In February the Department of Defense (DoD) issued a policy addressing social media use. Little guidance is provided to DoD organizations and members on effective use of social media to present a positive image of the US military. Reviewing social media guidelines for businesses, how to use social media handbooks and other material on social media, led to the development of a social media framework for the DoD. This framework will help the DoD maximize the potential of social media and help to exploit it. The simple framework is to be proactive, transparent, build trust and evolve. The framework for social media use was then applied to three focus areas: recruiting, crisis/emergency response, and impression management. There are caveats to social media use that the military needs to consider: privacy and accountability are addressed as relating to the military use of social media.