Posted: April 13th, 2023

Securing Sensitive Items

In the military most people think when they hear the term "sensitive items" they will think of thing such as weapons, security codes, classified information, ect. However most things in the military are considered to some degree a "sensitive item". . Which if they ended up falling into the hands of the enemy could cause minor or major damage to our nations national security and possibly endanger the lives of those both at home and deployed across the world. A very basic sensitive item used on a daily bases could include your common access card.
For example because there is always the possibility of the "insider threat" if you accidentally left your CAC logged on to a computer another individual could now easily gain access to any classified information that you have access to. Things such as convoys carrying food and equipment to soldiers in the field that could become an easy target. Especially if the enemy were to know the exact route and what kind of personnel and vehicles would be transporting the cargo.
Another basic sensitive item that all soldiers are assigned is their gear. Most soldiers probably still remember their drill sergeants telling then to never leave their gear behind. If during a firefight you shouldn't just leave an empty magazine on the ground or leave you battle buddies weapon on the ground because he was wounded. You should always take it with you if possible, the reason being is because if no matter how small or insignificant it may seem every piece of gear we're issued can be turned against us.

Something like a pistol might not seem like much but if your team member is wounded and you leave something like an AT-4 behind it could be fired at a convoy and then turned into an IED. Items such as keys to a cell in a prison could easily cause a major breach in security. As everybody knows of the last disturbance in the United States Disciplinary Barracks was only possible because a few inmates attacked a guard and got his keys.
This allowed them to let all of the other inmates out in that housing unit causing a disturbance that in order to stop needed a riot control team using less than lethal rounds. Another sensitive item familiar to all soldiers in some form is your radio. Whether you're in the field, driving a squad car, or working I'm a prison. Your radio is a key piece of equipment, if you leave it laying around it could be used in many ways against you and your unit. If it's taken by the enemy try will now be able to listen in on the communication between different unit and know where they are.
If you're a road MP and you forget your radio, you have just now no lost communication with others that you may need to radio for backup or be able to respond to a distress call from somebody else. If you're a prison guard you have just lost the ability to quickly communicate with anybody in the facility. You will no longer be able to respond to a distress alarm or be able to call for assistant if your body alarm is not functioning properly.