THREAT AND INTELLIGENCE PREPAREDNESS 2On October 4, 1957, Russia launched a rocket named Sputnik (etsu faculty, 2001). The United States was caught off guard. Sputnik had the ability to circle the Earth in just 96 minutes and transmit a frequency easily heard with an amateur radio (Figure 1). If the Russians could launch a satellite under our noses without our knowledge and were able to send a signal into our homes in 1957, it was clear that the United States was unprepared and had underestimated the capabilities of its adversaries . We clearly needed a new way of doing business, a new way of defending our country and our families. President Dwight D. Eisenhower had now received a wake-up call: it was time to act. Our enemy could now be thousands of miles away and still be able to enter our homes. The enemy could reach our families without even setting foot in our homes. The world as we knew it will never be the same. With the launch of Sputnik in 1957, the United States became aware of the growing threat to national security and intelligence. In February 1958, on the orders of President Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Advanced Research Project Agency (ARPA), a division of the Department of Defense (DoD), was created. Then, on February 7, 1958, DoD Directive 5105.15 was signed (Darpa website, 2014). Its primary goal was to maintain technological superiority of the United States over potential adversaries and to develop new technologies for the U.S. military (Mallia, 2013). With ARPA's increased responsibilities and a fast-paced environment, the agency needs a better way to stay connected and share "packets" of information. The agency began experimenting with inter-office connections. By the end of 1969, these efforts bore fruit and the first "Advanced Research Projects"... middle of paper...... more than just a photo of a loved one, these photos could reveal photos of classified places that could be detrimental to the mission success (Pentagon, 2012). OPSEC should be at the forefront of everything we do and should not be limited to just our Soldiers. As leaders, we also have a responsibility to educate our families. OPSEC has developed a process located in AR 530-1 Appendix B, B-1 (AR-530-1, 2007) (Appendix A) that could and should be applied to any situation you may encounter in your life personal or professional. If your unit has or is considering initiating a review of the AR 530-1 social media page, ensure that all unit personnel are aware of the OPSEC training requirements and the potential risk associated with disclosure of restricted information (Table 1). It's up to us as leaders to ensure that the next attack or unseen event doesn't happen on our watch..