A day after public outcry over training material used by the Department of Defense described media and protesters as “adversaries,” Secretary of Defense Mike Esper ordered the term removed from the mandatory training program, Politico reports.
The Pentagon mandated that all on-site employees–military, civilian and contractors–complete the training within 60 days as an effort to curb leaks to the media from within the department.
“The intent of the mandated operational security, OPSEC, training is to encourage our personnel to treat sensitive information appropriately, which includes staying vigilant for any efforts to obtain information by anyone without a valid need to know,” Pentagon spokesperson Jonathan Hoffman said. “This could be an individual from a foreign nation, an allied partner, an Industry company, DoD co-worker or yes even the media.”