Marine Corps logs off social networking sites

The U.S. Marine Corps announced this past week that it will block its troops from logging onto social networking sites — Facebook, MySpace and Twitter, among others — from its computers. The news must have left a few Robins Air Force Base airmen wondering how their Marine counterparts got away with logging onto these sites until now.

“Almost anything that is entertainment related is blocked,” said John Birdsong, spokesman for the base. Robins Air Force Base airmen have long since been prohibited from logging onto social networking sites from their office computers. Most online radio stations and dating sites are also blocked from base computers.

The Marine Corps cited security concerns as the reason to block the sites, though the orders do not apply to Marines in their off-duty hours. Robins Air Force Base airmen are also permitted to log onto social networking sites at home.

Despite the new policy, the U.S. Marine Corps does have an official Facebook page with more than 75,000 friends. The Robins Air Force Base page is less popular; it only has seven friends.

OBAMA OFFICIAL: “WAR ON TERROR” NO MORE

The Obama administration will not use the moniker commonly used to describe the common purpose of post-9/11 engagements, the “War on Terror,” a senior official said last week. John Brennan, head of the White House Homeland Security Office, told an audience in Washington that Obama intends a “clear, more precise definition of the challenge.”

“Terrorism is a tactic, a means to an end,” Brennan said in his prepared remarks to the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “Ultimately, confusing ends and means is self defeating, because you can never fully defeat a tactic like terrorism.”

NAVY ORGANIZATION IN MACON THIS WEEKEND

The regional Fleet Reserve Association will host its 64th convention at the Ramada Plaza in downtown Macon this weekend, beginning Friday. The national association comprises current and former enlisted service members in the Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard. This weekend’s convention will bring together members from Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, South Carolina and Florida. The Fleet Reserve Association last met in Macon in 2000. This convention is expected to bring in about 150 members. They are expected to elect new board members and review bylaws, according to a press release announcing the event.

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