...And Little Brother Too



The 1986 Electronic Communications Privacy Act allows domestic law enforcement agencies—everyone from the Federal Bureau of Investigations to your local Keystone Cops—to contact email hosts and, without a warrant, demand they turn over the full contents of all emails over 180 days old.”


Take the following article for what it's worth, but it does bring up some interesting points.


So, we should toss our radios, phones and laptops right? Not so fast...


In regards to the inevitable response of "only talk face to face"....that's great, but I'll have to insist that it is a rather narrow stance to take. Reality will dictate that logistics and or security will become a major impediment to meat-space-only information sharing, for what I should think would be obvious scenarios. Even if you take the popular position of "local, local, local", how big is local for you? Geographically and demographically? You may have decided on a small chunk of earth to be your AO, but I assure you you are going to want frequent G2 on what is "going on" in the layers beyond the compact border that constitutes your larger battlespace. Not to mention the fact that as things erode more and more, face to face link ups will present their own set of unpleasant hazards - and even more so if you are not communicating your intent and the conditions of your meet beforehand in some fashion....ask anyone that has had to "link up" with friendly forces in an active zone unannounced and with busted comms. Friendly fire is a shitty way to end the day...

This should not be construed as a put down on bolstering your local affiliations or having a meeting with your guys, just a reminder to not give up on what could end up being some of the most precious tools you have at your disposal. Just remember that technological tools, in all their varied forms, are to be likened to fire.......a nearly indispensable tool that must be carefully controlled – or you will get burned.

The truth is, safely utilizing these items demands active user involvement. Just like the other skill sets – running a gun like a pro takes constant training and effort......donning your kit and ruck in the middle of the night to run across the back 40 because your neighbor needs help, takes regular conditioning......medical emergencies need a cool, knowledgeable head that only comes from regular hands on training. The comms piece is no different – learn to be effective with your equipment.

Tangible fixes for these issues will be forthcoming....stay tuned.

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