Keys for padlocks used to protect classified material must be given the same protection as the material they protect. It is essential that combinations be known or keys be accessible only to those persons whose official duties demand access to the container involved. The combination or key to the security container must be changed at the time received, at the time any person having a knowledge of it transfers from the organizational unit, at anytime there is reason to believe it has been compromised, or in any case not less than every 12 months. Any document showing the combination to a lock must be of the same classification as the material in the container secured by that lock. Records of combinations must be sealed in an envelope and kept on file by the security manager, duty officer, communications officer, or other personnel designated by the commanding officer. When selecting combination numbers, multiples of 5 (ascending or descending) or personal data such as birth dates and social security numbers should not be used. RECORDS DISPOSAL Information documents of actions and decisions made at policy level activities as well as in the field and fleet units, both important and unimportant, are distributed throughout the Department of the Navy on an increasing basis. Records disposal techniques must keep pace with these increased production and dissemination techniques. Temporary records must be identified, scheduled, and regularly destroyed, and permanent records must be identified and marked for preservation. Congress has passed statutory and regulatory laws that govern the disposition of official records, both classified and unclassified and affixed penalties for their unauthorized destruction. The scheduling of government records is given legal status by the Records Disposal Act of 1943, as amended by the Federal Records Act of 1950. This amendment states that, as part of the responsibility for the establishment of a continuing agencywide records program, the Secretary of the Navy should propose retention and disposal instructions for all major series of Navy records. Article 1127 of the U.S. Navy Regulations, 1990, provides that no person may destroy or withdraw official records without proper authority. OPNAVINST 5510.1 provides for the destruction of classified matter. This and other regulations for safeguarding security information must be followed at all times in applying the provisions outlined in the Navy and Marine Corps Records Disposition Manual, SECNAVINST 5212.5. One of the duties of a senior AK is to be able to determine what records should be held in the files for a period of time or what records should be destroyed or transferred for preservation. Retention Standards The records retention standards are the basis for the establishment of a command records disposal program. A retention standard denotes a description of a recorder series of records with a retention period stated in terms of time before the destruction or disposition. Refer to SECNAVINST 5212.5, Part III, for listing of retention standards for naval records. Retiring Words to Local Storage Areas Most supply records are short-term temporary records eligible for destruction in less than 5 years, and the bulk of these records have retention periods of 2 years or less. These short-term records should be cut off at regular intervals, retired locally, and destroyed by the accumulating activity as soon as their retention periods have expired. Generally, it is not economical to transfer them to federal records centers. Spaces not suitable for normal office use such as basements, vacated warehouses, or other unoccupied spaces that are unattended and do not require specialized storage equipment are normally used for local storage areas. Records eligible for local retirement must be short-term records that are eligible for destruction in 5 years or less and long-term records that must be retained close at hand until the frequency of reference to the records will permit their transfer to the federal records center. Transfer to Federal Records Centers Procedures for transferring records to federal records centers (FRCs) are outlined in SECNAVINST 5212.5, Appendix C. Activities are authorized to transfer records to FRCs under the following conditions: l l l When the records are specifically designated in SECNAVINST 5212.5 for periodic transfer and designated as permanent or indefinite retention. Records have at least 3 years retention period at the FRC. Records are inactive and are not required for local operating purposes. 1-16