Yes. The Army has many services that allow Army personnel to contact their families including phones, video phones, email (and other online methods of communication like social media), military networks, and a mail system. The Army encourages Soldiers and their families to stay in touch whenever possible.
The military doesn't stop service members from using video chat. In fact, they encourage deployed soldiers to stay in contact with family and friends.
The Limits of the Phone
If your service member does not have Internet access, be prepared for brief phone calls. Your service member may be relying on the Defense Satellite Network (DSN), which limits call lengths to fifteen or thirty minutes.
Social Media for Soldiers
Soldiers are authorized to use and belong to a variety of social media platforms as long as their involvement does not violate unit policy and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Here are a few key items Soldiers should keep in mind when using social media platforms.
Please use the Defense Manpower Data Center's (DMDC) Military Verification service to verify if someone is in the military. The website will tell you if the person is currently serving in the military. The site is available 24-hours a day.
Scammers often don't bother writing their profile text or messages but instead copy them from other websites or dating profiles. To check, you can run suspicious text through an online search to see if any matches come up. If they do, don't message back or respond. They won't Skype or video call you or meet in person.
Yes, military personnel are still allowed to own both official social media accounts and personal social media accounts.
Service members who went through Basic Training said the Navy allowed 1-2 phone calls per month. Army recruits are allowed to call every 3 weeks when they phase up, and then every weekend once they complete Basic and begin AIT.
Yes. The Army has many services that allow Army personnel to contact their families including phones, video phones, email (and other online methods of communication like social media), military networks, and a mail system.
Now, some soldiers are allowed to call home weekly. In Advanced Individual Training, cellphones are seen every day. While limited during the duty day, soldiers are immediately calling, texting and checking Facebook as soon as it is permitted—and sometimes, when it isn't.
The proliferation of consumer-grade communications applications like WhatsApp has given rise to widespread, unsanctioned use throughout the military community—a practice that puts operations at risk of interference in an era of great power competition.
Soldiers using social media must abide by the UCMJ at all times, even when off duty. Commenting, posting and linking to material that violates the UCMJ or basic rules of Soldier conduct are prohibited, along with talking negatively about supervisors or releasing sensitive information.
The average military deployment is typically between six and 12 months long. However, deployment lengths vary greatly from branch to branch, are situational and depend on several factors specific to each individual service member.
The policy does not require security investigations consider social media information. Instead, it permits the collection of publicly available social media information if an agency head determines it is an appropriate investigative tool.
As the esports industry continues to grow exponentially, nearly every branch of the military now has an official service-sanctioned gaming program. For some of these service members, that means it's actually their job to play video games.
The list when it comes to what questions to ask a military scammer should start with why they're asking you for a favour. They want gifts because they're lonely? They need your help with a financial problem? Their bank account is giving them trouble because they're deployed?
Telegrams were used by governments and war correspondents needing to communicate quickly and efficiently. They were often used to send notice of a soldier's death, capture or wounding. Soldiers sent telegrams to let their families know of their travels or that they had survived a battle.
WhatsApp scam: Don't take voice/video calls from these 'dangerous numbers' WhatsApp scams from international numbers seem to be rising. In the past few days, several users have reported receiving calls on WhatsApp from unknown international numbers. These calls are both voice and video calls.