At times, the military has struggled with how to deal with social media, banning access to it from government computers at one point, then specifically allowing access to Facebook at another.  In the same vein, some servicemembers have had adverse action over their activities on the internet, including a Marine discharged over comments about President Obama and a Twitter ‘oops’ by another Marine — while the military simultaneously encourages its troops to “engage” in social media for family, health, morale, and even public relations reasons.

A recent statement by the Defense Privacy and Civil Liberties Office attempted to lend more thought to the sometimes confusing area, noting that servicemembers are free to express themselves, within some fairly liberal limits: 

“If you have an opinion that is inconsistent with the Department of Defense’s, you’re certainly allowed to say that,” [Michael E. Reheuser, the office’s director] said. But, he added, “if the person looking at it thinks that you might be working on behalf of the government, and not in your individual capacity, you really need to be careful.”

In some cases, it may be enough to post a disclaimer on your account, he said, but if you have any doubts, the best thing to do is check with your component’s ethics professional.

There have been quite a few “reminders” about the potential negatives of social media, including repeated warnings about operations security — not letting the bad guys know about troop movements, etc.  It’s notable that the Department of Defense shows concern not only for the potential pitfalls of troops on the internet, but also for their liberties, as well.

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