The Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) generates some of the most sensitive and most consequential records in the U.S. Government, along with an enormous volume of ephemeral material. Managing this endless flow of records efficiently and effectively is a challenge.
Close students of OSD records management policy will find useful reference data in two new Pentagon volumes.
General records maintenance policies are spelled out in “Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) Records Management Program — Administrative Procedures,” (pdf) Administrative Instruction 15, change 1, April 18, 2008.
Records schedules approved by the National Archives for the disposition of all OSD component records are compiled in “Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) Records Management Program — Records Disposition Schedules,” Administrative Instruction 15, volume 2, April 18, 2008.
Satellite imagery of RAF Lakenheath reveals new construction of a security perimeter around ten protective aircraft shelters in the designated nuclear area, the latest measure in a series of upgrades as the base prepares for the ability to store U.S. nuclear weapons.
It will take consistent leadership and action to navigate the complex dangers in the region and to avoid what many analysts considered to be an increasingly possible outcome, a nuclear conflict in East Asia.
Getting into a shutdown is the easy part, getting out is much harder. Both sides will be looking to pin responsibility on each other, and the court of public opinion will have a major role to play as to who has the most leverage for getting us out.
How the United States responds to China’s nuclear buildup will shape the global nuclear balance for the rest of the century.