Importance of Securing Items
The definition of sensitive items is anything that considered classified or a mission essential item. They range anywhere from protective wear, maps, patrol routes, nods (night vision goggles) or simply your weapon. The meaning of securing your sensitive items mainly is maintaining accountability for opsec (operation security), mission success and a soldiers overall readiness. If an item is lost and the enemy gets his/her hands on that item it could compromise the mission at hand or give them intelligence on the items we as soldiers use each day. Using habits and exercising the securing of sensitive items will make it possible for the soldier and his or her team to operate at the top performance. Operational security is process that denied valuable information to an enemy. If an enemy were to obtain the presented it could be used against our forces. Not securing sensitive items increases the risk of loss by being intercepted by unauthorized personnel. Every soldier must maintain accountability and positive control of all sensitive material to allow full use by them and anyone involved with the mission at hand while still maintaining operational security. Operational security can be compromised through the loss of sensitive items due to loss of equipment used for operational planning, or items used for support missions. Also depending on the type of sensitive item that is being classified it could fall under a different level of security as it is deemed so by the U.S. Government. The levels included in the term classified are restricted (public disclosure could have undesirable effects or do some harm), confidential (unauthorized disclosure could damage national security example would be compromising information that indicates the strength of armed forces or disclosure of technical information about weapons), secret (unauthorized disclosure could seriously damage national security) and top secret (unauthorized disclosure could...