US Soldiers Are Giving Away Their Positions With Geotagged Photos

US Soldiers Are Giving Away Their Positions With Geotagged Photos


People behave very stupidly on Facebook. But giving away your location in the geotagged info of your pictures as a member of the military is incredibly unwise and dangerous, even by Facebook standards.

The US Army has issued a warning to its soldiers to stop geotagging their photos on Facebook and other social media outlets. Because it’s putting soldiers in danger, and has been for years. Here’s the how Steve Warren, deputy G2 for the Maneuver Center of Excellence, explained it:

Warren cited a real-world example from 2007. When a new fleet of helicopters arrived with an aviation unit at a base in Iraq, some soldiers took pictures on the flightline, he said. From the photos that were uploaded to the internet, the enemy was able to determine the exact location of the helicopters inside the compound and conduct a mortar attack, destroying four of the AH-64 Apaches.

Which is terrifying. He also mentioned that even if you’re not giving your location in the field away, as a serviceman, it could be dangerous to be publishing the location of your home, or even your children’s school. So please, everyone in the armed services, tweet safely. [US Army via The Telegraph]


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