The military is placed in a delicate situation. It knows how important it is for morale that the personnel keep in touch with the people back home. The military also knows that, inadvertently, sensitive information may be disclosed that could compromise operations and the security of their people.
Because of the lack of control over familiar networking sites such as MySpace, Facebook and others and the lack of control over video venues such as YouTube, the military has started its own system:
“Eighteen months after American troops were banned from using a number of social networking websites, the Pentagon has unveiled its latest scheme to prevent classified material leaking onto the internet: TroopTube.
The US military yesterday pulled back the curtains on its own version of YouTube, which it hopes will satisfy both the demand from troops for communication with friends and family, and the Department of Defense’s requirements for secrecy.”
link: US military unveils its answer to YouTube: TroopTube
The military personnel are welcoming TroopTube. Any form of communication back home is a welcomed relief. And with TroopTube, the military has a venue that is under its control… or at least, appears to be under its control. The amount of content may be staggering.
Catherine Forsythe