Detailed information on U.S. Navy policy regarding declassification of 25 year old documents is presented in a new Navy Instruction.
Along with policy and procedures, the document provides an extensive listing of Navy programs and systems that may be subject to declassification.
The Instruction is marked For Official Use Only. A copy was obtained by Secrecy News.
See “Declassification of 25 Year Old DON Information,” OPNAVINST 5513.16B, August 2, 2006 (72 pages in an unnecessarily large 30 MB PDF file).
See, relatedly, “Department of the Navy Classification Guides” (pdf), OPNAVINST 5513.1F, December 7, 2005.
See also “Limitations on Public Release and Disclosure of Information About Improvised Explosive Device Efforts” (pdf), Secretary of the Navy, April 2006.
If this proposed rule were enacted it would have deleterious effects on government workers in general and federal researchers and scientists, specifically.
When we introduce “at-will” employment to government employees, we also introduce the potential for environments where people are more concerned about self-preservation than service to others.
There is no better time to re-invigorate America’s innovation edge by investing in R&D to create and capture “industries of the future,” re-shoring capital and expertise, and working closely with allies to expand our capabilities while safeguarding those technologies that are critical to our security.
Russia currently maintains nearly 5,460 nuclear warheads, with an estimated 1,718 deployed. This represents a slight decrease in total warheads from previous years but still positions Russia as the world’s largest nuclear power alongside the United States.