Declassification Demystified

April 8, 2009

Bonnie Klein

• Ms. Melissa WalkerArmy Declassification Activity

• Ms. Linda SmithAir Force Declassification Office

• Ms. Mary AndersonNavy Declassification Program

Declassification Demystified

Automatic Automatic Declassification Declassification

Defense Technical Information CenterDefense Technical Information Center2009 Annual Conference2009 Annual Conference

Alexandria VAAlexandria VA

Melissa S. WalkerChief, Army Declassification

Activity

Mary AndersonNavy Declassification

Program Manager

Linda SmithDirector, Air Force

Declassification Office

AgendaAgenda

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What is a record? Records Retention Record Lifecycle What is Classified Information? Pre 1995 - Not a Priority The Declassification Crisis 1995 - 2000 Declassification 9/11 & Post 9/11 Agency Review Options Selected DoD Regulatory Guidelines Background Information

What is a government “record”?What is a government “record”?

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All books, papers, maps, photographs, machine readable or documentary material regardless of physical form or characteristic

Made or received by an agency of the US Government

Under Federal law or in connection with the transaction of public business

Preserved or appropriate for preservation by that agency or its legitimate successor

As evidence of the organization, functions, policies, decisions, procedures, operations, or other activities of the government

Or because of the informational value of the data

Is every record kept forever?Is every record kept forever?

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When a record is born, it is designated as either Temporary or Permanent

Permanent records have “historical” value and are eventually retired to the National Archives

Temporary records are destroyed after their usefulness to the agency has expired

Lifecycle of a RecordLifecycle of a Record

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PERFORM MISSION

CURRENTFILES AREA (CFA)

NATIONALARCHIVES

INSTALLATIONRECORDSHOLDING

AREA (RHA)FEDERALRECORDS

CENTERS (FRC)

CREATE RECORD INFORMATION (OFFICE OF RECORD)

Permanent

10%

50%DESTROYED

All Records100%

50% DESTROYED

50% DESTROYED

What does “Classified” mean?What does “Classified” mean?

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Webster definition:– Divided into classes or placed in a class– Withheld from general circulation for reasons of national security

US Government uses three levels of classification:– TOP SECRET, SECRET and CONFIDENTIAL– Levels based upon damage to national security Terms that do not designate classified information:– For Official Use Only (FOUO)– Sensitive But Unclassified (SBU)– Limited Official Use Information (LOU)– Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI)– DoD Scientific and Technical Information (STINFO)

Declassification Declassification Before 1995 – Not a Priority Before 1995 – Not a Priority

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Presidents since Eisenhower have disseminated Executive Orders relating to National Security Information

Prior to 1995 the concern was always on the front end: CLASSIFICATION - protect it now and worry about it later

The back end: DECLASSIFICATION - was a future problem

Resulted in the accumulation of 1.6 Billion pages of classified records originating between 1940 and 1970 which became a present problem in April 1995

The Declassification CrisisThe Declassification Crisis1995 - 20001995 - 2000

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17 Apr 95 - President Clinton issues Executive Order (EO) 12958 “Classified National Security Information” (NSI)

Prescribed a uniform system to all Executive Branch Agencies for classifying, safeguarding, and declassifying NSI

First EO to mandate automatic declassification of classified 25 year old or older permanent, historical records

Additional Requirements– Mid 98 the Department of Energy discovers unmarked Restricted Data/Formerly Restricted Data (RD/FRD) in agency records – Oct 98/Aug 99 Congress passed Kyl/Lott Amendment; designed to prevent inadvertent release of sensitive nuclear weapons information

DeclassificationDeclassification9/11 and Post 9/119/11 and Post 9/11

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11 Sep 01 - Terrorists attack US– Mar/May 02 - White House, SECDEF, and Department of Justice issued guidance on safeguarding Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) and Critical Infrastructure Information (CII)

25 Mar 03 - Bush issues Executive Order 12958, As Amended– Extends deadline to 31 Dec 06 for remaining backlog of records– Left existing classification/declassification policies largely intact– Maintained the annual rolling requirement to review classified permanent, historical records as they become 25 years old

Agency Review OptionsAgency Review Options

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Declassify – No longer causes damage to national security– Does not mean public release

Exempt– Classify beyond 25 years– Nine exemption categories such as intelligence sources and methods, war plans, state of the art technology, etc.

Exclude– Restricted Data/Formerly Restricted Data – Information governed by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954

Refer – Other agencies equities to the originator– One agency cannot declassify another agency’s information

Selected DoD Regulatory Selected DoD Regulatory GuidelinesGuidelines

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DOD 5200.1-R “Information Security Program” issued Jan 97 by Undersecretary of Defense (Intelligence) implements EO 12958 for the Department of Defense

– Current EO changes are in “Interim Guidance on Classification, Declassification, and Markings” dated 1 March 2005

G-2 is the proponent for AR 380-5, “Department of the Army Information Security Program” issued 29 Sep 00

– ADA implements Section II, Chapter 3, automatic declassification– ADA publishes the Army Declassification Guide

Air Force - AF Instruction 31-401, “Declassification Plan”

CNO(N09N2)/NCIS-24E is the proponent for the DON Declassification Program, as directed by the SECNAV April 97− ISCAP approved the DON Declassification Guide in 2003− DON has no exemptions

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Melissa WalkerChief, Army Declassification Activitymelissa.s.walker@us.army.mil703.617.0072

Linda SmithDirector, Air Force Declassification Office linda.smith@pentagon.af.mil 703.604.4665

Mary AndersonDepartment of the Navy (DON) Declassification Program Managermary.a.anderson@navy.mil202.433.3207

Panel SpeakersPanel Speakers

Background InformationBackground InformationFormal definition of “record”Formal definition of “record”

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All books, papers, maps, photographs, machine-readable materials, or other documentary materials, regardless of physical form or characteristics, made or received by an agency of the United States Government under Federal law or in connection with the transaction of public business and preserved or appropriate for preservation by that agency or its legitimate successor as evidence of the organization, functions, policies, decisions, procedures, operations, or other activities of the government or because of the informational value of the data in them. Library and museum material made or acquired and preserved solely for reference or exhibition purposes, extra copies of documents preserved only for convenience of reference, and stocks of publications and of processed documents are not included.

(44 USC 3301) http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=browse_usc&docid=Cite:%2B44USC3301

Background InformationBackground InformationFormal definition of “classified”Formal definition of “classified”

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“Classified information" is marked or unmarked classified information, including oral communications; and unclassified information that meets the standards for classification and is in the process of a classification determination, as provided in Sections 1.2 and 1.4(e) of Executive Order 12958 or under any other Executive order or statute that requires interim protection for certain information while a classification determination is pending. "Classified information" does not include unclassified information that may be subject to possible classification at some future date, but is not currently in the process of a classification determination.

http://www.archives.gov/isoo/training/standard-form-312.html

Background InformationBackground InformationClassification LevelsClassification Levels

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The US Government uses three levels of classification:

– TOP SECRET: Unauthorized disclosure could cause exceptionally grave damage to national security

– SECRET: Unauthorized disclosure could cause serious damage to national security

– CONFIDENTIAL: Unauthorized disclosure could cause damage to national security

Background InformationBackground InformationExecutive Order (EO) 12958 Section 3.3(a)Executive Order (EO) 12958 Section 3.3(a)

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On 31 Dec 06, all classified records that (1) are more than 25 years old, and (2) have been determined to have permanent historical value under title 44, United States Code, shall be automatically declassified whether or not the records have been reviewed. Subsequently, all classified records shall be declassified on 31 Dec of the year that is 25 years from the date of its original classification, except as provided in (b) – (e) of this section …

https://www.rmda.army.mil/programs/docs/eoamend_3-3.pdf

Background InformationBackground InformationKyl/Lott AmendmentsKyl/Lott Amendments

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Required agencies to conduct page-by-page review of records likely to contain unmarked RD/FRD

Required all declassification reviewers to be DOE certified

Lott Amendment required agencies to conduct a page-by-page review of all documents processed prior to Oct 98

http://www.fas.org/sgp/congress/hr3616am.html the entire bill can be accessed at http://www.dod.mil/dodgc/olc/docs/1999NDAA.pdf

http://www.fas.org/sgp/news/1999/02/lottamend.html the entire bill can be accessed at http://www.dod.mil/dodgc/olc/docs/2000NDAA.pdf

Background InformationBackground InformationExemptions 1 - 9Exemptions 1 - 9

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The Nine Exemption categories are:– Exemption 1: Intelligence Sources and Methods– Exemption 2: Weapons of Mass Destruction– Exemption 3: Cryptography– Exemption 4: State of the Art Technology– Exemption 5: War Plans– Exemption 6: Foreign Relations– Exemption 7: Protection of the President – Exemption 8: National Security Preparedness Plans – Exemption 9: Statute, Treaty or International Agreement

https://www.rmda.army.mil/programs/docs/eoamend_3-3.pdf

I n t e g r i t y - S e r v i c e - E x c e l l e n c e

Air Force Declassification Office (AFDO)

“Building a Better Future”

Linda.smith@pentagon.af.mil

703-604-4665

ReleaseSecure & Protect

I n t e g r i t y - S e r v i c e - E x c e l l e n c e

Framework - Why Important?

“A popular government without popular information, or the means of acquiring it, is but a Prologue to a Farce or a Tragedy or perhaps both. Knowledge will forever govern ignorance, and a people who mean to be their own governors must arm themselves with the power that knowledge gives.”

*James Madison, 1822

A truism for all democracies, new and old

I n t e g r i t y - S e r v i c e - E x c e l l e n c e

Framework - Public Interest Increases

• Impact of Recent Events – Must have accountability

• Growth of government secrecy circa WW II – exponential increase

in secrecy and paper copies – storage costs $$$

• Media and public calls for openness – FOIA “firms”

New FOIA legislation approved/signed – EO 13132

• Congressional interests – “special searches”

• Policies for improvement exist – Executive Order

- Executive Order and Records Management principles

I n t e g r i t y - S e r v i c e - E x c e l l e n c e

classified records

CLASSIFICATION DECLASSIFICATION

RECORDS TRANSFERRECORDS TRANSFER

Federal Records Center (Storage)

NARA

RECORDRECORD

AFDO

USERRECORD

Process – Requires Life Cycle Management

Point of Origin

I n t e g r i t y - S e r v i c e - E x c e l l e n c e

Building Blocks to the Future

Institutionalization – The seamless integration of life cycle management and training: Records Management – Integrated Process Team underway

Credibility – The acceptance of training for the benefits and values it provides – needs Commander emphasis

Education and Awareness – Instruction of declassification management program requirements and benefits, and their responsibilities. See www.afdo.hq.af.mil

Training – The providing of necessary training and skills development to staff at all levels

Communications – All of us: security, warfighters, public affairs, historians and records managers are our outreach.

Source: Dept of Energy Records Management Program: Aug 95

• Letter signed at the Directorate level, Security Officer, or STINFO Officer, and on letterhead to:

Defense Technical Information CenterDTIC-OQAttn: Information Security Officer8725 John J. Kingman RoadFort Belvoir, VA 22060-6218Fax: 703-767-9244

E-Mail: infosec@dtic.mil• Letter can be an attachment within an e-mail to infosec@dtic.mil

To Change Document Classification in DTIC Systems

• E-Mail by the Security Officer or STINFO Officer

– Provide the DTIC AD accession number, date of report, title, and report number

– E-mail address: infosec@dtic.mil

To Cancel or Replace Documents in DTIC Systems

• E-Mail by the Security Officer, or STINFO Officer

– Provide the DTIC AD accession number, date of report, title, and report number

– Provide information to be corrected– E-mail address: infosec@dtic.mil

To Request Citation Corrections in DTIC Systems

• infosec@dtic.mil– Lawrence Downing, 703-767-0011, dsn 427-0011, Information

Security Officer, ldowning@dtic.mil– Donna Osborne, 703-767-8029, dsn 427-8029, Information

Security Officer, dosborne@dtic.mil– Laurence Ramserran, 703-767-9022, dsn 427-9022,

lramserr@dtic.mil– Clarence McCloud, 703-767-9023, dsn 427-9023,

cmccloud@dtic.mil– Robert Stokes, 703-767-8023, dsn 427-8023, rstokes@dtic.mil– Anna Kramer, 703-767-9037, dsn 427-9037, akramer@dtic.mil

DTIC Information Security & Database Maintenance Team

Declassification DemystifiedPoints of Contact

Declassification DemystifiedPoints of Contact

• Army Declassification Activityhttps://www.rmda.army.mil/organization/ada.shtml

– Melissa Walker Melissa.s.walker@us.army.milChief, Army Declassification Activity703-617-0073

• Air Force Declassificaton Officehttp://www.archives.gov/declassification/pidb/meetings/smith.ppt

– Linda Smith Linda.smith@pentagon.af.mil703-604-4665

• Navy Declassification Programhttp://www.navysecurity.navy.mil/documents/information/FY07%20Mandatory,%20Automatic%20and%20DECLAS%20Review%20Action.pdf

– Mary Anderson Mary.a.anderson@navy.milDON Declassification Program Manager202-433-3207