Although word processing, e-mail, and other electronic and digital advances have greatly benefited the Navy, there remain a number of special practices that originated in the days when paper was supreme and some means had to be developed to organize great volumes of it. Long before there were such things as search engines, the Standard Subject Identification Code (SSIC) system helped the Navy keep its paperwork organized. Without a scroll bar, organizing letters and directives into specific formats helped readers scan them quickly to find the parts they needed. Before firewalls and passwords, a system of protecting sensitive documents from prying eyes was developed.
Though these communications systems might be different if they were developed from scratch today, parts of them remain in effect and are still useful. Their existence alone makes understanding them essential if one is to function efficiently in this Navy world that is part nautical, part clerical, and part bureaucratic.
In this chapter, we will examine how the Navy communicates through correspondence and other means. We will explore the Navy Directives system, learn to decipher the SSIC system, and look at military classification of information. We will explain the logic of those numbers that appear on documents and learn how to make good use of the Navy’s formats.
Although the Constitution, various treaties, and Congress supply the fundamental laws governing the Navy, they are really only broad outlines. The Navy has various publications and official directives setting forth specific procedures for the daily operation of the Navy Department and for the administration of personnel. Some of the more important documents that you are likely to encounter are listed in TAB 19-A: Important Navy Publications.
DECIPHERING THE NUMBERS
The Navy has long used numbers as a means of document identification. There are some numbering systems that do not do much more than uniquely identify a document, but more often than not, these numbers in themselves convey information in an abbreviated form that can be very useful. The Navy’s SSIC system is the best example and is used in many ways Navy-wide. It is used as a means of identifying and filing correspondence, messages, official directives, and various other documents. Understanding how SSIC numbers work will take you a long way toward a better understanding of what is going on in the paper world of the Navy.
Standard Subject Identification Code (SSIC) System
To understand this system and how it is used, you must begin with a publication identified as the SSIC Manual. It is full of useful information that can help you navigate through the seas of paper you are likely to encounter at most Navy commands. It explains the SSIC system and includes a listing of the codes that the Navy uses to make documents identifiable for filing and research purposes. If you deal with Navy paper, you should keep a copy of it nearby.
The codes are four- or five-digit numbers that are linked to particular subjects. The general divisions of these codes and their subject matter are as follows:
1000–1999 |
Military Personnel |
2000–2999 |
Information Technology and Communications |
3000–3999 |
Operations and Readiness |
4000–4999 |
Logistics |
5000–5999 |
General Administration and Management |
6000–6999 |
Medicine and Dentistry |
7000–7999 |
Financial Management |
8000–8999 |
Ordnance Material |
9000–9999 |
Ships Design and Material |
10000–10999 |
General Material |
11000–11999 |
Facilities and Activities Ashore |
12000–12999 |
Civilian Personnel |
13000–13999 |
Aeronautical and Astronautical Material |
Note: These are covered in more detail in TAB 19-B: Standard Subject Identification Codes. For the most detail, see the SSIC Manual itself.
These codes are assigned to various kinds of documents for identification and filing purposes. If you have a working knowledge of them, or if you keep a list of them handy, you can tell something about a document just by the assigned code. For example, if you received a document with the number 1414 on it, you would know that it had something to do with military personnel because of the 1000-series number assigned. Similarly, the number 4355 would have something to with logistics (because it falls between 4000 and 4999), and 7920 has something to do with financial management.
If you look in the SSIC Manual, you will see that the numbers are further broken down to assign more detailed subject matter to the numbers within each series. For example, within the 1000–1999 series (covering Military Personnel), you will see the following breakdowns:
1000–1099 |
General Military Personnel |
1100–1199 |
Recruiting |
1200–1299 |
Classification and Designation |
1300–1399 |
Assignment and Distribution |
1400–1499 |
Promotion and Advancement |
1500–1599 |
Training and Education |
1600–1699 |
Performance and Discipline |
1700–1799 |
Morale and Personal Affairs |
1800–1899 |
Retirement |
1900–1999 |
Separation |
From this list, you can see that the previously mentioned document with the number 1414 on it has something to do with “Promotion and Advancement” because it falls between 1400 and 1499. And because the SSIC further breaks down, as you see below, you would know that 1414 has something to do with enlisted qualifications.
1400 |
General |
1401 |
Elections |
1402 |
Selection Boards Record of Proceedings |
1410 |
Requirements and Qualifications |
1412 |
Officer Qualifications |
1414 |
Enlisted Qualifications |
1416 |
Officer Examinations |
1418 |
Enlisted Examinations |
Etc. |
|
You can see from the list above that there are some numbers that have no current assignment (1403 through 1409, for example). These numbers may be assigned specific subjects in the future if the need arises. These “missing” numbers can also be used now by a command to issue its own directives to cover a specific, related subject. For example, a command might decide to create a library of leadership books and articles providing advice on how to get promoted. The command might assign the number 1415 to the document establishing this special library, because the subject would seem to fall within this area but there is no number already covering it specifically.
You will encounter these SSIC numbers often. They are used on directives, naval messages, and letters for example. The more you know about them the better. No one can memorize them all, so you will have to rely on the SSIC Manual when you need a code to assign to something, or if you are trying to identify subject matter on an existing document, or you are trying to learn about a particular topic.
DIRECTIVES
You have probably heard of Navy Regulations, which you might expect to be a huge document that spells out the rules and procedures for running the Navy. In fact, you could read these regulations in an afternoon, and though they are important, only a small number of topics are covered, such as defining the positions of the SECNAV and the CNO, as well as the Commandant of the Marine Corps, establishing precedence among officers, defining standards of conduct, and the proper observance of ceremonies and customs.
So how does one know how to do the thousands of other things that are necessary for running such a large and complex organization? How does one know, for example, the proper means of keeping aviation ordnance records, or the rules for conducting proper psychological operations, or the procedures for conferring incentive awards, or the requirements for declassifying secret documents, or the means for effectively using the frequency spectrum, or the correct way of arranging ribbons on your uniform, or . . . The need for some means of detailing rules, procedures, policies, and the like is obvious. That is where the Navy Directives System comes in.
Before delving into this new world of complicated numbers and alien concepts, keep in mind what a gigantic task it is to try to organize so much information; keep in mind that it was conceived long before computer software was devised.
The Navy Directives System is intimidating at first. As you study it, you will be able to see a kind of logic in it and perhaps even appreciate the fact that it does manage to organize an incredible amount of information into a useful form.
Instructions and Notices
Two kinds of directives are issued by commands within the Navy Directives System. Notices are used to convey temporary (short-lived) information, and instructions are the means of establishing policies and procedures that are of a more permanent, long-term nature. For example, if the Bureau of Naval Personnel wanted to announce the procedures for a one-time shiphandling contest among junior officers, a notice would be used. But if the bureau wanted to establish the rules for an annual shiphandling competition that would occur year after year, an instruction would be issued.
Notices often contain a self-cancellation date, or their short-lived nature is evident within the text. For example, a notice inviting applicants for a one-time shiphandling competition might have a deadline for application included, so it would be obvious that the notice was no longer needed once that date had passed. Notices usually remain in effect for less than six months and never for more than a year. Instructions, however, remain in effect until superseded by a revised version of the instruction or until formally cancelled by a separate document.
Instructions and notices are issued at virtually all levels of command, from the Secretary of the Navy down to individual units. The good news is that you do not need to be familiar with those directives issued by commands outside your chain of command; the bad news is that you are responsible for being familiar with those directives issued by your command and for all those issued by commands that are above yours in the chain of command. So if you work in the CNO’s office, you will be guided by a lot fewer instructions and notices than someone who is assigned to an aircraft carrier in the Atlantic Fleet—that individual must be familiar with the instructions and notices issued by the ship, by the group and fleet commanders, and on up to the CNO and SECNAV (see Chapter 8: Navy Organization).
IDENTIFICATION OF DIRECTIVES
Both instructions and notices are identified by the issuing authority’s title, often abbreviated (as in “SECNAV” for Secretary of the Navy, or “OPNAV” for the CNO’s office), followed by “INST” if it is an instruction, or “NOTE” if it is a notice. An identifying number follows that tells you something about the subject matter; this is one of the places where the SSIC system comes into play. The date of issuance is also an important identifying component for notices.
An appropriate example is the governing directive that explains all of this. It is issued by the CNO, has the title Navy Directives Issuance System, and is identified as:
OPNAVINST 5215.17
It is important to note that there is no other directive with that same identification. There might be a directive issued by another command with the same number, but then it would have a different originating command, such as SECNAVINST 5215.17 or COMPACFLT 5215.17. There might be a notice with the same number (less the decimal as explained below), such as OPNAVNOTE 5215. There might also be another directive with a very similar number, such as OPNAVINST 5215.18, but not another that is identical. That combination of command identifier, type of directive (INST or NOTE), and that exact number is unique to this one directive.
The Decimal Point. By now, you must be wondering why there is a decimal point and the number “17” appended to the SSIC code 5215 in the example above. If we checked the SSIC Manual, we would find the following:
5214 |
Reports Management |
5215 |
Issuance Systems (Include Directives) |
5216 |
Correspondence Management |
We know that the “5215” in OPNAVINST 5215.17 deals with issuance systems, but the SSIC manual does not explain the decimal appendage. That part tells us that this particular directive is the seventeenth one issued by this command (OPNAV) on that particular subject. You could reasonably expect to find other documents identified as OPNAVINST 5215.16, OPNAVINST 5215.15, and so on, but do not be surprised if you do not; in this ever-changing Navy, directives with some or all of those previous numbers may have been cancelled.
Letter Appendages. You will often see a letter added to the end of the identifier. This tells us that the directive has been revised. If there is no letter appended, then you know the directive is the original and has not been revised. OPNAVINST 5215.17 has no letter following the number, so it is considered the original version. If the Chief of Naval Operations decides to change some things in this directive but keep it essentially the same, a new directive would be issued with the new identifier OPNAVINST 5215.17A. A subsequent revision would be identified as OPNAVINST 5215.17B and yet another would be OPNAVINST 5215.17C, and so on. If you encountered an instruction with the identifier 6224.1D, you would know that it was the fifth version of that particular instruction (original plus four lettered revisions: A, B, C, and D). Once a revised version is issued, the previous one is superseded and should be discarded.
IDENTIFYING NOTICES
Because they are temporary rather than long term, notices are identified differently from instructions. They still use an SSIC but you will not find a decimal or an appended letter attached. They are uniquely identified by a date instead. Despite the shared usage of SSICs, notices are easily discernible from instructions by the word “NOTE” following the issuing command’s identification.
So if you encountered a directive with the identifier OPNAVNOTE 5215 of 30 August 2006, you would know by the word “NOTE” that it is a notice and not an instruction, and you would therefore know that it is of interest for a relatively short period of time after the date of issue (probably less than six months, as explained earlier). You would also know that it had something to do with the issuing of directives because of the SSIC 5215 (the same as the OPNAVINST 5215.17 discussed earlier).
A Few More Things to Know about Directives
Official directives are essential to the smooth running of the Navy. They deal with everything from the very important (such as establishing rules of engagement in a combat zone) to the rather trivial (such as how wide the margins must be when creating a directive).
Both instructions and notices are written using specific rules and formats that are spelled out in OPNAVINST 5215.17. Paragraphs will have identifying words at the beginning, like “Purpose” or “Background.” This formality is useful in that you can get right to the meat of the directive by looking for those paragraphs identified with words like “Purpose,” “Action,” or “Responsibility” and avoiding those paragraphs beginning with words like “Background” and “Authority.”
USMC Directives
In the event that you must deal with directives issued by the Marine Corps, it is helpful to know that what the Navy calls “Instructions” (long-term directives), the Marine Corps calls “Orders.” And the Navy’s short-term “Notices” are called “Bulletins” in the Marine Corps.
INTERNET EFFICIENCY
In the old days—not so very long ago—directives were typed up, reproduced, and distributed to all who needed them (often amounting to hundreds, even thousands, of pounds of paper). Today, most Navy directives are now maintained on websites, which makes them generally more accessible and more likely to be current.
For example, all of the SECNAV directives and those of the OPNAV can be found at https://doni.documentservices.dla.mil/opnav.aspx. You can find a directive by clicking on the tab labeled “Directives” and then selecting one of the dropdown choices, such as “All Instructions,” “All Notices,” and “SECNAV Instructions & Notices.”
You will also see a link to “SECNAV Manuals.” These are instructions that are large and comprehensive enough to qualify as manuals. Examples are the SSIC Manual and the Department of the Navy Forms Management Manual. Note that these instructions are kept separately at this link, rather than with all the other SECNAV instructions. Note: These instructions are exceptions to the usual format in that they are uniquely identified by dropping the “INST” and adding an “M” (for “manual”) just before the SSIC, so that the SSIC Manual becomes SECNAV M-5210.2 and the Department of the Navy Forms Management Manual is SECNAV M-5213.1.
United States Navy Regulations has its own tab labeled “Regulations.”
By clicking on the “Home” link in the upper right of the page, you will find some explanatory information and a section called “Subscribe to/Unsubscribe from Navy Issuances,” which allows you to obtain e-mail notifications of updates as they occur.
NAVY CORRESPONDENCE
The Navy applies to its written correspondence the same precision it once applied to the setting of sails to maximize the propulsive power of the wind. These exacting procedures may stifle creativity, but they also ensure a degree of reliability that would not be guaranteed were such stringent procedures not prescribed.
The guiding directive is the Department of the Navy Correspondence Manual (SECNAVINST 5216.5). This manual is an important one with really useful information and guidance that should be on your desk or linked on your computer desktop if you write for the Navy. For a more user-friendly source that gives practical advice on naval writing, refer to The Naval Institute Guide to Naval Writing by Robert Shenk.
A detailed discussion of naval correspondence is beyond the scope of this book—the Navy Correspondence Manual is more than a hundred pages long—but some helpful summations can be found in TAB 19-C: Navy Letter Format.
NAVAL MESSAGES
Naval messages are used by virtually every Navy command to send important, official information quickly and reliably. Messages must be officially released by the commanding officer or his or her specifically designated representative(s) before they can be transmitted. Naval communications facilities, whether they are on a small ship or at a large communications station, ensure that officially released messages are accounted for to ensure that all intended recipients get the messages they are supposed to receive.
A naval message can be as simple as a one-line request from a ship asking a waterfront port facility for an extra tug or it can be a message released by the Secretary of the Navy or the Chief of Naval Operations that is intended for every person in the Navy. In fact, if you see a message marked “ALNAV” it is from the SECNAV, intended for “all of the Navy and the Marine Corps.” If you see one marked “NAVADMIN,” it is an administrative message from the CNO and is also intended for broad distribution. These messages are sequentially numbered so that all can be sure they do not miss one.
A naval message can be a daunting experience at first, but understanding the format and knowing where to look for specific pieces of information helps you to handle it.
Naval messages grew out of the days of Morse code radio transmissions and evolved into the era of radio teletype. When these came into being they were marvelous innovations that allowed the Navy to communicate in ways that were never possible before. A message could be sent to virtually the entire Navy in a very short period of time. A huge communications infrastructure grew out of this capability, involving a worldwide communications network of communications stations. As capacity grew, so did the amount of message traffic. Very exacting procedures were put into place to ensure that this increasingly large number of messages got to the intended recipients in a timely manner.
TAB 19-D: Navy Message Format provides some basic information about reading Navy messages.
While paper itself has been replaced in many ways by digital equivalents, paperwork still thrives. Record keeping, information dissemination, and other elements of data management and communication are important to the functioning of any large organization, and the Navy is no exception. Understanding the Navy’s administrative systems will benefit you in many important ways.