October 22, 2004
Army wary about loose lips
Brian at FutureWire - via Clippings - picks up on a well thought piece by USA Today on how technology and the Internet is affecting our knowledge about the war in Iraq: “With cell phones and the Internet, the military's ability to censor what is reported home (by our troops) has sharply diminished.”
"During World War II, a letter that took months to arrive was the only form of communication from the front lines. Today, American men and women fighting in Iraq often have instant communications with friends and families in the USA.
And while cellphones and e-mails have helped boost morale for those serving in the military, they have also caused new challenges for commanders in the field, who can face second-guessing of their decisions almost immediately by friends and relatives of service personnel. The instant communication can also cause problems for Defense officials in Washington, who would prefer a tighter grip on reports from the battlefield."
From prison camps to the front lines, pocket cameras and cellphones — many capable of whizzing uncensored digital images home — are nearly as standard among soldiers' gear as rifles, dog tags and ammunition.
The latest example of how this is changing the dynamics of war came last week, when 18 members of the 343rd Quartermaster Company in Iraq refused to carry out a supply mission they thought would be too dangerous. One member of the unit called her mother to tell her of the decision and how she and others “are now prisoners.” Other soldiers who were friends of the 18 made similar calls.
Those calls resulted in widespread publicity, in turn triggering calls by a congressman to investigate the incident. The military has launched a review of the incident."
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