Policy or no?

Austin from Matt in Afghanistan is posting again:

What a stir.

Over the past couple days, this blog has been temporarily offline at the request of my higher-ups in the forces. Agreeing with this request, I took the posts offline for the time being and talked with my mom.

"Mom," I said over MSN Messenger, "I've been asked to take my postings offline for a little while as (my higher-ups) deal with blogging in camp."

My mom didn't have to say anything, but knowing her my whole life, I knew she would be hurt that I wouldn't be allowed to post anything for the time being.

"I can have a blog though, mom," I said to her, "I just need to list it with the Army."

The Army requires people to list their blogs so that they may keep track of information that may possibly be mission critical. Anything that may jeopardize the mission can't make it online (for good reason) and anything that would put soldiers lives, or the lives of their friends and family back home, at risk is best kept for the soldiers daily journal. These are secrets even better left in their heads, maybe to be released years later when it is alright to tell people of their stories.

I'm in the process of finding out from Public Affairs if indeed the CF has a blogging policy requiring registration of the blog and monitoring for OpSec. That's what it seems Austin is saying here:

At no time has the Army attempted to censor my blog and even now it does not censor any writings but instead monitors each addition for mission-specific information. The request to temporarily make my postings unavailable came as I failed to register my blog with the Army and, having failed this, alerted Ottawa that I may be making public information that should remain secret for the protection of our soldiers and the mission.

But that's not what was quoted in the TorStar article I referenced in yesterday's post on the topic.

I think blogging has tremendous potential for the CF, especially since so few in the mainstream media have much understanding of the military they're sometimes forced by events to cover. It's a niche role, but a single blog post can be the thin edge of the wedge for a story or a shift in opinion. Given the success (or lack thereof) the CF has in telling its story in the traditional press, exploring the usefulness of online media can't hurt.

So I'm going to pursue this a bit more, and see if Canadian milbloggers can really make a difference in the perceptions and opinions of the Canadian public. I hope we can. And I hope the CF is willing to help us help them.

Update: Apparently there's an interim draft policy that's been developed by the commanders in Afghanistan, which I expect will hold force until the CF can develop more formal guidance. It's a start.