You Are The Vigilant of Your Marine's Safety: OPSEC/ PERSEC

As a Marine's girlfriend I came across OPSEC by chance.  I did not know what it was nor my Marine told me anything about it. Now that I'm taking the time to research a bit more about it, it is eye shocking how it is not only important for the family to understand the value of this but also for the military themselves.  The fact that there are stories about things gone wrong by a lose end in social media made me think that I should give this topic a priority. 

Loose Lips Sink Ships

OPSEC
 or Operational Security is about keeping safeguarded the information your military SO confided you. This is our most important job. We never know who may be listening or trying to gain information about our military.

Here is what you CAN’T share with anyone

1. Deployment dates. This includes when troops are deploying overseas and when they are redeploying back home.
2. Dates when military personnel leaves and return for R&R leave time.
3. Training. Information on where, how and why they train.
4. Numbers, equipment or other security information. Information about the number who are involved, the type of equipment or weapons systems they use.
5. Troop movements. When they are leaving for a mission or changing locations.

As a general guide, the following statements would violate OPSEC:

1. My soldier deploys in the 2nd week of November...or in three days...or next Tuesday...or in the next week. All of these statements reveal a date of deployment, even if it is not overly specific. If you must share, such as with friends or family, do so over the phone and not in a potentially public forum such as Twitter, Facebook, etc.
2. My husband's unit is leaving for three days to conduct OPFOR (opposing force) training in Louisiana. While they are gone, they will be doing activities x, y and z. This is too much information and is not necessary for anyone to know. You can generally say he is gone for training if you feel safe in doing so, but there's no reason to detail his training while he is gone.
3. Please say a prayer for my soldier's unit. They are leaving tomorrow night to go on a mission in Kabul. This puts the mission as well as his unit at risk. You can ask for prayers for him or his unit without giving out specific information.

Keep in mind that some units may have more specific and stricter OPSEC guidelines.

PERSEC or Personal Security consists in protecting your personal information. While the military is not as strict on PERSEC as they are on OPSEC, it is still an important aspect of security. PERSEC focuses on protecting information such as rank, your home address and information about your family.

As a general guide, the following statements would violate PERSEC:

1. Listing his specific job on social media. You dont want the enemy to know specifically what your man does. Don’t post pics where you can see your man’s job identification or rank on his uniform.
2. Don’t post count-up (or down) clocks to deployments.
3. If you receive a pic from your man, don’t share it online. A picture can provide a lot of information to the enemy including weapons systems and location. 

By posting the metadata (information linked to your photos or status updates) people can know where it was posted from.

If you question whether you should be talking about something, especially online, then don't. Ask someone first, such as your Soldier/Marine/Sailor before you say something that you may not be able to take back. Protecting our military personnel is a responsibility that rests on all of our shoulders. As family members, we can be responsible by keeping confidential information close to the vest and protecting what we know. 

OPSEC / PERSEC

To make sure you are complying with these requirements you can take an interactive web-based course that provides OPSEC awareness for military members, sponsored by the DOD here.

Obama's Coffee Cup Salute to the Marines

John F. Kennedy Jr.'s salute 

I love this picture, I have always liked it...

My bf texted me today and told me the Marines were on the news. "Well, what could it be?" I thought...and then I saw that. I’m not American, I couldn’t care less on what Obama does, I myself have been embarrassed by my president several times…but, once again, it’s the United States.

My bf is a Marine, an entity full of rules, for them and for us that follow them. Don’t do this, don’t do that…then, you would expect the Commander in Chief to act accordantly, right?

I’m a huge fan of protocol, I love it and I follow it. I didn’t like the action; it was not just having the coffee in his hand but not even looking at them. Is he the first one to violate the protocol?  No, but come on, Obama is the center of my PHD thesis, and he comes and do this.

For me, the outraged is the informality. Can Obama not take the time to return a simple salute, properly, only days after ordering US forces into action against the Islamic State in Syria? Respect is a big word, treat others the way you would like to be treated. Respect your parents, your elders...respect your fellow. As the Republican strategist Rory Cooper tweeded: “A proper military salute isn’t trivial. It’s also not a scandal. But Command-in-Chief needs to get it right out of respect & for optics.”

Obama's Coffe Cup Salute 

The gesture is apparently only weird to me, since the video was uploaded by the White House itself. I don’t know what the Communications Team was thinking. Now, I may reconsider my position regarding Sarah Palin.

So I feel hurt, now we went from Semper Fi to Semper Latte…so yes, that little kid’s pic has a new meaning to me now.

Soy un Infante de Marina

My bf is learning Spanish and yesterday he wrote me this: "Soy un Infante de Marina de los Estados Unidos".

Flawless writing, no misspellings...and I found that sexy as hell! So I wrote him: baby that s**%t is sexy! your getting yourself a treat if you get to say that correctly.

Then when we got to Skype that night I saw it in his face, he was about to open his mouth when I said: "NO! don't say it if you still don't know how to pronounce it correctly, don't break the magic."

haha it was so funny, well, it will only be funny for the girls that know the language but I thought about sharing since I still laugh when I remember it. 

Kisses

Honey

Getting Ready for the Marine's Ball - Protocol, How to Address People at Military Events

I consider myself pretty knowledgeable on etiquette (...that is because I have an specialty on it haha) and certainly the way military addresses themselves have a huge deal of protocol.

I will try to address some points here so you feel confortable while in a military event. While getting ready for the Ball, some questions came to my mind: Being a civilian in a military environment, how should I address them? Do the standard rules of protocol apply for them? Should I address them by their ranks?...do I have to know their ranks in the first place?

If you are the kind of person that thinks that everybody is the same, military or not,  then this article is not for you. Even though, as long as you use the basic protocol you will be good, this is for the ones that want to master the event.


If you ask my Marine boyfriend you would probably die with the answer :) He is very proud of what he does and has worked hard to get where he is, meaning yes, he wants to be recognized. First thing first, he expects me to learn the Marine's ranks. A complete list was submitted to me like a year ago, and I promised to be ready for the Ball, so, here I am. Not only I’m going to rock that list but I’m going to be the Queen of  protocol (I will also be tested by him on spot haha).


The first thing we need to know is: there is a difference between officers and enlisted. Addressing an enlisted as if they were officers won't make a good impression and it is even worst if you do the contrary, addressing an officer as an enlisted. Therefore, you need to know who is who.





To identify the rank (which will also tell you if they are officers or enlisted) you will need to look in different places depending on the uniform they are using and if they are in fact enlisted or officers, to locate the rank insignia.

Enlisted:

Cammies: collar.

Service Alfa/Bravo/Charlie and Dress Blues Alfa/Bravo/Charlie/Delta: side of the shoulder. 

Officers:

Cammies: collar.

Service Alfa: on top of the shoulder.

Service Bravo/Charlie: collar. 

Dress Blues Delta/Charlie: collar.

Dress Blues Alfa/Bravo: on top of the shoulder. 

Once you are able to identify if they are officers or enlisted then you have the following options:

Enlisted: no options here, sorry. If to address an enlisted, the proper way is by calling his/her rank or rank and last name. Do not call them “Sir/Ma’am”. Addressing them with the incorrect treatment may lead you to an an answer like: “SIR!  Don't call me sir, I work for a living!”. This is a civilian’s urban legend haha but just in case. For me, that would be very rude of them and I could die in despair if getting that answer but, well…be ready. They don't like it and some (salty old dogs) may even find it insulting. To do a good job, you must definitively call an enlisted by his/her rank, ex.: Corporal Brown.

It is very likely that you will be with someone in the military in this kind of events, so just wait to be introduced and then call them the same way the military person introduces them to you. Unless they are the same rank and friends, they will use protocol. If alone, always ask how to address them.

Officers: these are the easiest, in the way that if you fail to recognize the rank you can address them as “Sir/Ma’am” never “Mr./Mrs.” since this is only used in the Navy. If you want to go one step forward, then use the rank or rank and last name.

When I say “recognize” the rank I mean that you are able to distinguish between a Private from a Corporal, Sergeant, Staff Sergeant, etc. My Marine and I once went to a restaurant and he was wearing his Bravos. There was some kind of event were the police was acting as waiters to collect money for some charity. The officer that got our table mistakenly called my bf: lieutenant; he did not say anything back but I saw how his face disfigured, haha. Poor thing :) so yes, be careful.

There are some tricks that you will learn in your journey as how some ranks can go for shorter names (that I would only use if I’m friends with them) as Master Gunnery Sergeant can be addressed as "Master Guns", Master Sergeant as "Top" and  Gunnery Sergeants as “Gunny”. Marines often insist on the full title, ex.: Second Lieutenant Smith, Master Gunnery Sergeant Jones.


And remember, It is nice if a civilian correctly recognizes a rank when they are in uniform (and branch) but it is uncomfortable when they are wrong. If you are going to go all the way to the ranks, make sure you know them well.

Note: this applies for military events.  Be aware that the protocol varies from Branch to Branch, this specific one applies if you are in the Marine Corps family.

4th of July: Cards for the Troops

It seems I'm always stumbling upon new things, things I did not know about and since I'm determined to be the best Marine girlfriend that I can be I read it all :0

Who doesn't love mail? there is a certain "thing" about opening a letter that I can't replace with the electronic mail.

In my search of the "free" I came across some webpages offering free cards for the military, but when tried to used them they didn't seem effective: either they took too much time or they wanted some "payment" method even though they claimed to be free.

The truth is that by the time I was going to write this (last year :s) there were a couple of options but since the country is transitioning out of war (thanks God) the "free" part went away.

So I found this for you, it will enquire some sort of labor on your end haha but hey! military men love it.

1. Thank You for Your Service.  A printable. I will send one to my Marine, this one is simple but elegant and says it all.  You can find it at laura frances design blog. Just make sure you print it in a good quality paper.
2. Real Heroes.  A printable. You can find it at Happy Got Lucky.
3. 4th of July.  A printable. Find them at Greeting Island. By far the best ones, not comparing to the other printable I gave you but with the whole other webpages, that weren't many.
4. You could also check on my pinterest board, it has some great ideas on DIY cards.  I keep it updated so you always get new stuff to try. Get it here DIY Military Cards.

You could find other webpages but the cards were kind of tacky, and of course, there are the ones you get for money...but we are not there yet right? 

Hope you have fun with this, and let me know if you tried any!

Love,

Honey.

Volunteering: Soldiers Angels

There is a great pleasure about volunteering but with me one thing is for sure: I prefer to do it at my own rithem.  I'm not a fan of having to be at one place at a certain time; I'm a free spirit so I've always been more attracted to volunteering from home.  

I learned about Soldiers Angels during a very sad (love related) trip, at a Fisher House in Cincinnati.  I remember I saw a book called "May No Soldier Go Unloved" by Jeff Bader.  I look through the book and read something about an organization where people could volunteer at, it was Soldier's Angels.  I made a menthal note to look that up once I get home...

...and I did. Now let me tell you about this site/organization, which I love. 

Soldier's Angels is a volunteer-led public charity that provides aid and comfort to the men and women of the United States Army, Marines, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, and their families. It is an international organization with members in  U.S. states and several friendly countries who support America's men and women in uniform.  We are hundreds of thousands of volunteers in over 20 different teams and programs operating internationally to provide letters, care packages, and comfort items to the deployed, and support for their families at home. We also provide assistance to the wounded, continuing support for veterans, remembrances and comfort for families of the fallen, and immediate response to unique difficulties that military individuals and families can encounter. 

They don't discriminate, you don't have to be an American or live there to support them.  I'm not American and live in Europe!  They welcome everybody and they don't expect you to support with money, everything you can give is well received.  To be a member, I did a small donation of 1 dollar!

Soldiers' Angels began with a mother of two American soldiers, Patti Patton-Bader. Her eldest son, Staff Sergeant Brandon, deployed to Iraq from 2003-2004 and her youngest was deployed to Iraq from 2007-2008. In the summer of his deployment, Brandon expressed concern that some soldiers in his unit did not receive any mail or support from home. Patti quickly contacted a handful of friends and extended family and asked if they would support a soldier or two. Within just a few months Soldiers' Angels went from a mother sending a few extra care packages and letters to an Internet community with thousands of Angels worldwide. 

These are some of the things you can do:

• Adopt a Soldier:  they assign you an adopted soldier, and after you receive an email with information about him or her you can then begin sending your letters and care packages.
• Join the Craft Team: Operation Top Knot is a network of service clubs and individuals who sew, knit and shop to create gift baskets for infants and expectant mothers in military families. They also assemble and deliver gift baskets full of goodies such as bottles, diapers, onesies, pacifiers, washcloths, grooming kits, and more.  They also make sure to remember Dad by sending "It's a Boy!" or "It's a Girl!" bubblegum cigars to wherever he is stationed.
• 


Family Support: Operation Outreach supports the homefront. Deployment isn't just hard on a hero, it's extraordinarily difficult for their family as well. Military families worry, struggle, and sacrifice, and Operation Outreach says “Thank You” to these unsung home-front heroes. 
  The request is for cards and letters of support for family members but also provides gifts to help make a birthday or holiday special, coordinates with Angels in local areas to provide ongoing support, links military families with e-pals or pen pals who know what they're going through, and provides limited financial assistance. 

•  


Sewing Teams: The Sewing Team supports the troops through sewing skills. 
• Wounded Team: lend support during the difficult time when a hero is ill or wounded. Team members send cards and letters of support to service members who are sometimes suffering catastrophic injuries and need to know they are not forgotten. 
• 


Writing Teams:
 The Cards Plus Team is dedicated to supporting service members, their families and even other Angels through encouraging cards and notes at special times. The Letter Writing Team is a group of Soldiers' Angels who enjoy writing to service members and who know how important it is for a deployed service member to hear his or her name called at mail call. This is the team I'm at!

I'm doing my PHD and money is scare so my contributions are not money based.  They don't care! What ever you can do is valuable for them.   I'm currently at the Letter Writing Team and the Wounded Team.  They also have a forum where the Angels talk about different things and some times give some more names of military personnel in need of a letter or other Angels needing a postcard from your state or country for their soldier's scrap book :) You'll be hooked!

There are more different things you can do through them.  Please, go check their site and read a bit more, I assure you will fall in love with their cause as I did.  

Proud to be an Angel, from wing tip  to wing tip,

Honey

May No Soldier Go Unloved

May No Soldier Walk Alone

May No Soldier Be Forgotten

'Til they All Come Home.

References: 

https://soldiersangels.org/

Cup of Joe: Green Beens Coffee Military- How to Do It

Does your loved one in the military loves coffee? Or maybe you just want to be a great fairy Godmother and gift away some coffee? Then Green Been Coffee is your wizard.  This guys have been serving coffee at bases overseas since 1996!

This is how it works:

It’s a pre-paid deal called the Green Beans Coffee Card.   They can be purchased at their web page Green Beans Coffee by clicking the Coffee Card tab. The cards start at $20 and they will add an additional 10% to your Coffee Card's face value.  How great is that?! One thing, you need to know the person you are sending the card to because they will ask you for his/her email address.  It will take some hours for your friend or loved one to be notified via email to pick up the card at his or her local Green Beans café for use in purchase of coffees, teas, smoothies or snacks.

If you cant spend that much but still want to support a service member, you could go to Cup of Joe to a Joe which is the program they have that supports the troops and allows your to send coffee for less money.

This is how it works:

Step 1: Choose your gift: each $2 provides a different Service Member with a Cup Of Joe gift. Here you choose the amount you want to spend.


Step 2: Write Your Message

After you push the BUY button, you'll see a form where you can write your message that will be delivered with each of your Cup Of Joe gifts.

Step 3: Enter your payment information.   You can use a major credit card or PayPal!

Step 4: They'll deliver your gift.

The message you write is delivered to our Troops by email and the freshly brewed cups of coffee are served at Green Beans Coffee cafes on the bases where they're deployed. They'll also give each Service Member a chance to respond - and most of them do, so watch your email for their letters!

The only difference between these two options is that by buying a card you can send the coffee to a specific serviceman (or woman), by using the program your destinatary will be selected randomly.

And then there is the Box of Joe for a Joe…I know I would like to receive a box of coffee!

Each $7 Box Of Joe (BOJ) gift delivers 6 cups of 100% pure freeze dried Colombian Coffee to one Service Member on the front lines plus a fresh Cup Of Joe (COJ) gift to one Service Member at a Green Beans café.

As they say its "an opportunity to connect with and express our support for our men and women in uniform through the simple act of buying a cup of premium coffee and having it delivered along with our own personalized message of thanks to an anonymous Soldier, Airman, Marine or Sailor serving overseas". 

My bf doesn't like coffee or tea (yeah, crazy right?) but anyways is a good option for those there that have loved ones that are crazy about his precious liquid.

Hope it helps!

Honey