Why the U.S. Marines social media ban is a bad decision

Army Reserve communicator says the move hinders communication with troops

The announcement from StratComm and the Marines is a bit disheartening—but not something we aren’t already working around.

Right now, those of us at Army Reserve headquarters who need access to social media have it from within the network. The problem: Our field public affairs staffs don’t have access from the network.

We are working on getting DSL/Cable/FIOS drops and stand-alone computers (not on the official network) to all our public affairs offices to include this one (in case they switch us off too). This will allow us to continue to access social media and use it for our official communications programs.

The bottom line is that we will continue to use social media. The question is whether we will be able to use the Army/Army Reserve/Department of Defense networks to do it, or will Public Affairs Officers (PAOs) be forced to spend resources on stand-alone machines and internet access. Or, worse, have to go home at night and use their personal connections to do the government’s business.