MoD Crackdown on Squaddies' Free Speech

[TonyGosling]

New MoD push to silence internal dissent
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/08/10/mod_gag_order/


Under New Rules: No Blogging, Texting, Chat Rooms, Gaming W/out Permission
http://www.iraqslogger.com/index.php/post/3879/UK_Crackdown_on_Troops_ Freedom_of_Expression

The UK Ministry of Defense is cracking down on British troops' ability to communicate with the public, with new guidelines barring them from a host of activities, including blogging.
According to the report in The Guardian, the new regulations would bar soldiers, sailors and airforce personnel from blogging, taking part in surveys, speaking in public, posting on message boards, playing in multi-player computer games or sending text messages or photographs without a superior's permission if the activities involved issues relating to military endeavors.
The order also bars them from releasing video, audio, or still pictures, stating that "all such communication must help to maintain and, where possible, enhance the reputation of defence."
The MoD document, circulated last week, covers "all public speaking, writing or other communications, including via the internet and other sharing technologies, on issues arising from an individual's official business or experience, whether on-duty, off-duty or in spare time".
The Guardian also reports troops will be barred from receiving payment for interviews, conferences or book that draw on their defense experience.
Commentary on the new regulations flowed into the message board of an unofficial website of British soldiers, even as some acknowledged they were breaking the rules by doing so. One poster suggested everyone put in a formal request to the MoD to speak to their own mothers, or to tell any member of Parliament who had questions that they had no formal authorization to answer them.
The US military enacted its own restrictions on troop access to blogs, chat rooms, and online gaming sites back in May. The DoD explanation was that the measure had to be undertaken in order to protect DOD servers' bandwidth.

[John White]

[Mark Gobell]

[jazds]

These regulations are just going to piss people off. They are inpractical because they are very difficult if not impossible to enforce. Just more rules that can not be enforced to join the thousands of laws introduced by Nu Labour many of which have yet to be used!

If they are enforced it will be another shot in the foot for recruitment and retention! How many 16-35 year olds don't text, send photos via phone or internet or play multiplayer games?

Last time I looked I believe the services were running about 16,000 understength!

[TonyGosling]

Yup they are utterly impactical - it's essentially an admission that they have lost the battle for hearts and minds by a desperate MoD.

Even during World War II the authorities here refrained from jamming Lord Haw Haw because they knew that censorship works against ANY government that insists on it and that, although it might satisfy the occult chiefs of staff's short term anger, in the long run it justs builds up resentment against the upper echelons of the officer class.

So, our dunderheaded control freak generals have taken the Wormtongued advice and chosen the left hand path - ie. the path that Hitler and Goebbels went down in World War II rather than the Churchill way.

Just more evidence of their fascism but the best part is they have just shot themselves in the foot!
Hooray!

[Disco_Destroyer]

Here is some related comment on MSN
http://boards.msn.com/UKNewsboards/thread.aspx?boardid=770&ThreadID=36 7381

[Rowan Berkeley]

[TonyGosling]

Concrete evidence of the destruction of morale, the most valuable factor in the British Army's ability to fight. The only question for me... is it accidental or deliberate? Is Britain's ability to defend itself being deliberately undermined? If so by whom?

Exodus of officers hits war on terror
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/08/13/wirq11 3.xml
By Thomas Harding, Defence Correspondent
Last Updated: 8:34am BST 13/08/2007

The military's ability to fight global terrorism is being hampered by an exodus of officers from the Intelligence Corps, with 20 per cent departing in the past three years, defence sources have disclosed.

British soliders in Basra: Exodus of officers 'will hamper war on terror'
British troops in Basra. The Army is suffering significant losses of soldiers who have been lured into lucrative security jobs

The use of a key weapon in fighting the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, as well as Islamic terrorists, has been undermined by more than 100 officers being lured into highly paid private security jobs or becoming disillusioned at the way intelligence is handled, The Daily Telegraph has learnt.

Senior officers are also deeply concerned that the fall in numbers has resulted in people being posted to jobs above their rank, for which they do not have the experience or training...............