US Army bans soldiers from viewing The Guardian website

reply to post by MildBill


They tried to recruit me coming out of college years ago due to having had a relevant MOS and an engineering degree. It sounded interesting in more than one way (long story) but I'd had enough of that sort of thing and declined. It would also have ended my marriage on the spot.

reply to post by Bedlam


I dropped out of college in '64 and enlisted in the Air Force. And what did they do...sent me right back to college. Russian language school at Syracuse University. All in all it was an interesting time and I had great experiences.

So you were Army, what was your MOS? Air Force was AFSC; I was a 203, Voice Intercept Processing Specialist.

Originally posted by Bedlam

Originally posted by MildBill

As far as I'm concerned it was history, not current intel. I knew I was not compromising any classified information!!

I was typing some Top Secret "Codewords" and unspecified details when all of a sudden my typing ceased to be controlled by me. I no longer could type anything else and my entire reply was deleted in front of my eyes!! I swear to God!

Yeah, occasionally that happens to me, only it's my better sense kicking in and I delete what I just typed. The rule is, if I hesitate three times I abort the post. Saves a lot of trouble.

Military personnel don't work for NSA. Some units specialize in collecting data for NSA, it is true. They do little else. But they work for their particular service, not NSA directly. They're generally trained these days in a place near and dear to my heart, Corry Station. Which also trains SOCOM operators and whatnot.

Ahhhh, Corry Station...i was there so many times i think i've lost count, mostly good memories.
.
I think the command is Center for Information Dominance, now?

Originally posted by Bedlam
Well, there's a question. You guys HAVE heard of SCS, right? It's sort of like NSA's direct action group.

Yeah, they're kinda like the "spookest" of the spooks. Go to those hard to reach places.

reply to post by Kram09


This is the same argument people tried using to defend wikileaks. The information they are leaking is classified information. As has been stated before and again now, some of these leaks are so sensitive that even knowing the name of the project can cause a violation.

The Guardian's articles are based on the leaked classified information.

I find it sad that people in this thread, who dont understand how the military works, want to attack the rank and file for a decision made at the top. The people voluntarily joined the service and as such knew EXACTLY what the requirements are, including giving up some of their consitutional rights voluntarily.

Its not a prerequisite for a person to have the actual classified document sin hand to breach that part of military law. Even discussing it can violate the law. The part people are not understanbding is possession in this instance covers knowledge of.

It would be like court officers leaking secret grand jury testimony prior to a decision being made. They dont have to leak the actual documents to break the law, all they have to do is talk about it.

reply to post by MildBill


Can you get U2Us yet?

reply to post by Bedlam


I don't know about U2U. Is that private communications between ATS members? I don't know how it works, or if I have it or not, or where to go to find out about it. Could you please advise?

I'm an old fart from a bygone analog era struggling to catch up to digital! Please excuse my incompetence, this old dog is trying to learn new tricks!

reply to post by MildBill

See if a banner pops up that says 'messages'

Just for completeness, this is the Guardian UK covering its own site being blocked by the US army.

US army blocks access to Guardian website to preserve 'network hygiene'

The US army has admitted to blocking access to parts of the Guardian website for thousands of defence personnel across the country.
A spokesman said the military was filtering out reports and content relating to government surveillance programs to preserve "network hygiene" and prevent any classified material appearing on unclassified parts of its computer systems.
The confirmation follows reports in the Monterey Herald that staff at the Presidio military base south of San Francisco had complained of not being able to access the Guardian's UK site at all, and had only partial access to the US site, following publication of leaks from whistleblower Edward Snowden.
The Pentagon insisted the Department of Defense was not seeking to block the whole website, merely taking steps to restrict access to certain content. But a spokesman for the Army's Network Enterprise Technology Command (Netcom) in Arizona confirmed that this was a widespread policy, likely to be affecting hundreds of defence facilities.

reply to post by Bedlam


OK, I found "messages" and your U2U to me, but when I tried to reply it indicated I could only communicate with ATS staff. I assume it's the number of posts I have.

reply to post by MildBill


Yeah its a post count thing, although rereading it this phone dropped an E off, for some reason if you cap a letter in the middle it tries to fix the word. Ain't technology wonderful.

reply to post by Bedlam


Roger that about technology! ATS should offer a short tutorial. I realize this is second nature for the digital generation, but I'm sure there are other "senior citizen" members like me that would really appreciate it.

Originally posted by bigyin
This is the freedom the US army is tasked with bringing to the rest of the planet.

We are bringing "Our Freedom" via the military and Corporate Fascism via the Government to the rest of the world.

Originally posted by jacobe001

We are bringing "Our Freedom" via the military and Corporate Fascism via the Government to the rest of the world.

If I may be so bold, how bout we let a Marine General re-phrase that for you.

“I spent thirty-three years and four months in active military service as a member of this country's most agile military force, the Marine Corps. I served in all commissioned ranks from Second Lieutenant to Major-General. And during that period, I spent most of my time being a high class muscle-man for Big Business, for Wall Street and for the Bankers. In short, I was a racketeer, a gangster for capitalism.” ― Smedley D. Butler