they (the army) knew about this for WEEKS

update late morning: (and please know i mean NO disrespect. i support our men and women in the armed services, i keep my mouth shut when i correspond and send my care packages to the four service people deployed in iraq i have 'adopted' {keep it shut about my politics and how i feel about them being there. plus, i have not given them the url to my blogs, not that they'd be able to access them anyway……..well i digress}). this entry has been hit about 100 times give or take in the last couple of hours by the military (all branches, all states and several foreign bases). if they can find me and my little old blog(s) why can't they find the flash drives AND prevent further theft? i really AM concerned with the safety of our troops you know. not just there but everywhere.

it has been talked about and written about. flash drives and memories from OUR military computers being sold in the bazaars of afghanistan. memory containing SENSITIVE information not only about OUR soliders but afghan informants. how many MORE lives are now at risk? at any rate, i read this just now. MORE drives showed up at the bazaar this past weekend. ones that had RECENTLY been stolen. WTF are we doing? how is this happening?

see my previous posting on the very same subject

Army Moving to Secure Data at Afghan Base
After reports of thefts, the chief of staff says troops are being trained in the proper use and protection of computer memory drives.
By Julian E. Barnes Times Staff Writer April 27, 2006
WASHINGTON — The Army's chief of staff said Wednesday that he was frustrated by security lapses at Bagram air base in Afghanistan that led to the loss of potentially sensitive data, and that the military must learn how to be more careful with new technology.Weeks after revelations that flash drives carrying sensitive and classified information have turned up for sale in a bazaar outside Bagram, Gen. Peter J. Schoomaker said the Army was trying to improve how soldiers used and secured flash drives."We have been working hard to educate the force to develop policies to make sure everyone understands what the vulnerabilities are," he said.A market for used computer memory drives has sprung up outside the Bagram base. On April 10, The Times reported that drives being sold at a marketplace just outside the base gate contained documents and files labeled as secret. Although some of the information had been deleted, it was easily reconstructed with software available on the Internet.Documents on some of the drives appeared to contain the names, photographs and telephone numbers of Afghan informants aiding U.S. forces.After the disclosure, the military began a criminal investigation and tightened security at the base. But last weekend, more drives with sensitive data were again being sold at the Bagram bazaar. One smuggler told The Times that he sold four memory drives to a local shopkeeper after a shift change Sunday afternoon. At the request of military officials, The Times on Wednesday returned the flash drives it had purchased at the Bagram bazaar.U.S. military officials have been vague about the steps they are taking to improve security practices in Afghanistan and throughout the armed forces.The military is "making all attempts to protect the identities of people who are helping us to defeat the enemy," Col. Thomas Collins, a spokesman for the U.S. military in Afghanistan, wrote in an e-mail...........