24. December 2009 by Revelator.

Every year there are a number of Christmas movies I have to watch; “Scrooged”, “Elf”, “It’s A Wonderful Life” and the original “How The Grinch Stole Christmas”. And in each of these movies I have some favorites lines and moments but every year there is one quote that stands out for me. It’s from Scrooged - Bill Murrey as Frank Cross: “It’s Christmas Eve. It’s the one night of the year when we all act a little nicer, we smile a little easier, we cheer a little more. For a couple of hours out of the whole year we are the people that we always hoped we would be.”

On this Christmas Eve (and for as long as you can hold on to it) we should all try to be the people that we always hoped we would be.

Merry Christmas everyone.

Keep the Faith!
Revelator

Merry Christmas, Baby - Written by Lou Baxter & Johnny Moore; sung by many

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8. October 2009 by Revelator.

So I’m searching “OPSEC” on YouTube yesterday, as I am wont to do from time to time, and I ran across a new video titled “Atomic OPSEC Part 1.” I noticed that it was from the Department of Energy’s Nevada Site Office and I took this as a good sign. I liked what they did with their “OPSEC Hunters” video so I thought I would check it out.

Well, I gotta tell you this new video is even…

Ok, I can’t do this anymore. Let the BS end right here…

We made the video. That’s right; I wrote it and acted in it - my fellow DOG of OPSEC directed it and the new guy plays the scientist. We think it’s pretty good and think y’all might like it also so go to YouTube and search “Atomic OPSEC” and watch parts 1 and 2. Total time is around 13 minutes. We hope you like it.

Keep the Faith!
Revelator

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14. December 2007 by Revelator.

Reading The Godfather’s input on OPSEC in the movies prompted me to pull out something I wrote while working in the Joint OPSEC Support Element. I suspect when you read it you’ll get the movie reference to include the specific scene. Enjoy…

You want OPSEC? You want OPSEC? You can’t handle the OPSEC!
     Son, we live in a world that has no security, so critical information needs to be guarded by men with OPSEC. Who’s gonna do it? You? OPSEC can have a greater impact than you can possibly fathom.
     You weep for INFOSEC and you curse COMPUSEC. You have the luxury of not knowing what I know - that the OPSEC process, while a pain in the ass to you, saves lives; and my existence as an OPSEC professional, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, saves lives.
     You don’t want the truth because deep down in places you don’t talk about at parties, you want my OPSEC - you need my OPSEC.
     We use words like “vulnerability”, “indicator”, and “countermeasure.” We use these words as the backbone of a life spent defending something. You use them as a punchline.
     I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a person who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the Operations Security I provide and then questions the manner in which I provide it.
     I would rather you just said “thank you” and went on your way. Otherwise, I suggest you shut your mouth and protect your critical information.

Keep the Faith!

Revelator

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19. November 2007 by Revelator.

Does Hollywood do a good job of portraying OPSEC in the movies? Can anyone provide a movie and describe a scene where OPSEC comes into play? Was it good OPSEC or was it poor OPSEC? I don’t really care if it was good or poor acting.

One that comes to mind for me is the movie “MIDWAY” which came out in the summer of 1976 and is available on DVD. It tells the tale about “the most decisive naval battle in U.S. history” which turned the tide of the war in the Pacific.  Directed by Jack Smight, it has an ALL STAR cast: Charlton Heston, James Coburn, Henry Fonda, Glenn Ford, Hal Holbrook, Pat Morita, Robert Mitchum, Cliff Robertson, Robert Wagner, Toshiro Mifune, James Shigeta, Christina Kokubo, Edward Albert (the son of Eddie Albert), and - if you look close enough - Tom Selleck (a.k.a. Magnum P.I.).

At the risk of turning this into a movie critic forum or movie trivia challenge, I thought the movie did a pretty good job of historically portraying this watershed event. It was also really fun if you got to see it in theaters enabled with “SENSOR-ROUND!”

Two items of OPSEC significance come to mind:

“AF is Midway”  Does anyone know the movie well enough to know what I am referring to? Some might call this a feedback loop. The scene is where we employ poor OPSEC in a smart manner…in a “Measurement of Effectiveness” sort of way…to use to our advantage.  When we get to this scene, the film establishes that we are “copying the Japanese mail” but the US is not quite sure what their intentions are for Midway. Maybe it would all become clear if they could just figure out what the two letter abbreviation “AF” refers to in the enemy’s message traffic.

Commander Joseph Rochefort, a US Navy Intel officer (a crypie) played by Hal Holbrook, convinces Admiral Nimitz, played by Henry Fonda, to buy off on a little ploy to have the comms center on Midway Island send out a “fake message” in the clear about a degrading fresh water situation on Midway. Admiral Nimitz gives the okay. Ultimately – just a minute or so in movie time, Commander Rochefort and his personnel intercept and de-code a Japanese message that confirms that “AF” is indeed Midway.

Could you consider this a nice OPSEC coup? Maybe a small victory for OPSEC? If nothing else, it clearly demonstrates that the enemy was listening…and something like that could be useful in reinforcing OPSEC awareness; then and now.

“Admiral Nimitz is notified”  What happens next is my favorite OPSEC moment in the film. Just seconds after CDR Rochefort – Hal Holbrook - gets the news confirming “AF” is Midway, he turns to Charlton Heston, playing the fictional character of Captain Matt Garth, and relays the information. Charlton Heston is then sprayed with water from a fire hose and exclaims that the place is a “madhouse!”

Oops, sorry; wrong movie.

Charlton Heston quickly rushes to the nearest telephone…still within easy earshot of the Intel crew who just broke the message traffic…to call Admiral Nimitz.

Can you say “phone’s up” or “this line is not secure”? Well, neither could Mr. Heston or Mr. Fonda; maybe it just wasn’t in the script. Captain Garth tells Admiral Nimitz that Intel has confirmed that “AF is Midway” over the telephone. Was this poor OPSEC? I don’t think so; this was a security violation plain and simple not to mention just poor headwork. Of course CDR Rochefort was too busy celebrating with his shipmates to admonish the good Captain on his security procedures.

Upon hearing the news, Admiral Nimitz requests that Captain Garth assemble the staff at a particular time the next morning to begin planning. Was this critical information? I’d say sure! This part of the scene is an example of poor OPSEC.

Anyway, I doubt Hollywood was thinking about the finer points of good OPSEC when they were striving for historical accuracy combined with dramatic effect. The take-away here is that you can use this 2 – 3 minute scene to improve your own organization’s OPSEC awareness thanks to Hollywood’s literary license.

For those of you who have seen the movie, what do you think? Please share other films and movie scenes that directly or indirectly involve OPSEC.

You can get more details about the “AF is Midway” ploy, by searching Commander Joseph Rochefort on the web.

Don Sidro - The GodFather of OPSEC                 

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