Notices are not assigned consecutive numbers because of their one-time nature or brief duration. For this reason, the date must always be used when referring to a notice; for example, OPNAV Notice 5442 of 6 Jan 1980.

Security Identification

The security classification of Confidential or Secret instructions and notices is indicated by prefixing the subject numbers by the letter C for Confidential and by the letter S for Secret. A single set of consecutive numbers is used by each originating office for each subject number regardless of the security classification of individual instructions. For example, if the first instruction issued on contract financing was unclassified, the second instruction Confidential, and the third instruction Secret, they would be numbered 7810.1, C7810.2, and S7810.3, respectively.

Requisitioning Directives

Copies of directives, excluding notices, may be ordered from the Naval Publications and Forms Center. To determine the applicability and availability of a notice, the sponsoring organization must be contacted. NAVSUP Form 1205 is the primary document for ordering unclassified departmental directives identified in NAVPUBNOTE 5215.

FILING SYSTEM

As an AZ, you will be required to file correspondence correctly and find it promptly. To do this, you must understand Navy files and be thoroughly familiar with your own files. For example, the aircraft maintenance officer may ask you to find a certain letter immediately. The officer may identify it by saying it came from either NAVAIRSYSCOM or NAVSHIPSYSCOM and had something to do with hand tools. On second thought, maybe NAVSUPSYSCOM sent it, and the officer is not certain when it was received. The maintenance officer remembers reading it about 6 months ago and has had no further need to refer to it until now.

Such events are everyday occurrences in large offices. Unless you have a workable system for locating requested materials, you are in for considerable embarrassment, and your seniors will not receive the assistance they have a right to expect.

Constant changes in naval office personnel, because of transfers, leave, and discharges, emphasize the need for a standardized subject identification system. The present system fills that need. If you know the subject identification system of one ship or station, you can operate that of another with little decrease in efficiency. This does not mean that each office has the same number of file jackets. Rather, it means that a uniform system is used in assigning subject identification numbers and in designating the various types of naval activities, that all general files have the same basic arrangement, and certain sets of files are kept by all activities.

FILING EQUIPMENT

Usually, you will not be setting up an office by yourself. Therefore, you should not spend time making a detailed study of the various items of filing equipment available. You should have some knowledge of the general types of equipment so that you can use correct names in taking inventory and know what to look for in a stock catalog in case you need to requisition individual items.

Cabinets

There are many kinds and sizes of file cabinets that accommodate the various types of material to be filed. Because materials are usually filed without folding, the file cabinet size is determined by the size of the individual sheets or cards to be filed. The drawer or cabinet should be just a little larger than the material. It is a waste of space and material to use a cabinet larger than needed.

Letter-size cabinets should be used instead of legal size whenever possible. Legal-size cabinets should be used only when the greater portion of the material to be filed is larger than 8 1/2 by 11 inches. Five-drawer cabinets should be used whenever possible because they contain more filing space than four-drawer cabinets, and occupy the same deck space.

File drawers should be equipped with adjustable backstops called "compressors." These are necessary for keeping the files upright when there are only a few folders in a drawer.

Card files are found in some offices. These have their own special cabinets of appropriate size.

Visible files of various sizes and kinds are now common in certain offices. A visible file is one in which cards, sheets, or strips of paper are so arranged that the margins of all can be seen at