Operational Security Published May 14, 2009 By TSgt Josef Cole 20FW/PA Base Support SHAW AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. -- Denying adversaries access to critical information all the time everywhere is the very definition of Operational Security and your personal responsibility. That is a short and simple definition accompanied by a charge we hear about routinely; but often over look, and seldom accept. At the heart of OPSEC is the Critical Information List, maintained by each units OPSEC Coordinator and specific to that unit; it encompasses information that if acquired could be used against the Air Force to degrade or destroy its mission effectiveness. Seek out this person and learn the list. OPSEC is not only important to the Air Force but to you and your family because of the way in which critical information can be gathered through public interactions, personal internet traffic, and phone conversations. Individuals and their families are targets and soft ones at that for our enemies abroad and domestically. We may be harder to reach on an installation, but easily accessibly in our neighborhoods and homes. Staff Sergeant Hillary Gabrick, the 20th Fighter Wing OPSEC program manager wants to remind us all that "once something (critical information) leaves the base we can never get it back" and " ORI inspectors will want to know what we know about OPSEC". So again, learn the rules, post the signs, and above all stay alert.