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Military officials have their hands full when it comes to keeping sensitive information under wraps. That’s especially true in a world that revolves around the internet, and it’s hard to envy the French soldier who managed to make headlines after revealing the location of the ship where he went on a run because he couldn’t resist the urge to log it on a workout app.
Members of the armed forces tend to be subjected to rigorous training that hammers the rules they’re expected to follow into their heads. That indoctrination is usually designed to suppress individualism in favor of the hivemind that the military relies on to thrive, but at the end of the day, you’re still dealing with individuals who are prone to slipping up every now and then.
France is one of many European countries that have neglected to directly support America’s and Israel’s bombardment of Iran, but it has been forced to respond to that development and prepare for a possible escalation (a French soldier became the first European casualty of the conflict when a NATO base in Iraq was targeted by an Iranian drone last week).
That response included the decision to dispatch some ships into the Mediterranean Sea, and a soldier aboard one of them has landed in hot water after feeling the need to broadcast his workout regimen to the world while deployed.
The location of the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle was revealed by a soldier who posted his workouts on Strava
Many people who exercise on a regular basis rely on Strava to chronicle their progress. The app allows you to track your progress and gains with the added bonus of being able to let everyone know you’re being active if you decide to make your account public.
According to Le Monde, a French officer (who the outlet referred to as “Arthur”) went that route and declined to stop posting after he was dispatched as part of the armada that Emmanuel Macron announced he had deployed in the immediate wake of the initial attacks on Iran.
The collection of ships included the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, a supply vessel, and a few frigates, and while France may have broadcast the decision to send them toward the Middle East, it did not go out of its way to provide updates concerning their specific location.
However, the aforementioned officer managed to do exactly that by logging the four-mile jog he made on the deck of either the Charles de Gaulle or one of its escort ships on March 13th, which revealed he was floating somewhere between Turkey and Cyprus.
Le Monde was subsequently able to use that information to obtain satellite photos that showed the Charles de Gaulle in the same location as Arthur’s Strava workout. The outlet noted he wasn’t the only naval member who made a similar mistake, one that a spokesperson for the French Armed Forces General Staff said “does not comply with current regulations” while promising “appropriate measures will be taken by the command.”
This isn’t the first time Strava has been the source of privacy concerns for the military, as the United States previously found itself dealing with a headache after some troops revealed the location of secret bases and patrol routes.