Kat Schultz

There are a few website’s I visit occasionally. We all have them. Those sites you read, but don’t actually love, yet like clockwork, there you are reading more articles and information that you really could care less about… except, perhaps the gossip of them.

For me, most of these sites are military related… in some sense. I am after all a military spouse. It keeps me in the loop and gives me something to discuss with my husband once in awhile. I am, when all is said and done, a woman. And as a woman, I cannot help but point out things that are probably better left unpointed-out. So I try to pretend my husband actually cares when I am telling him all about “This woman, she actually did THIS, how stupid of her… and these other women??? They are saying she should do that and she is probably listening to them RIGHT NOW, and whoosh, there goes THAT chicks marriage.”

I am also big on OPSEC. Which is why when I read this in conjunction with another story recently posted on an “ask  Ms. Vicki” forum, it really got me thinking.

First, the post I had read (which I cannot find the link to at the moment) was about a woman who had met a soldier online. He sweet talked her and they began an online relationship. He would send her pictures of himself and said he was currently deployed. She wanted to talk to him on the phone and he told her that she had to have permission to contact him, and made her send copies of certain documents to a random email address, claiming it was governmental. These documents included a copy of her I.D., Passport and Social Security card (IIRC). The woman was dumb enough to send it. WHO DOES THAT!? Anyhow, he eventually started asking for money, a lot of money, to help him with pay off his ex-wife. It finally dawned on her that he might be lying. WHAT IN THE WORLD, LADY!?

Anyhow, awhile back there was a debate on banning social sites, such as Facebook, from military usage. When it was decided it would not happen, they did something I found appalling; they let employees access these sites while at work. Whaaaaat? Yeah, I know, stupid and stupid.

Apparently, these scams are popping up all over. They are in-line with the good old “Send me your bank account information and $600,000.00; cash and you can claim the $5 million that is sitting in an off-shore account that once belonged to the King of Jimbobwooloo.” So, these people are popping on to social networking sites, like Facebook, and stealing information on various U.S. military personal. Photo’s, names, you name it. They then claim to be this person and meet women and/or men on various other sites and forums and chat rooms and make elaborate stories up and lead people on, creating relationships with them in hopes of obtaining information to most likely use for identity theft.

I am not against online relationships and am not against helping out your online friends. But, I am against people who are old enough to know better being stupid enough to fall for this crap.

Even worse, I am starting to think that perhaps Social Networking websites should be restricted. Yeah, yeah, I know… It’s against freedom of…. Social Networking?? So, because I doubt that the military will ever ban Social Networking sites like Facebook from U.S. military members use… I do wish that military members would be a bit more cautious. This poor sod out there has his information hijacked and used to scam some poor desperate lady out of HER information.

I think I am nearly done with Facebook, myself. I intend on removing my Facebook in the near future. I also fully plan on watermarking all of my photos to reflect the website they come from. That way, I don’t find out that my husband has turned into some Arab prick scamming little desperate ladies. What a shock it would be to find out that my husband owes me alimony and cannot afford to pay me off! Heh.

It’s time to start protecting ourselves, people! Let’s do it!

I am a major supporter of OPSEC. I firmly believe that ALL spouses should be REQUIRED to take an OPSEC course upon agreeing to marry military persons. I mean, why not? This IS the military after all, and the military is not set to the same laws and standards (high or low) as the rest of the country. If it can save lives and ensure the success of our military missions and operations then why not force us to take a class on it? And all you naysayers out there, you’re part of the damn problem. “I am not in the military! The military has no right to tell me what I have to do!” Right, that’s okay. Just remain uneducated. Half the damn spouses don’t even know what OPSEC is, else I wouldn’t see so many dang posts stating down the very minute their husbands will be home from their deployments.

The military men (and women, I need to start including these rare beauties with their civilian spouses) need to be diligent in their efforts to educate their spouses. Mine own husband was extremely pressing in matters including OPSEC. I learned very quickly that OPSEC had not only meaning to ensure his safety and his missions safety, but that he would NOT tolerate a stupid wife with a large flapping mouth. He was never harsh and never cruel, but he did instill the importance of OPSEC on me before we were married. He takes it very seriously and so do I. There are times when I have doubts about what I can and cannot say, or should and should not say. But, I have given myself a motto: When it doubt, leave it out. Catchy, ain’t it?

I don’t expect many civilian’s to actually understand our lifestyle. It’s very different from their own. Even family, it’s hard to make them understand why my husband will not say specific dates and locations over the phone. If you truly believe that it’s safe, you’re a fool! The only time information should ever be passed is in person. Even then it is better that details are left out.

Here are some examples of how I answer typical questions:

If my husband wants to privilege people with this information, that is up to him to do. But, I won’t do it. It is not my place to, and you just NEVER know who is listening. Or who is really on your side, for that matter.

There is an old saying “Loose Lips Sink Ships.” It originated during WWII, in an effort to educate others on the importance of not giving out information about their spouses, children and friends who were deployed to prevent possible spies from obtaining the information to harm the U.S. soldiers and thwart missions.