Telling the story with OPSEC in mind

HILL AIR FORCE BASE, UT, UNITED STATES

01.31.2023

Story by Staff Sgt. Alexandra Singer 

2D Audiovisual Squadron

HILL AIR FORCE BASE, Utah – Public affairs offices across the Department of the Air Force provide a visual information library necessary for telling the Air and Space Force story for generations to come.

The Air Force Public Affairs Agency has the unique mission in providing premier combat camera, video production and PA program management. Adversaries can take interest in some of the information shared and seek out vulnerabilities in PA products, plans and collaborations.

“While we might downplay our importance in protecting our mission partners, any crack in the informational armor could be exploited,” said Hans Deffner, AFPAA OPSEC signature manager. “From my perspective as the agency’s Signature Manager, our key role is to strengthen our mission partners’ position in the information environment rather than potentially weaking their position(s).”

While it’s not always a solid line between what can and can’t be shared, there are many ways to prevent being exploited by the enemy. Airmen and Guardians are key in effectively thwarting adversaries from receiving information they can then use to hurt either the mission or the people. This is called operations security (OPSEC).

OPSEC uses five steps for effectiveness: 1) Identify critical information; 2) Analyze threats; 3) Analyze vulnerabilities; 4) Assess risk; and 5) Apply OPSEC measures.

During step one, Airmen must ask themselves: if the adversary had this information, would it affect the mission, cause loss of life or damage and is it common knowledge? Critical Information and Indicator Lists (CIILs) are used for personnel to identity whether information could be used against the mission. This states directly what information needs to be protected, so it’s imperative that Airmen and Guardians are kept up to date with this list.

Step two refers to the proactive stance to identify threats that may exist. Step three is identifying what vulnerabilities might give away indicators to the enemy, and these are also known as the weaknesses within securing personnel or mission-related information.

Step four is a balance. There will always be risks in every mission, but it’s up to Airmen and Guardians to conduct risk assessments to effectively thwart off adversaries. The final step is to apply countermeasures and as the title suggests, this means doing whatever possible to negate or reduce the enemy’s ability to gain valuable information to use against the Department of Defense.

“As PA professionals, we are not subject matter experts on every weapons system or mission – we need to understand this limitation and seek the appropriate Subject Matter Expert for review,” Deffner said.

“Most of our primary subject matter is well planned and scripted, but the background environment might contain information we need to protect.”
It is important for the Air and Space Force story to be told. It will be the backbone for making decisions, planning against adversaries and lifting morale of service members.

To be successful, critical information must be protected and it’s up to each public affairs specialist to ensure this happens with effective OPSEC measures and staying vigilant.

• Date Taken: 01.31.2023
• Date Posted: 01.31.2023 17:00
• Story ID: 437513
• Location: HILL AIR FORCE BASE, UT, US