orders. The annex includes, but is not limited to, the
following:
l
l
l
l
Delegation of responsibility for the release of
information and the general conduct of public
affairs
Scope of pictorial and written coverage desired
General and specific instructions on policy
governing information activities
Specific instructions on such matters as briefing
news media representatives, news release
format, still and video documentation and news
photography, radio and television arrangements,
information kits, staffing of CIBs and joint
information efforts and critiques or resumes of
the operation
Appendix II of this manual contains an example of
a public affairs annex to the OPORD.
CIB Plan
This type of public affairs plan is usually
promulgated as a notice, establishing and putting into
operation of a CIB to coordinate and cover information
activity of special events and other news situations.
Appendices III and VI of this manual show examples of
CIB plans.
Adverse Incident Plan
An adverse incident plan is usually included as an
appendix to each public affairs plan. The purpose of an
adverse incident plan is to specify the procedure and
format for the release of information concerning
casualties, injuries and accidents or disasters. Appendix
IV of this manual gives an example of an adverse
incident plan.
MESSAGES
As a public affairs office manager, you must be
familiar with the procedures for preparing naval
messages.
When regular correspondence cannot be drafted due
to time constraints, a message will get time-sensitive or
critical information to the addressee rapidly for
maximum effective use.
Messages are prepared on the Joint Message Form
(DD 173/2) (fig. 1-7) to be sent by electrical telecom-
munications. Since the DD 173/2 is read by optical
seamer, it must be prepared in double-spaced format
using an OCR typeface. Complete procedures for naval
message format are contained in the Telecommuni-
cations Users Manual, Naval Telecommunications
Procedures (NTP) 3. In some commands, the Joint
Message Form is no longer used. It has been replaced
by word processing direct transmission or giving a
floppy disk to the message center. Find out what
procedures are accepted at your command.
Parts of a Message
The information detailed below will show you how
to prepare a simple message for transmission. Use
figure 1-7 to identify the position of each block.
PAGE BLOCK.– The first digit is the number of the
current page. The second digit is the total number of
pages of a multipage message.
DTG/RELEASER TIME BLOCK.– The date-
time group (DTG) consists of three elements: the
date-time expressed in digits, the month, and the year.
The first two digits of the date-time are the date of the
month, the second two digits are the hour and the third
pair of digits are the minute. The hour and minute reflect
a standard time zone, ZULU (Z) time. This allows
Navywide standardization of time designations. The
month notation is the three-character month
abbreviation. The year is expressed with the last two
digits of the year. So, a complete DTG would read
2018202 MAY 93. The DTG will be assigned to the
message according to local procedures.
PRECEDENCE BLOCK.– The precedence
assigned to a message is determined by the subject
matter of the text and the desired writer to reader
delivery time.
The four precedence categories and the speed of
service objectives for each category are as follows:
Routine.– Precedence prosign R is assigned to all
types of message traffic that justify electrical trans-
mission but are not of an urgent enough nature to require
a higher precedence. Examples are messages
concerning normal peacetime operations, programs and
projects; stabilized tactical operations; operational plans
concerning projected operations; periodic or con-
solidated intelligence reports; ship movements; supply
and requisition and administrative, logistics, and
personnel matters. The speed of service objective is
within six hours. Most public affairs messages will fall
into this category.
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