The Defense Department has decided to block soldiers' access to a number of popular Web sites, including Pandora.
"This recreational traffic impacts our official DoD network and bandwidth ability, while posing a significant operational security challenge," [a Defense Department] memo said.
The armed services have long barred members of the military from sharing information that could jeopardize their missions or safety, whether electronically or by other means.
The new policy is different because it creates a blanket ban on several sites used by military personnel to exchange messages, pictures, video and audio with family and friends.
Members of the military can still access the sites on their own computers and networks, but Defense Department computers and networks are the only ones available to many soldiers and sailors in Iraq and Afghanistan.
