out there thought and didn't see anything concerning this after searching. Do you guys feel the Government should censor political websites from soldiers view. I will say that it seems the conservative sites are getting through just fine (imagine that!) but I would feel the same about it if the conservative sites were getting the block. I feel it would be wrong to censor any persons who are in combat risking their lives for our rights as well as theirs. They have the right to look at candidates for an election as they vote by absentee ballot and if anyone deserves the right to choose their vote carefully it are the men and women in the battle zones.

Please refrain from the I'm conservative so I think it's ok posts, though nobody will be that to the point. What really is the heart of the matter is the rights a soldier is fighting to keep are being taken away from them. I know it might be hard to imagine but just because they went to war does not automatically subscribe them to any one party.

I support the troops always even if I think the persons who put them into action made a bad choice. To take away a soldiers right to view any website is just plain wrong.

Well, here are the sources

Here
And Here

Whats your thoughts?

[edit on 15-2-2007 by shizzle5150]

I am a conservative and I don't think it's OK. Haha.

When I was overseas we were allowed to visit any website we could find, as long as their was no pornography, mind you this was almost 2 years ago. I'm sure it is the same way currently, but I still have some friends there and will send out some emails to find out a direct answer for you. Please give it a few hours if not a day or two, but I will get you your answer.

There are two sides to this coin.

If you join the military of your own free will, and you are paid by the military for the work you do, then you are an employee of the military. Since the military is part of the government, this makes you a government employee. Many businesses censor what their employees are or are not allowed to view on the internet (if anything at all). In this respect, I see no problem with the government deciding what they can and can't view on the internet while they are on the clock (they're always on the clock).

Of course, it might not be very ethical for the goverment to censor what the troops view on the internet. But when have you known the government to act from an ethics standpoint?

For our government to intrude on a citizens ability of choice is a direct violation of our Constitution.

Private Companies may be able to control what employees do while at work, they cannot enforce company policies outside of the workplace.

Those that we trust to defend our freedoms are not trusted by the government they risk their lives for?

Not surprising though, remember servicemen cannot even get relief from our judicial system for negligence or even purposeful harm cause to them while serving in the military. AGENT ORANGE ANYONE?

The freedoms we were promised are not guaranteed to the military. They might find out the truth.

Originally posted by pesky george
The freedoms we were promised are not guaranteed to the military. They might find out the truth.

Profoundly true and incredibly Orwellian.

I don't think so but I did have a friend in the military and he had trouble going to some sites. It was awhile ago so I don't remember them but they weren't political sites. They weird thing is that a few times their internet would be down but he could connect to yahoo chat. It was really weird because everything was down except that.

Originally posted by pesky george
For our government to intrude on a citizens ability of choice is a direct violation of our Constitution.

Private Companies may be able to control what employees do while at work, they cannot enforce company policies outside of the workplace.

If the Air Force/Military had banned sites on personally owned computers, then you might have a point, but on government owned equipment they're well within their rights to block anything they want. There are rules for the use of government computers- it's not a free for all.

Im currently in the army and our frredoms have'nt been taken away not to sure about the website thing though i will go where i want.

I'm not sure I want a soldier going on some radical, left-wing website and reading about how their mission is B.S., they are killing innocent Iraqi's, George Bush is an idiot, the U.S. is losing and has no hopes of winning, yada yada yada, right before he/she goes out on a mission where their fellow soldiers' lives depend on them and their confidence. Sorry for the huge run-on sentence! But I think we can all agree that we want our troops to be confident and on top of their game at all times. Now, if it's possible that reading certain things on the internet can undermine that confidence, shouldn't our military do what it can to prevent that? I mean, we can all agree, I'm sure, that morale is extremely important when fighting a war.

Now bear in mind that I'm speaking completely hypothetically, because I cannot prove that this is the case. We also need to understand that what's fair for us and what's fair for a soldier are two different things. They voluntarily gave up control of their lives for a certain length of time when they enlisted. So while our bosses can't get in our faces, call us "pig vomit" and tell us to "drop and give me 20", their bosses (drill sgts., etc) can. The fact that our military provides the soldiers with access to the internet is a priviledge. The accomodations and luxuries that are provided to our soldiers these days would make a WWI or WWII vet roll over in their graves. I'm not saying everything is peaches and cream, but still... Whether it is right or wrong, our government/military has the right to block certain content on the internet. Surely there must be some lines drawn. I don't think that the OFFICIAL websites of political parties and their candidates should be blocked. But I have no problem with them blocking pornography, anti-war sites, sites featuring pictures and videos of dead and dying soldiers, etc, etc.

The bottom line is that our soldiers are there to do a job and to work. They are not there to surf the net. There are plenty of other things to do with their free time, and I think our military does a fairly good job of keeping the troops occupied and entertained. If there is even a small possibility that certain websites could undermine the morale and convictions of our soldiers, which could possibly lead to injury, loss of life or even desertion, then I am all in favor of blocking certain websites. Our men and women in uniform have a job to do over there and I support them 110%. When they accomplish their mission and return home to their families then they can surf all over the net on their personal computers at home. In the meantime, they are under employment and under command 24/7 overseas. They understood when they enlisted that they were giving up some of the rights, liberties and priviledges of a private US citizen. And I really doubt that a few blocked websites is really on the top of our soldiers' minds anyway. Just as we dealt with blocked internet content in school, at the library or at work, they will deal with it just the same in the battlefield.

I am not sure if I can agree with it or not, but I can understand how they might want to block sites that speak poorly of the war effort as they hurt troop morale. Considering that most of the non-conservative sites are quite harsh on the war, this might be the reason. Like it or not, morale is a very important part of keeping a military in the field effective, and they do have the right to censor things that will be detrimental in that aspect.

Originally posted by BlueRaja

Originally posted by pesky george
For our government to intrude on a citizens ability of choice is a direct violation of our Constitution.

Private Companies may be able to control what employees do while at work, they cannot enforce company policies outside of the workplace.

If the Air Force/Military had banned sites on personally owned computers, then you might have a point, but on government owned equipment they're well within their rights to block anything they want. There are rules for the use of government computers- it's not a free for all.

...and just to add one more point, the network being used to get in and out of the base area is all military, they absolutely have the right to censor anything and everything that goes over it.

Originally posted by pesky george
For our government to intrude on a citizens ability of choice is a direct violation of our Constitution.

Private Companies may be able to control what employees do while at work, they cannot enforce company policies outside of the workplace.

With the exception of a very small number of states, they can, and DO enforce company policies outside of work. I think there's like 5 states where you can't be fired for something done outside of work, and that even includes conversations and personal 'freedoms'. Very public case a few years ago about a fat cat lawyer getting canned for buying a harley and riding on the weekends. Didn't fit company's image, fired. Sued, lost.