Defense and millennials.

• Author: Ray, Charles A.
• Position: READER'S FORUM: VIEWS ... COMMENTS ... SUGGESTIONS - Letter to the editor

* Your October 2008 article, "Defense Dept. Gripped By Fear of the Millennials" hit it right on the head. I would submit, however, that Web 2.0 technology and the culture it has spawned are here to stay, and as leaders and managers, rather than fear it, we need to seek creative ways to make use of it. You will note, I avoided the term "harness" which would probably normally be used. I don't think it can be harnessed in the sense of brought under our complete control. Instead, it can be used to further our aims with wider audiences and give us access to a broader and deeper range of information. Your article's premise that it poses a cyber threat is also correct. When you have an open door policy, it requires greater vigilance to monitor who enters. I think, though, that we can harness our creativity and find ways to filter or screen incoming transmissions to avoid serious compromise, short of banning access by government employees.

A more comprehensive information security education program, reinforced by leadership, will help to instill the mindset that allows the bureaucracy to deploy the new Web 2.0 technology effectively. Our adversaries have already begun exploitation of Web 2.0, leaving us on the outside of the store. If we don't want to get pushed across the block, I don't think we have a choice but to open the door and go in.

Ambassador Charles A. Ray

Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for POW/Missing Personnel Affairs

* Your excellent article (Defense Dept. Gripped by Fear of the...