DoD Guidance for "No Easy Day"
The DoD has distributed a memo to its employees explaining its stance on Mark Owen's book No Easy Day, and I've got it right here (they even give the book an acronym!). It lays out guidelines for how Pentagon employees should handle the information they will inevitably consume when they read the book, and what to do with the book when they identify classified information in it.
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The DoD has distributed a memo to its employees explaining its stance on Mark Owen's book No Easy Day, and I've got it right here (they even give the book an acronym!). It lays out guidelines for how Pentagon employees should handle the information they will inevitably consume when they read the book, and what to do with the book when they identify classified information in it. I'm happy to say that the DoD is not imposing a ban on purchasing the book.
The memo, in a nutshell, says that DoD personnel:
I wish the DoD the best of luck in its endeavor.
- are free to purchase NED;
- are not required to store NED in containers or areas approved for the storage of classified information, unless classified statements in the book have been identified;
- shall not discuss potentially classified and sensitive unclassified information with persons who do not have an official need to know and an appropriate security clearance;
- who possess either firsthand knowledge of, or suspect information within NED to be classified or sensitive, shall not publically [sic] speculate or discuss potentially classified or sensitive unclassified information outside official U.S. Government channels (e.g., Chain-of-Command, Public Affairs, Security, etc.);
- are prohibited from using unclassified government computer systems to discuss potentially classified or sensitive contents of NED, and must not engage in online discussions via social networking or media sites regarding potentially classified or sensitive unclassified information that may be contained in NED.
Raffaela Wakeman is a Senior Director at In-Q-Tel. She started her career at the Brookings Institution, where she spent five years conducting research on national security, election reform, and Congress. During this time she was also the Associate Editor of Lawfare. From there, Raffaela practiced law at the U.S. Department of Defense for four years, advising her clients on privacy and surveillance law, cybersecurity, and foreign liaison relationships. She departed DoD in 2019 to join the Majority Staff of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, where she oversaw the Intelligence Community’s science and technology portfolios, cybersecurity, and surveillance activities. She left HPSCI in May 2021 to join IQT.
Raffaela received her BS and MS in Political Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2009 and her law degree from Georgetown University Law Center in 2015, where she was recognized for her commitment to public service with the Joyce Chiang Memorial Award. While at the Department of Defense, she was the inaugural recipient of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence’s General Counsel Award for exhibiting the highest standards of leadership, professional conduct, and integrity.
