Issuance System, SECNAVINST 5215.1, the directive issuance system contains two parts:
Part I. Definitions, Criteria, and Responsibilities
Part II. Preparation and Maintenance of Directives
The directives issuance system is used in conjunction with the latest edition of Department of the Navy File Maintenance Procedures and Standard Subject Identification Codes (SSIC), SECNAVINST 5210.11, which is also used for filing, identification of forms, and other duties that require the organization of a large volume of material.
In the directives issuance system, a directive is defined as a written communication that prescribes or establishes policy, organization, conduct, methods, or procedures; requires action or sets forth information essential to the effective administration or operation of activities concerned; or contains authority or information that must be formally issued. In general, a directive is issued when it does one or more of the following:
Regulates or is essential to effective administration
Establishes policy
Delegates authority or assigns responsibility
Establishes an organizational structure
Assigns a mission, function, or task
Initiates or governs a course of action or conduct
Establishes a procedure, technique, standard, guide, or method of performing a duty, function, or operation
Establishes a reporting requirement
Changes, supersedes, or cancels another directive
At times, directives are issued that do not fall within the scope of these criteria. They are issued in the directives issuance system to obtain quick and controlled dissemination. Normally, directives of this nature are issued as notices, and they include the following:
Requests for comments, approval, or information
Directions for routinely carrying out established operations, such as matters pertaining to individual personnel actions or special shipments of materials
Informative announcements, such as education or promotion opportunities, recreational activities, work improvement plans, suggestions for morale building, or changes in office locations or telephone extensions
Most directives having more than six addressees are issued in the format of the directives issuance system. Directives classified Top Secret, Navy regulations, registered publications, and general orders are exceptions to this.
All Navy activities are responsible for complying with the instructions contained in the directives issuance system. They may submit recommendations for improving the system to the Chief of Naval Operations through the chain of command.
The Navy-wide use of the directive issuance system is very advantageous to both those activities that receive directives and those activities that issue directives. It enables each naval activity that receives directives to accomplish the following:
Group directives by subject and combine related subjects.
Have an easy method for filing directives and describing them as references.
Distinguish between directives of a continuing nature and those of brief duration.
Obtain complete sets of instructions upon activation or commissioning.
Determine, by the use of periodic checklists, the current status and completeness of its set of directives.
Determine, by the use of subject indexes, what directives are in effect on a subject.Continue Reading