Local Marines say there is little new about an order signed last week banning them from using popular social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter on the Corps' computer network.

Maj. Gabrielle Chapin, spokeswoman for Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, said the depot's Marines have long been banned from sending "tweets" — 140-character text messages posted to Twitter — or tagging Facebook photos at work.

"The Marine Corps has always restricted access to social networking sites from Marine Corps computers, for both security reasons and viruses," Chapin said. "Additionally, some social networks use a great deal of bandwidth that could otherwise be used to help mission-related functions."

In an internal memo signed Aug. 3, the Corps banned Marines from accessing the sites on government-owned computers. The memo says the Web sites "are a proven haven for malicious actors and content and are particularly high risk due to information exposure" and create "a larger attack and exploitation window."

Sgt. Monique Wallace, spokeswoman for Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, said Fightertown Marines were hardly caught off guard by this week's memo.

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