U.S. service members may maintain personal social media accounts but must ensure they are clearly identified as non-official. (Stars and Stripes)
U.S. service members can discuss politics online but must make clear they are speaking in a personal capacity and avoid implying military endorsement, the Navy and Air Force reminded troops this month.
The acting secretaries of both services issued guidance warning airmen, sailors and Marines to be mindful of how they express their opinions, especially on social media.
“Service members are permitted to use personal social media accounts to forward, like, or link to official information, provided it is done in a manner that does not express or imply [Department of the Navy] or [Department of Defense] sanction or endorsement of any personal content,” states a memo issued Tuesday by Acting Navy Secretary Terence Emmert.
Troops should also avoid disclosing non-public information, including unclassified details that, when combined, could reveal classified material, according to the document.
Acting Air Force Secretary Gary Ashworth issued similar guidance in a March 17 memo.
“The First Amendment protects freedom of speech and permits the expression of ideas for all Americans,” he wrote. “Service members, owing to their critical role in our national security and the duties and obligations of service, have accepted limits on their freedom of expression.”
Both officials cautioned troops against engaging in political discourse that could be perceived as an official stance.
“Service members may not engage in partisan political activity while on duty and should avoid inferences that their personal political activities imply, or appear to imply, official sponsorship, approval, or endorsement,” the Navy’s order states.
Troops may maintain personal social media accounts but must ensure they are clearly identified as non-official. While using military titles or appearing in uniform is allowed, personal accounts must not use official insignia, symbols or uniforms in a way that suggests government approval.
In cases where confusion is possible, service members should include a disclaimer stating that their posts reflect personal views and do not represent those of the government.
Certain provisions of the Uniform Code of Military Justice also limit troops’ expression, including prohibitions against contemptuous remarks about officials, failure to obey orders, conduct unbecoming an officer, and actions that bring discredit upon the armed forces.
The military has previously reminded service members about appropriate social media use. In March 2017, the Air Force issued a “Public Web and Social Communication” regulation barring personnel from posting “any defamatory, libelous, vulgar, obscene, abusive, profane, threatening, hateful, racially, ethnically or otherwise offensive or illegal information or material.”
