Bloggers need to get real about OPSEC and blurring photos.

Above you see a photo that I posted about a group of staff SOCOM bubba's from  Germany that got turned around in Libya when they got off the airplane to support activity there.

I looked around the web and it flooded the zone.

This pic and others were everywhere to be found.  No biggee.  A MINOR and I mean minor embarrassment, but the mission will go on and they'll probably be back in country soon (if they're not already).

So what has me punching walls and asking what the fuck?  Well a picture is worth a thousand words.  Check this out from Tyler over at FoxTrotAlpha...

I have nothing against Tyler of FTA.  He does good stuff, aimed at a mostly non-military crowd, but he hits hard at times.  So what's the issue?  It's the blurred faces.

Why?

The pics are out all over the internet but he posted blurred face photos.  Oh and this isn't the first time its happened.  Remember the intense firefight in Kandahar when terrorists made it inside the NATO compound and started shooting up the joint?  Well some of our friends from Australia or New Zealand (don't remember which) took care of business  in a big way.

The above pic is one of the iconic photos of the Afghan war.

How did bloggers respond?  I got some hate mail saying that I was putting these guys lives at risk because I was violating OPSEC (many bloggers posted the same pic with blurred faces).  I was so alarmed at the charge that I wrote SOCOM and they told me that they had no problem and would have shut down any photos if they did!

All of which brings me to my point.  Bloggers need to get real.  I'm hardly a SOCOM booster, but I do believe that they can get the job done.  I also believe that when it comes to the safety and security of their personnel and their family members that they'll shut any and all of  us down before we even get CLOSE to crossing the line.

So in short, get over yourself bloggers.  Show these guys training, show them in combat and show them getting fucked up in a bar trying to take a fat girl home.

Its all good info and its part of a story that should be told...without the blurred faces.