Woman Defends Mentioning Husband's Deployment to Middle East on TikTok After She's Accused of 'Breaking OPSEC' (Exclusive)

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13 hours ago

Cassady Yarbrough is a military spouse whose husband is currently deployed overseas
Following the news of a ceasefire between Iran and Israel, she took to TikTok to post a video she believed to be harmless
Commenters thought otherwise and accused her of "breaking OPSEC"Cassady Yarbrough is a stay-at-home mother who often shares candid lifestyle content, including the unique challenges of life as a military spouse with a deployed husband in the Army Reserve.
"Each deployment brings its own emotions. It's always hard to say goodbye, and even though I've been through it before, it never gets easier - just more familiar," she tells PEOPLE exclusively.
"I'm naturally pretty independent, and I've learned how to manage things on my own, especially while taking care of our two girls."
On June 24, 2025, she revealed that her husband was deployed in the Middle East on TikTok. In the clip, Yarbrough is seen mouthing the words to a popular audio track: "I wanna be sparkly, in pinks and purples, but the world is on fire and I am angry."
"But I just saw there is a cease fire...so I don't need to be angry anymore," she captioned the video, referencing the ceasefire agreement brokered between Iran and Israel one day prior.
"This is actually his fourth time deploying to the Middle East - once before we met when he was in the Marine Corps, and this is our third time since we've been together," Yarbrough explains.
"I'd be lying if I said the current situation doesn't feel a little more intense. But based on where he is and what he's doing, I don't feel overly worried. We've been through this before and trust each other completely."
Earlier in the week, President Donald Trump announced that the United States had bombed three nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz and Esfahan. Iran responded by launching a missile strike against a U.S. military base in Qatar.
With tension escalating between Israel and Iran – especially after the two countries reportedly broke the ceasefire Trump announced on June 23 – viewers cautioned the 33-year-old mom from Nebraska to be more careful with what she reveals online.
In the comments, other military wives and soldiers chimed in on whether Yarbrough was "breaking OPSEC" (Operational Security) with her video.
'As an army wife myself, please don't post things like this,' one commenter wrote. 'Always respect OPSEC, for the safety of your husband, my husband, and all other soldiers!!"
Another commenter took to Yarbrough's defense, writing, 'Girl, we're not at war with anyone. YET there's no OPSEC and the Middle East is a very vague term. She's fine. - As a soldier.'
An official from the U.S. Department of Defense tells PEOPLE that Yarbrough did not, in fact, "break OPSEC," as Operations Security is actually a process rather than a code that can be broken.
According to the definition provided by the official, "OPSEC is the process by which we protect critical information, whether it is classified or unclassified, that can be used against us. It focuses on preventing our adversaries' access to information and actions that may compromise an operation. OPSEC challenges us to look at ourselves through the eyes of an adversary and deny the adversary the ability to act."
While it's something to take extremely seriously, simply stating that your spouse or someone you know is deployed is not a violation, given there are nearly 40,000 people deployed in the Middle East.
If a spouse were to reveal sensitive information, such as the exact location of soldiers and their operational details, which could jeopardize missions and soldier safety, the official says they wouldn't be arrested. Instead, the compromised operation could change and adapt to ensure soldier safety, and the spouse would get little to no information about missions in the future.
In a follow-up video addressing the comments, Yarbrough explained that she purposefully left the location vague and even asked her husband of 15 years if she had broken OPSEC, to which he responded, "No."
'I promise I know what I'm doing,' she captioned the post. 'I understand the world is crazy right now, just wanted to make a funny video.'
Yarbrough was in disbelief that viewers would think the video was more than just a joke. She believes it's important for other military spouses to see that they can share their experiences without crossing any lines.
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"Honestly, when I saw those comments, I kind of rolled my eyes. I take OPSEC seriously and would never put my husband or anyone else at risk," she tells PEOPLE.
"I even ran the video by him before I posted it, just to be sure everything I said was okay. It's easy for people online to jump to conclusions without knowing the full story."
Despite ongoing uncertainties, President Trump has repeatedly insisted that the ceasefire is still in effect and that the U.S. is not at war.
Read the original article on People