Military launches TroopTube site

The U.S. military, with help from Seattle start-up Delve Networks, has launched a video-sharing website for troops, their families and supporters, a year and a half after restricting access to YouTube and other video sites.

TroopTube, as the website is called, lets people register as members of one of the branches of the armed forces, family, civilian Defense Department employees or supporters. Members can upload personal videos from anywhere with an Internet connection at www.trooptube.tv, but a Pentagon employee screens each for taste, copyright violations and national security issues.

In May 2007, the Defense Department banned employees and soldiers from accessing sites including YouTube and MySpace, citing security and bandwidth issues.

Alex Castro, chief executive of Delve Networks, called TroopTube a “retention tool” aimed at a generation of soldiers who bring laptops to the front lines.

“A lot of people are excited in the company to be doing something for the people who make sacrifices,” Castro said.