To sheer disappointment of their supporters, Kit4Troops, the Charity service that was launched last week to support British troops by encouraging the general public send equipment that the troops need when they're deployed, suspend their operations due to security concerns by the Ministry of Defence (MoD). We have been monitoring their Facebook page as they posted that major updates will be announced last night. But as of this writing, there was none posted.

Since it launched, there was an outpouring of support, with over £500 donated to purchase items for the initial troops who have signed up for the service. These donations will be distributed to the intended beneficiaries rather than stay unused while the charity's operations remaind suspended.

The MoD is concerned with the safety of the soldiers who have signed up with the service as during the launch of the online service, real names and photos of the member-soldiers are publicly posted online. While we don't see it as much of a problem here as photos of troops with their names and unit designations are also posted online at the MoD website and other military services, the problem might be of some elements who will masquerade as supporters and develop close contacts will try to inflict harm on the members. That is mere speculation on our part. But the important thing is that the MoD must be able to explain to the supporters of Kit4Troops the real reasons behind this and how to mitigate the identified issues.

With Wikileaks and other "leaks" about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan affecting how the militaries and governments around the world conduct operations, the MoD will be concerned about the exposure of names and photos of troops online and access by some individuals with bad intentions who have not been vetted to use the site.

Unsolicited advice on our part is to put all the information about troops and supporters private rather than making the information public by default. Soldiers and supporters may need to be vetted somehow, perhaps by invitation of members who are known to be in good standing or some other way to speed up the vetting process as speed is also of the essence. There are good examples of online services that their models can be borrowed.

Kit4Troops is a great idea which should not go to waste. Hopefully, the MoD and the founders of Ki4Troops would come to an agreement to continue the online service very soon. Spontaneous support is always a good thing when British troops are overseas fighting a war very far from home, and it enhances their morale as they know that people back home are supporting them in a personal way.