>> I'd be astonished if I learned that soldiers on duty were totally free to do as they please the expense of operational security

The post you were replying to didn't suggest anything about total freedom. You're exaggerating their words to make your argument easier.

>> I'd be equally astonished if I found that military recruitment was based on enlisting cross-sectional samples of demographic categories

Given initial enlistment age ranges between 17 and 30/40 [0], you get cohorts from specific generations.

Kids who are 17 now were born ~2008, which is just starting to be kids with smartphones and mobile devices their entire lives.

No cross-sectioning required: just upper and lower age limits.

>> And I'm sure that the military can find ways of enabling deployed personnel to use the internet without sacrificing security or oversight

I'm going to assume you're honestly ignorant of military networks and field device management at scale.

The military runs segregated networks. Secure networks require approved devices; those devices are extremely locked down. There are often also public internet networks for MWR reasons. Unmanaged devices can be used on those networks. Furthermore, in most non-naval deployments, terrestrial cellular data networks are also accessible.

>> for example by requiring them to use secured military-issue computers and smartphones, or by having an inspection or vetting process for hardware and software when soldiers want to use their own devices.

Military IT is already overloaded managing the vast number of secure devices and networks, so having them manage consumer devices in any way is a non-starter.

For scale context, the DoD PKI includes ~4 million active CAC cards. [1]

Unmanaged consumer devices + CAC are also often used for less-privileged interaction with the military (e.g. HR functions).

> My comment about finding ways to enable internet access in a more controlled way was specifically targeting your argument about the security vs. morale tradeoff

And the responses that you're getting are that these are non-trivial problems for real-world reasons.

Furthermore, you seem to have a lack of understanding about how much it sucks to be stuck in a forward base, and how important maintaining morale is to command authority and force effectiveness.

PS: Also, look at user names. I'm not the author of the original comment you replied to.

[0] https://www.usa.gov/military-requirements

[1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_Access_Card