ROUTINE 
R 091845Z AUG 22 MID600052177569U 
FM CNO WASHINGTON DC 
TO NAVADMIN 
INFO CNO WASHINGTON DC 
BT 
UNCLAS 
 
NAVADMIN 179/22 
 
MSGID/GENADMIN/CNO WASHINGTON DC/N2N6/AUG// 
 
SUBJ/RECORDS MANAGEMENT RESPONSIBILITIES FOR TEXT MESSAGES// 
 
REF/A/MSGID/PUB. L. 81-754// 
REF/B/MSGID/MEMO/DEPSECDEF/03AUG22// 
REF/C/MSGID/DODI 5015.02/17 AUG 2017, CHG-1// 
REF/D/MSGID/DODI 8170.1/02 JAN 2019// 
REF/E/MSGID/SECNAVINST 5210.8F/26 MAR 2019// 
 
NARR/REF A IS THE FEDERAL RECORDS ACT REQUIRING FEDERAL AGENCIES TO ESTABLISH 
AN ONGOING PROGRAM FOR RECORD MANAGEMENT AND TO COOPERATE WITH THE NATIONAL 
ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION. 
REF B IS A DEPSECDEF MEMO REMINDING SENIOR PENTAGON LEADERSHIP, COMMANDERS OF 
THE COMBATANT COMMANDS, DEFENSE AGENCY AND DOD FIELD ACTIVITY DIRECTORS OF 
RECORDS MANAGEMENT RESPONSIBILITIES FOR TEXT MESSAGES. 
REF C IS THE DOD RECORDS MANAGEMENT PROGRAM IMPLEMENTATION INSTRUCTION. 
REF D IS THE DOD ONLINE INFORMATION MANAGEMENT AND ELECTRONIC MESSAGING 
IMPLEMENTATION INSTRUCTION. 
REF E PROVIDES DIRECTION FOR EXECUTION OF THE NAVY RECORDS MANAGEMENT 
PROGRAM. 
POC/MEGAN CANE/CIV/OPNAV N2N2D6/TEL:  703-692-1657 
/EMAIL:  megan.a.cane.civ@us.navy.mil// 
 
RMKS/1.  Text messages qualifying as records under the Federal Records Act, 
regardless of the rank of the user who sent or received it, are to be 
retained according to the records management instructions prescribed by 
references (a) through (e).  This includes text messages of Navy Officials 
whose records are subject to capture and permanent retention by the National 
Archives and Records Administration. 
 
2.  Commands responsible for the issuance and destruction of government cell 
phones are required to save all text messages that meet the criteria of a 
Department of Navy (DON) record prior to re-issuance or destruction. 
 
3.  Navy personnel should not delete text messages that meet the criteria of 
a DON record.  If there is any question or doubt as to whether a message 
meets the criteria of a record, it should be saved. 
 
4.  In addition to their current responsibilities for preservation of 
qualified e-mail records, Fleet Cyber Command, in coordination with Systems 
Commands, will develop measures to ensure that qualified text messaging 
records are retained and only accessed by authorized U.S. Navy officials via 
official means, with justification such as a Freedom of Information Act 
request or Department of Justice inquiry. 
 
5.  For additional information contact Mrs. Megan Cane, OPNAV N2N2D6, 
megan.a.cane.civ@us.navy.mil. 
 
6.  Released by VADM Jeffrey E. Trussler, Deputy Chief of Naval Operations 
for Information Warfare, OPNAV N2N6.// 
 
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