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Senator John Barrasso's Marine One photo with Trump exposed a major security detail
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A US Senator accidentally exposed way more than he was supposed to when sharing a picture with President Donald Trump aboard Marine One.
The post seemed innocuous enough, but unfortunately you can never slide anything past the eagle eyes of the internet.
Donald Trump was pictured with Senator John Barrasso
Wyoming Senator John Barrasso was the one who was left embarrassed - or em-Barrasso-ed, if you will - after sharing the seemingly harmless pictures with Trump aboard his personal helicopter Marine One.
He wrote: "President Trump never stops! Great to be on the road with him.”
The two photos that accompanied his post showed the pair walking away from the impressive military helicopter, and one sitting inside, lounging within the surprisingly ornate interior of the chopper.
However, on the wall behind the pair was a set of names, and that is where a huge security breach occurred.
You see, the names of the crew of Marine One are not supposed to be revealed, and in doing so, Barrasso had ‘doxxed’ the entire crew.
Sleuths online were quick to notice.
One person said: "You absolutely should not be posting photos with crew names. Major security fail.”
Another person said: "Uh. Probably need to scrub this - names are visible.”
"Hey Senator you might want to crop out the crew names,” said a third.
A fourth said: "It’s a huge national security issue when members post photos from the interior of Marine One in general but especially when they post HD pictures showing the HMX crew names."
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Why are Marine One crew names kept secret?
OK, so the immediate truth is that there is no guarantee that these four names were exactly the crew involved in that particular ‘mission’, but there are good reasons that the names of Marine One crew remain a guarded secret.
First off, Marine One is not one helicopter - there are a few, and Marine One is just the call sign.
The fleet of presidential helicopters is crewed by US Marines from Marine Helicopter Squadron One, also known as HMX-1 or the ’Nighthawks’.
Given the sensitive nature of their work, as well as the specialist qualifications of those who serve in this post, it’s a high-security job.
Sharing pics like this means that the names of people who could be on presidential detail are in the open, meaning that they are more-susceptible to bad actors who want to infiltrate such operations, and it could contribute to a wider security breach.
There are strict OPSEC (operational security) and counter-intelligence rules around the movements and protocols relating to the president and his transport.
That’s part of the reason that they wouldn’t want to shout out about the names of those involved.
Everyone who performs this role must possess a ‘Yankee White’ security clearance, which is a high level of background check given to those who work directly with the POTUS.
What’s more, it’s not the only protocol in place.
Another is then 'Presidential Shell Game’, which means that Marine One never flies alone - instead flying as part of a formation of up to five aircraft, to obscure exactly which one Trump may be on board.
Trump’s own social media under scrutiny
Barrasso is far from alone in causing a stir on social media, as Trump himself has also found himself on the receiving end of criticism in recent times.
Known for his outlandish posts, whether comparing himself to Jesus or the Obamas to monkeys, he’s never far away from online controversy.
Just yesterday he shared a video of a ‘vulnerable’ man being mauled to death by a tiger at a UK wildlife park.
Despite pleas from the 23-year-old William Chapman’s family, Trump shared the horrific video, as well as a second video showing himself wrestling the tiger.