diff --git a/docs/roles/deploy_container.md b/docs/roles/deploy_container.md
index 8e5872cb..9970dc39 100644
--- a/docs/roles/deploy_container.md
+++ b/docs/roles/deploy_container.md
@@ -82,6 +82,8 @@ deploy_container:
     service_autoscale_up_cooldown: 120
     service_autoscale_down_cooldown: 120
     service_autoscale_target_value: 70 # the value to trigger a scaling event at
+    service_public_container_ip: false # set to true to make containers appear on an EIP - more details: https://stackoverflow.com/a/66802973
+    service_enable_ssm: false # set to true to allow arbitrary command execution on containers via the AWS API
     service_force_refresh: false # forces a refresh of all containers if set to true
     execution_role_arn: "arn:aws:iam::000000000000:role/ecsTaskExecutionRole" # ARN of the IAM role to run the task as, must have access to the ECR repository if applicable
     containers: # list of container definitions, see docs: https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/latest/collections/community/aws/ecs_taskdefinition_module.html#parameter-containers
diff --git a/roles/deploy_container/README.md b/roles/deploy_container/README.md
index 8e5872cb..9970dc39 100644
--- a/roles/deploy_container/README.md
+++ b/roles/deploy_container/README.md
@@ -82,6 +82,8 @@ deploy_container:
     service_autoscale_up_cooldown: 120
     service_autoscale_down_cooldown: 120
     service_autoscale_target_value: 70 # the value to trigger a scaling event at
+    service_public_container_ip: false # set to true to make containers appear on an EIP - more details: https://stackoverflow.com/a/66802973
+    service_enable_ssm: false # set to true to allow arbitrary command execution on containers via the AWS API
     service_force_refresh: false # forces a refresh of all containers if set to true
     execution_role_arn: "arn:aws:iam::000000000000:role/ecsTaskExecutionRole" # ARN of the IAM role to run the task as, must have access to the ECR repository if applicable
     containers: # list of container definitions, see docs: https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/latest/collections/community/aws/ecs_taskdefinition_module.html#parameter-containers
diff --git a/roles/deploy_container/defaults/main.yml b/roles/deploy_container/defaults/main.yml
index 0ca73b42..a9b7e9d9 100644
--- a/roles/deploy_container/defaults/main.yml
+++ b/roles/deploy_container/defaults/main.yml
@@ -44,6 +44,8 @@ deploy_container:
     service_autoscale_up_cooldown: 120
     service_autoscale_down_cooldown: 120
     service_autoscale_target_value: 70 # the value to trigger a scaling event at
+    service_public_container_ip: false # set to true to make containers appear on an EIP - more details: https://stackoverflow.com/a/66802973
+    service_enable_ssm: false # set to true to allow arbitrary command execution on containers via the AWS API
     service_force_refresh: false # forces a refresh of all containers if set to true
     execution_role_arn: "arn:aws:iam::000000000000:role/ecsTaskExecutionRole" # ARN of the IAM role to run the task as, must have access to the ECR repository if applicable
     containers: # list of container definitions, see docs: https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/latest/collections/community/aws/ecs_taskdefinition_module.html#parameter-containers
diff --git a/roles/deploy_container/tasks/main.yml b/roles/deploy_container/tasks/main.yml
index 8238e080..de12e5bc 100644
--- a/roles/deploy_container/tasks/main.yml
+++ b/roles/deploy_container/tasks/main.yml
@@ -293,8 +293,9 @@
     network_configuration:
       subnets: "{{ _aws_ecs_cluster_public_subnets_ids }}"
       security_groups: "{{ deploy_container.aws_ecs.security_groups }}"
-      assign_public_ip: true # must be true for now - details: https://stackoverflow.com/a/66802973
+      assign_public_ip: "{{ deploy_container.aws_ecs.service_public_container_ip }}"
     tags: "{{ deploy_container.aws_ecs.tags }}"
+    enable_execute_command: "{{ deploy_container.aws_ecs.service_enable_ssm }}"
     force_new_deployment: "{{ deploy_container.aws_ecs.service_force_refresh }}"
     wait: true
   delegate_to: localhost