:: Deepquest ::

Some of the web’s more popular “milblogs” — blogs maintained by present or former active duty military personnel — are going quiet following a renewed push by U.S. military officials to scan sites for security risks.

Ten members of a Virginia National Guard unit have been tasked with reviewing both official and unofficial Army websites for potential operational security, or OPSEC, violations. Under the direction of the Army’s Web Risk Assessment Cell (AWRAC), the reviewers look for text, photos or videos that may give away sensitive information.

“Loose lips sink ships. That’s been around since World War I, and hasn’t changed in years,” said Lt. Col. Stephen Warnock, team leader and battalion commander of the Manassas-based unit that works with contractors from the tech company CA.

Milblogs offer one of the last direct witnesses to the Iraq war from the point of view of front line soldiers — a sharp reversal from three years ago, when the U.S.-led invasion was among the most closely-watched military attacks in history. According to Editor and Publisher, the number of reporters embedded in military units has dropped from 770 at the height of the conflict to just nine today.

The recent U.S. pressure on milbloggers, reported by Wired contributing editor Noah Schachtman in his Defense Tech blog, highlights the security risks of blogging by active duty military personel — including those in Iraq with access to e-mail and the internet.

But it also signals a growing culture clash between military traditions of censorship and the expectations of young soldiers weaned on open digital culture, according to current and former military personnel.

Some 1,200 active milblogs currently offer commentary on a range of military topics, including the daily experience of soldiers from basic training to the front lines, says retired paratrooper and Army officer Matthew Currier Burden, blogger at Blackfive and author of the milblog compendium The Blog of War.

“When Web 2.0 comes to the military and you see soldiers contributing to these user-based content sites, you’re gonna have problems,” Burden told Wired News.

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