NORFOLK (Tribune News Service) — Families of some of the 100 servicemembers whose names and addresses appeared on an online "hit list" by Islamic State militants are struggling to figure out how much danger they really face.
The weekend posting by a group that identified itself as the Islamic State Hacking Division included pictures of servicemembers along with their names, home addresses, branches of service and, in some cases, ranks and titles. It claimed the information was hacked from military sites, while the Pentagon insists it was culled from the Internet.
The posting, which has since been removed, called on unnamed "brothers in America" to seek out the servicemembers and "kill them in their own land."
On the list: 15 servicemembers from Hampton Roads, most of whom were assigned to warships that launched strikes against the Islamic State.
The wife of one sailor named said affected families are frustrated. They maintain that the Navy's public relations arm has been too lax in allowing information about naval operations onto the web and that the Pentagon is not taking the threats seriously enough. Additionally, they said, the Navy is not being forthcoming enough with them about how it intends to deal with the risk.
"The bottom line is, we are at war, and war is not pretty," the woman said.
"It's not that our addresses couldn't have been found," she said. "We've pretty much given the keys to the kingdom to people that don't have our best interests at heart."
The Pilot is not identifying the servicemembers or their immediate relatives.
Still, she said, families were heartened that schools and police were taking measures to protect them. The Navy and local police departments did not release details on activities.
On Monday, Navy officials said the Naval Criminal Investigative Service was meeting with all 41 Navy and Marine Corps servicemembers listed. But the woman said many families had simply received brief phone calls.
"They feel the response has been anemic at best," the woman said. "They said it was face-to-face contact. That assumes a different posture. It makes everything else they say seem without credibility."
U.S. Rep. Scott Rigell, R-Virginia Beach, said he started asking questions when his office heard from frustrated family members. He reached out to Navy Secretary Ray Mabus, who took his call in Japan and offered to put Rigell in contact with the head of the NCIS for a briefing on the matter.
The threat was small, but it's not nil, Rigell said. The Navy's response needs to be "proportionate to the risk," something that should be determined by the NCIS and the FBI.
"This must be an intelligence-driven response," Rigell said. "Their intent, of course, is to disrupt lives. We are going to do everything we can to help our servicemembers and to make sure ISIS is not successful in that. It's not an easy path for our military families."
He said there needs to be "clear, consistent and regular communication with the families."
Other regional lawmakers also sought answers. U.S. Sen. Mark Warner sent a letter to Defense Secretary Ash Carter on Tuesday asking him to "immediately offer these 100 publicly identified servicemembers assistance."
Warner asked what is being done to protect the servicemembers, when will they be provided with "a specific assessment on additional measures they need to protect themselves, their families and their homes," and how personal information is protected.
"You have my support in assembling whatever resources are required to help their families navigate this frightening and dangerous situation and mitigate the threat," Warner wrote.
Standing on a playground with her children, the sailor's wife said families might be scared, but they are not going to be bullied.
"While this has been done to intimidate and make us scramble, life goes on," she said.
"It doesn't mean we are not concerned and we are not going to take a stricter posture. But if their intended target was for us to stay home every day — that's not going to happen."
Dianna Cahn, 757-222-5846, dianna.cahn@pilotonline.com
(c)2015 The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, Va.)
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