OPSEC Brief - Air Force style

[jarhead]

my 2¢ on the topic ...

attached is a .pdf ... it's a good OPSEC study for online posting for those "in the know". The AF put it out as a PowerPoint, I converted to .pdf for you cheap asses (or college students) who can't afford PPT at home.

a very quick summery from the study -
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typical aviation forum:

‘aviation_enthusiast’ posts "boy i love the f22 I read that Langley has the modified radar in there raptors is this the truth? it is for my research paper for my university. Thank you very much sir.

‘dozerf22’ replies … “oh no, they aren’t modified, they have the old radar, but they do currently have 5-6 of our jets that they use for training, maint, etc. Alaska (where I’m the CO of a Raptor squadron - see my user profile for my real AF email address and other pertinent information about my career) have the F-22’s with the newest radar. We are still waiting on a new software update on it though that will make it even better. Does that help you out?

‘aviation_enthusiast’ posts … “Da”

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basically, you don't want the attention this guy recieved. carry on ...

S/F

 

[Mumbles]

Col Dozer....You are absolutely unbelievable Sir!

 

[Flash]

basically, you don't want the attention this guy recieved. carry on ...

S/F

Hey, the brief mentioned IRST!

Thanks for posting, good stuff.

 

[Harrier Dude]

my 2¢ on the topic ...

attached is a .pdf ... it's a good OPSEC study for online posting for those "in the know". The AF put it out as a PowerPoint, I converted to .pdf for you cheap asses (or college students) who can't afford PPT at home.

a very quick summery from the study -
------------------------------------------
typical aviation forum:

‘aviation_enthusiast’ posts "boy i love the f22 I read that Langley has the modified radar in there raptors is this the truth? it is for my research paper for my university. Thank you very much sir.

‘dozerf22’ replies … “oh no, they aren’t modified, they have the old radar, but they do currently have 5-6 of our jets that they use for training, maint, etc. Alaska (where I’m the CO of a Raptor squadron - see my user profile for my real AF email address and other pertinent information about my career) have the F-22’s with the newest radar. We are still waiting on a new software update on it though that will make it even better. Does that help you out?

‘aviation_enthusiast’ posts … “Da”

------------------------------------------

basically, you don't want the attention this guy recieved. carry on ...

S/F

I sent this to Webmaster recently from work. My S-2 Chief gave it to me. I did a little more research into it and the "study" was more or less drummed up by some disgruntled OIS guys.

Not that it makes this any less valuable of a training aid, but just to keep people from over-reacting and to give some context to the discussion at hand. It contains some valid points, particularly in the way of unwanted attention, but the bottom line is that everything he said was open source.

The whole idea of OPSEC, as differentiated from release of classified information, is that the bad guys can link a bunch of open source stuff like this and gain knowledges. Throw in some classified stuff and it gets easier for them.

Bottom line: Never discuss classified matters on the NIPR. Be really careful about what unclass stuff you say. But more importantly....know the difference.

Security manager, out.

 

[a_m]

I sent this to Webmaster recently from work. My S-2 Chief gave it to me. I did a little more research into it and the "study" was more or less drummed up by some disgruntled OIS guys.

Not that it makes this any less valuable of a training aid, but just to keep people from over-reacting and to give some context to the discussion at hand. It contains some valid points, particularly in the way of unwanted attention, but the bottom line is that everything he said was open source.

The whole idea of OPSEC, as differentiated from release of classified information, is that the bad guys can link a bunch of open source stuff like this and gain knowledges. Throw in some classified stuff and it gets easier for them.

Bottom line: Never discuss classified matters on the NIPR. Be really careful about what unclass stuff you say. But more importantly....know the difference.

Security manager, out.

I knew there was a better way than NKO.

 

[MPH]

Col Dozer....You are absorutery unberievable Sir!

Fixed.

 

[Mumbles]

When I posted that....it was not meant to mock the buffoonish fawnery of whatever av-blog that was from....but the "absolutely unbelievable" is more disdain for a military officer who is so inebriated by his own hubris that he would wantonly compromise his own Air Force to feed his ego on a blog....

 

[puck_11]

Why OPSEC is important

An AF Colonel spoke a little bit too much on another forum fencecheck.com about the capabilities and specifications of the F-22. Nothing classified was shared, but it caught the attention of the Office of Special Investigations. This is exactly why the mods on here repeatedly warn us to be careful when asking questions about tactics and capabilities.

http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2008/03/airforce_f22_opsec_031408w/

 

[MasterBates]

Repost

 

[BackOrdered]

It disturbed me when I did a search of this guy's screenname and on two Chinese message boards discussing aviation and the Raptor, he is mentioned. Great case study on the subject.

 

[ea6bflyr]

OPSEC message brought to you by a former OPSEC Officer.

-ea6bflyr

 

[HackerF15E]

There is a big controversy about this particular briefing in the AF right now.

It has to do with the fact that Dozer was the Raptor Demo pilot, and as such SUPPOSED TO BE the public face of the Raptor. He was blessed at the General Officer level to go out and talk about approved discussion points with the public at large...which is exactly what he's doing in that presentation.

The PowerPoint was supposed to be an internal-only case study at Davis-Monthan AFB's OSI detachment, but it's made its way though the forwarded email channels everywhere and is being made a much bigger deal than it was supposed to initially be.

Plus, the author of that brief has obviously never even looked at an internet forum. Please...use of poor english and punctuation as 'proof' of the writers being foreign intelligence??

Anyway, what this has turned into is a smear against Dozer for doing what he was supposed to be doing. He didn't "release" anything that he wasn't instructed to...or that any astute foreign intelligence agent with a subscription to Aviation Week couldn't have all ready learned.

This is the "counter" email that one of Dozer's fellow Raptor pilots has sent out and is also making its way through the bro network:

For starters, the background on Dozer's online postings is simple. He had the misfortune of being selected by the USAF against his will to be the initial Heritage pilot and F-22 demonstration pilot. He also had the unfortunate timing to be the most visible representative of an advanced fighter program on the brink of cancellation. The two were certainly an unenviable situation, which, coupled with the extensive travel, constant family separation, and generally unappreciated time and effort would've made me a bitter, angry (angrier?), and incredibly malcontent fighter pilot.

Dozer became none of these things. Instead, he worked very hard to be the best ambassador for the Air Force and the F-22 program that he could. He was TOLD to inform and educate the public, Congress, and other servicemembers about the unique capabilities and undeniable operational necessity of procuring this fighter. He was TOLD to put a positive, recognizable face on the program, and, as a very succesful fighter pilot, champion the Raptor against its opponents.

He also was encouraged by multiple General Officers to get online, promote the airplane, and put some positive press out there to counter the huge swell of negative publicity surrounding the F-22.

Let me re-phrase that last statement. General Officers in the USAF recommended he spend time online, on public bulletin boards, and post positive information and interact with the public about the F-22.

As the article points out, the Office of Special Investigations looked into the bulletin board mentioned in the article. TWICE. Twice, they found nothing that was a violation of classification guidelines or operational security.

All of the posts taken off the board and used in that brief were snippets of the full post, taken totally out of context, and with no background basis for consideration. Nearly 100% of the information posted by Dozer can be found not only in unclassifed sources online, but in USAF press releases about the F-22.

So tell me, please, how a LtCol in the USAF can be guilty of Operational Security violations for reposting information and answering questions on a public bulletin board using information that was released by the United States Air Force itself as part of a formal public affairs campaign on the F-22?

Get real.

What was not part of USAF press releases was released by Lockheed Martin, published with USAF approval/authorization, or released by the DoD. Again, what OPSEC foul is this?

I think the way this briefing was released, labelled, distributed, and now, has been virally forwaded throughout cyberspace is absolutely appalling. What an absolutely disgusting way to treat an individual who has done nothing but try his absolute best to serve his country for almost 20 years.

Anybody who thinks Dozer just went on that board and posted random crap to appear more knowledgeable or appease his own self aggrandizement appetite has a very shallow understanding of the man. Anybody who thinks the OSI did the USAF a favor by publicizing this incident has a very poor understanding of the situation as a whole. In my personal opinion, the whole incident reeks of slander, because it certainly could be perceived as doing irreparable damage to the man's individual character. A quick scan of what some of the online blogs have been posting (with no background information) certainly confirms this.

I also note that while the OSI admits the briefing was only supposed to be for internal consumption, they've made no attempt to publicly apologize to LtCol Shower for the subsequent dragging through the mud he's received. A very nice indicator of how the USAF takes care of its own.

In the end, my guess is that the USAF will simply lose one of its most talented fighter pilots. I know I certainly wouldn't stick around after OSI gave me a reputation like this.

Considering that it takes nearly 20 years to grow an officer with this kind of experience and talent, I think that's probably the biggest tragedy of this entire situation.

Fire away, I'm sure I'll get my own personal e-mail or phone call from OSI for posting this...

 

[Picaroon]

I guess it's too late to ask this guy what percent get jets. He's probably the only person who would tell.

 

[Single Seat]

Hacker, great post. Thanks for sharing. I'd read the same sentiments from other guys on other bulletin boards. It really does sound like the USAF hung this great American out to dry. Crying shame.

 

[HeyJoe]

Hacker, great post. Thanks for sharing. I'd read the same sentiments from other guys on other bulletin boards. It really does sound like the USAF hung this great American out to dry. Crying shame.

They also disparaged a fine website and its posters in the process