Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Must be nice to be on shore duty ...

Shall we count the manhours?
----Original Message-----
From: [redacted] CAPTAIN [redacted], N5
Sent: Monday, August 22, 2011 11:49
To: [redacted]_ALL-HANDS
Subject: FACEBOOK Capture the Flag - [redacted] participation

All Hands,

BLUF: The Chief of Naval Information (CHINFO) will sponsor a virtual "Capture the Flag" game on Facebook beginning today (Monday) Aug 22 and ending (Friday) Aug 26. The game has been designed to share specific themes and messages for a variety of commands with a large audience. The winning command has the opportunity for its message to headline the Navy Facebook page for a week following the competition. We'd like to win and we need the help!

BACKGROUND: CHINFO has developed a game of "Capture the Flag" to be played on Facebook for the next week. Details of the game and how to participate are listed below:

CAPTURE THE FLAG GAME OVERVIEW

Social media provides a great opportunity to reach a vast audience. Virtual "Capture the Flag" was developed as a way of sharing Navy themes and messages with personnel with that audience.

Official Navy Facebook pages are "competing" against each other as a way to help the Navy raise awareness about the great things Sailors are doing around the world. Eleven commands have entered the game:
- Naval Facilities Engineering Command
- Norfolk Naval Shipyard
- U.S. Naval Air Forces (AIRFOR)
- U.S. Pacific Fleet
- Naval Sea Systems Command
- Commander Submarine Forces Atlantic (SUBLANT)
- U.S. Navy Life
- Naval Health Clinic New England
- Naval Air Station Pensacola Public Affairs
- Commander Naval Surface Pacific Force (SURFPAC/SURFFOR)
- NECC

The Capture the Flag Bracket shows [redacted] entering the game on Tuesday, August 23 at 0800. [redacted] will go head-to-head with [redacted]! To check out the [redacted] Facebook Page go to: www.facebook.com/[redacted]
To see the [redacted] page go to:
https://www.facebook.com/#!/[redacted]

How Do I Play?

To play the game you will need to access the [redacted] Facebook page, make the Team [redacted] flag your profile picture on your personal Facebook Page and get ready to "like" and "comment" on Tuesday when [redacted] enters the competition. For those of you who already have a Facebook account you can get the NECC team flag by viewing the note here: https://www.facebook.com/#!/notes/[redacted]capture-the-flag-instructions/10150265823551448 The note contains the team flag and full instructions on how to play the game.

Attacking and Defending the [redacted] Flag

Once you have made the Team [redacted] flag your profile picture and game day has started you need to defend the [redacted] themed flag posted for that day and attack the competition's posted themed flag. The posts will be made a pictures on the Facebook wall. Hence, on August 23 at 0800 [redacted] will post the first themed flag as a picture on the wall. If a team member from [redacted] "likes" the [redacted] flag then this counts as an attack. You can then counter the attack by posting a comment to the [redacted] flag which means you are defending the [redacted] flag. Same goes for the [redacted] flag, team members from [redacted] can "like" their flag to attack as well. At 2000 CHINFO will evaluate all the likes and comments to determine a winner of the day. The winner will advance to the next day.

Remember:
Likes = Attack
Comments = Defend

Why Should I Play?

The reward for winning benefits us all because [redacted] will be able to showcase all five of our themed flags for one week on the Navy's Facebook page which has more than 330,000 fans. This is a good way to tell the masses what great work our [redacted] are doing!

What If I Don't Have a Facebook Page?

If you do not have a Facebook account, you will need to get one to play the game. You can go to this page to create an account. https://www.facebook.com/r.php?locale=en_US If you don't want to get a Facebook page, but know individuals who do have one, please encourage them to support [redacted] and attack the opponent's flag (imagine the power of all of your teenaged children carrying [redacted] message to the masses!)

What If I Have Questions?

Please contact:
John [redacted]x252 or john.[redacted]@navy.mil
Rick [redacted]x249 or Richard.[redacted]@navy.mil
Jeannine [redacted]x251 or Jeannine.[redacted]@navy.mil

Thanks for supporting this effort to get our message out.

Very Respectfully,

[redacted]
CAPT USN
[redacted] N5
[redacted]x398

21 comments:

Stu said...

Dorks.

DM05 said...

Cut 10% of the command's billets and budget for the next 5 years, and transfer all to sea duty. Waaay too much time on their hands.

Surfcaster said...

Sounds like a Navy at war, dunnit.

Though not the worst thing to happen on FB's Navy presense lately.

Sometimes I need to remind myself that your work will share some parallels with mine but when we have a bad day, someone's systems are down for a bit. When you all have a bad day someone isn't coming home.

Perhaps someone with the extra gold on the lapels needs a refresher becuase it sure looks though that they are changing the culture to watercooler, TV, and the overflowing HR Do Not Do cork boards like the rest of us.

SJBill said...

You said it perfectly, CDR. a Navy at War.
This is the best outlet for the Global Farce for Good?

Anonymous said...

At least they're smart enough to just give the URL fb.com to sign up.  LOL  I mean the "/<span>r.php?locale=en_US" part was critical.</span>

Eric Palmer said...

My only disappointment is that I can't give 1000 likes to DMOS comment.

John said...

YGBFSM!

Concur with DM05...standby....execute!

The Usual Suspect said...

Looks like several RIF candidates to me.

LT B said...

Surfcaster,
I will leave a reminder of what happens on a bad day.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2029688/Navy-SEAL-Jon-Tumilsons-dog-sits-coffin-funeral.html

We lose aviators, submariners, surface guys. This is a dangerous job. Those downrange are seeing more danger than the rest of the Fleet, but please do not forget that we are a nation at war, and we should focus on our warrior ethos. Instead, we have lost the ball. Give Sailors a mission and instil pride in that mission. Train and equip them to successfully complete the mission, THEN report the results, boosting esprit de corps and public support. Have we forgotten what is important in all of that?

My prayers go to our fallen and their families.

Anonymous said...

Reminds me of the classic Dilbert where the pointy haired boss annouces over the intercom "due to inclement weather, all non-essential personnell can go home early".

The last panel is the pointy haired boss looking out the window at the employee parking lot through binoculars saying to himself, "this is going to be the easiest lay-off ever!"

I suggest anyone playing this silly ass game is self identifying themselves to be riffed...

UltimaRatioRegis said...

You have heard of "flash mob"?  Maybe this can be "flash sh*tcan".  Anyone participating in this collossal waste of time under the rubric that somehow social media is going to help with warfighting proficiency or tactical acumen should be shown the door.  Immediately.  To include Captain Redacted, as well as John, and Richard, and Jeanne Redacted. 

With CHINFO billet being reduced in grade to Captain, and staff cut by 50%. 

Won't happen, of course.  The cuts will be made to warship crews, and to rifle companies in 2/6.

Sean said...

CDR Sal

Perhaps we are looking at this all wrong? What is WE won the game and YOU got to announce your particular memes on the Navy website as the winner?

Delicious irony, no??!!

It might even tempt me to figure out how Facebook works...

UltimaRatioRegis said...

You think CHINFO would go for a "Make holes in stuff and kill some bad guys" page?

DeltaBravo said...

Psst.... URR.  I have a secret.  Everyone already knows what Marines do and what your flag looks like.  Y'all are good.  No need for a FB page.

;)

C-dore 14 said...

Shouldn't these guys all be inspecting bilges and pump foundations someplace?

DeltaBravo said...

That's no way for commands to spread their message.  I promise it will go a lot faster if they attach pictures of kittens with their heads in jars or cats doing nautical things badly. 

I don't think Big Navy has a grasp of the real purpose of the internet and what makes people send messages yet. 

John said...

I wonder if our CHICOM friends who are constantly hacking at stuff might figure a way to rig it so the PLAN wins?

Nah, they got more important stuff to hack than this make-believe fantasy crap.

UltimaRatioRegis said...

They are way too smart for that.  They will let us think that this "social media" crap is the real deal, and we will be all full of ourselves. 

While they sit and watch our C2PC and Blue Force Tracker real time.  And MIJI our network nodes.

JohnS said...

And the O-6 who wrote this email has a job -- why? Is gross stupidity an offense under the UCMJ?

Grumpy Old Ham said...

<span>I don't think Big Navy has a grasp of the real purpose of the internet</span>

Actually, I think big Navy has a fairly good grasp of the real purpose of the Internet.   However, since they (it?) just hung an O-6 out to dry for making videos much tamer than the average Internet user is searching for, I doubt they'll want to use that type of content for advertising purposes...

Quartermaster said...

It sure oughta be.