According to Marine Corps Administrative Message 181/10, all users of the Marine Corps Enterprise Network are allowed access to social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter, video and image-sharing sites like Flickr and YouTube, and personal e-mail sites like Yahoo.

“The Marine Corps understands and embraces Internet-based capabilities,” said Major Gen. George J. Allen, director for Command, Control, Communications and Computers; and the Chief Information Officer of the Marine Corps, in an official statement. “We can collaborate and enhance our business processes, and also provide a level of morale for our force that has never been seen before.”

According to the new MarAdmin, social networking sites can be used for recruiting, and sharing general news and useful public information. These capabilities can be a strong asset to the Marine Corps and can have a positive impact on Corps-wide morale.

“We do have a responsibility to ensure that we use the Internet in a responsible way, and that means ensuring our Marines are educated on information assurance and operations security,” Allen said. “This policy will provide the best of both worlds – a trained force that can use the many capabilities of the Internet.”

The MarAdmin states Marines are allowed to visit social networking sites, user- generated content, e-mail, internet messaging and discussion forums for reasonable durations and frequency based on the determination of a supervisor. This means the use of such sites cannot negatively impact mission accomplishment within the work section.

The Combat Center currently hosts a Facebook page, which is regularly updated and monitored by the Public Affairs Office. New photos, videos and stories are added almost daily, and fans of the page have the ability to interact with the installation by providing questions, comments and feedback.

To become a fan of the Combat Center’s Facebook page, log in to Facebook and search for “The Combat Center at Twentynine Palms.”