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0 pointsethbr11y ago0 comments

Because consumer smartphones are a cheap and logistics-light way to improve morale on deployments.

It's not easy to put a McDonald's in the middle of the desert.

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Gormo1y ago· 2 in thread

I'm sure there are many other cheap and easy ways to improve morale on deployments, but that many of those options are eschewed and/or only offered with oversight because they would otherwise risk operational security.

I'm not sure what to make of the argument that the military is unable to find any alternative to consumer smartphones without even RMM implemented as a means of providing for troop morale, therefore the government should regulate social media for the entirety of society as a means to ensure the security of military maneuvers. This just sounds nuts to me.

ethbr1OP1y ago

I'm going to try to put this in as few words as possible.

>> Why are soldiers allowed to bring GPS-enable consumer smartphones along with them on top-secret deployments in the first place?

That was your original question.

It wasn't 'Should we ban TikTok to enhance military security?'

When people answered your original question with relevant points, you reached back to banning TikTok.

Gormo1y ago

This entire conversation is about the TikTok ban. My question about why deployed troops are allowed to use social media apps on consumer devices was in response to preceding comments insinuating that banning TikTok is justifiable in light of its potential to damage operational security if military personnel are using it in the field, and was targeted at understanding the implied premise that the problem couldn't be solved by much more proximate, narrowly tailored approaches.

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