MilTube brings secure video-sharing into Army fold

While YouTube’s explosive popularity spread like wildfire across the Internet, it wasn’t well admired by Defense Department officials concerned about operational and network security. However, service members now will be able to securely share videos behind the DOD firewall with the Army’s launch of MilTube.

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Part of a broader arsenal of social network-type capabilities, MilSuite, the video-sharing site offers users a chance to upload and share videos, whether for entertainment, information or training. The site is run by the MilTech Solutions Office, which operates under the Army’s Program Executive Office for Command, Control and Communications–Tactical (PEO C3T).

The video capability represents a powerful tool for storytelling and information-sharing -- and it's a key part of a bigger picture of collaboration, according to Justin Filler, deputy director of the MilTechSolutions Office.

“The overriding benefit is the ability of individuals in DOD to reach beyond the conceived barriers of cube walls and organizational lines to collaborate with individuals they may have never seen or met, who share similar goals, tasks, communities of interest and processes,” Filler said.

To prevent unauthorized access or distribution, MilTube works behind secured DOD network firewalls, where users are able to share unclassified internal information and have dialog that wouldn’t be possible on a commercial site like YouTube.

“Working within DOD or behind the firewall means security is an important ingredient and an aspect of building online collaborative environments that we take very seriously,” Filler said. “We use a level of site authentication provided through the Army Knowledge Online/Defense Knowledge Online portal.”

MilTube does have some of the familiar features of YouTube – channels, categories and tagging are all available, and users are able to watch, upload, sort and search content. A short video introducing MilTube can be viewed here.