Army: Satellite network isn’t for Facebook

Source : Military News

Soldiers are using a war zone logistics satellite network to surf Facebook, Twitter and other sites that are off limits on Army computers.

And the Army is ordering them to knock it off.

An Army bulletin warns soldiers that the mobile satellite network is not for non-Army uses like file- swapping networks, checking e- mail or visiting non-Army web sites. Army deputy chief of staff for logistics Lt. Gen. Raymond Mason issued the message Jan. 13.

The terminals and mobile network are commonly used by lower enlisted soldiers to request supplies in the war zone, according to source familiar with them. The Army blocks their ability to access the commercial, classified and non-classified Internet.

Those who misuse the called Combat Service Support — Very Small Aperture Terminal, or CSS-VSAT, will find their systems or terminal blocked from the network, the message warns. The Army product director for Defense-Wide Transmission Systems, which procures the terminals, has been tapped to monitor their use.

Restricted sites not only jeopardize cyber security and mission essential capabilities, but they can “can overload the network and cause overall poor network performance,” the bulletin states.

Proxy servers, which allow anonymous web surfing, and other technology that circumvents blocked internet capabilities are “strictly prohibited,” unless they have received prior approval from the product director.

The CSS-VSATs are authorized for units based on war time missions, and are not for garrison use alone, the message reads.

The systems were procured as part of an Army program to provide network connectivity to logisticians. In fiscal 2012, the Army budget allocated $23 million for the systems to go to combat service support units.

Manufactured by L-3 Communications, the systems allow troops to users to share documents, pass requisitions, collaborate and conduct meetings online and make voice-over-internet telephone calls, according to the Army