Ok, so better late than never right? I'm talking about the Social Media policy finally unveiled by the Department of Defense on Feb 26, 2010. And perhaps keeping the new way of communication in mind, Price Floyd, the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs, broke the news of the policy announcement on his Twitter feed.

So it appears that the military will allow it's troops to access popular social networking sites like YouTube, Facebook and Twitter from their "non-classified computer network" also known as NPRNET (for Non-classified Internet Protocol Router Network.)

This is huge people! Think about it, we're talking about the unbending, conservative military. Troops who wish to stay in touch with family and friends will now be able to do so and they'll also be able to share information with others who may be interested in what's happening with our military personnel stationed in remote locations.

The policy includes provisions to balance access with the necessary security measures to protect against malicious cyber and virus attacks. And naturally the policy also includes provisions to restrict access to pornography, gambling and hate-crime related sites.

As with all military policies, local commanders have the discretion to shut down the access to social networking sites. If a commander is uncomfortable with social networks, the troops will more than likely not be able to access the sites either which may cause unhappiness among the troops.