America's first President, George Washington, once said, "(U)pon Secrecy, Success depends in Most Enterprises and for want of it, they are generally defeated." Washington was speaking of the importance of keeping critical information out of an adversary's hands. While the concept of military secrecy wasn't new, Washington's use of secrecy and deception helped to form the backbone of OPSEC today.

A process and a Mindset
At its core, OPSEC is a 5-step process that allows us to consider our operations from an enemy (or adversarial) perspective and determine what Unclassified information they would need to disrupt our operations or to cause us harm. More than that, it's also a mindset- the mindset that reminds us that the information we create, often on a daily basis, can reveal information that may put us, our mission, or others in harm's way.

EVERYBODY!
OPSEC, to any extent, may be used to help protect any mission, activity or endeavor by knowing what information the adversary would need, and knowing how to protect it. This is true for Law Enforcement, Corporations, Military, Families, and more. OPSEC isn't "just" for the military, although it's military in origin, but the simple process and concepts can improve any security posture. What's more, OPSEC integrates with and improves other traditional security disciplines, such as Physical Security, Cyber Security and Communications Security.