Keys for padlocks used to protect classified material must be given the same protection as the material they protect.  It  is  essential  that  combinations  be  known  or keys  be  accessible  only  to  those  persons  whose  official duties demand access to the container involved. The combination or key to the security container must be changed at the time received, at the time any person having  a  knowledge  of  it  transfers  from  the organizational unit, at anytime there is reason to believe it has been compromised, or in any case not less than every  12  months. Any  document  showing  the combination to a lock must be of the same classification as  the  material  in  the  container  secured  by  that  lock. Records of combinations must be sealed in an envelope and kept on file by the security manager, duty officer, communications  officer,  or  other  personnel  designated by   the   commanding   officer.   When   selecting combination  numbers,  multiples  of  5  (ascending  or descending) or personal data such as birth dates and social security numbers should not be used. RECORDS DISPOSAL Information documents of actions and decisions made at policy level activities as well as in the field and fleet  units,  both  important  and  unimportant,  are distributed throughout the Department of the Navy on an increasing basis. Records disposal techniques must keep   pace   with   these   increased   production   and dissemination  techniques.  Temporary  records  must  be identified,  scheduled,  and  regularly  destroyed,  and permanent  records  must  be  identified  and  marked  for preservation. Congress  has  passed  statutory  and  regulatory  laws that  govern  the  disposition  of  official  records,  both classified and unclassified and affixed penalties for their  unauthorized  destruction.  The  scheduling  of government records is given legal status by the Records Disposal  Act  of  1943,  as  amended  by  the  Federal Records Act of 1950. This amendment states that, as part of the responsibility for the establishment of a continuing agencywide records program, the Secretary of  the  Navy  should  propose  retention  and  disposal instructions for all major series of Navy records. Article 1127 of the U.S. Navy Regulations, 1990, provides that no person may destroy or withdraw official records without   proper   authority.   OPNAVINST   5510.1 provides  for  the  destruction  of  classified  matter.  This and   other   regulations   for   safeguarding   security information  must  be  followed  at  all  times  in  applying the provisions outlined in the  Navy and Marine Corps Records  Disposition  Manual,  SECNAVINST  5212.5. One of the duties of a senior AK is to be able to determine what records should be held in the files for a period  of  time  or  what  records  should  be  destroyed  or transferred  for  preservation. Retention Standards The records retention standards are the basis for the establishment  of  a  command  records  disposal  program. A retention standard denotes a description of a recorder series of records with a retention period stated in terms of  time  before  the  destruction  or  disposition.  Refer  to SECNAVINST 5212.5, Part III, for listing of retention standards  for  naval  records. Retiring Words to Local Storage Areas Most  supply  records  are  short-term  temporary records eligible for destruction in less than 5 years, and the bulk of these records have retention periods of 2 years or less. These short-term records should be cut off at regular intervals, retired locally, and destroyed by the accumulating activity as soon as their retention periods have expired. Generally, it is not economical to transfer them  to  federal  records  centers. Spaces not suitable for normal office use such as basements,  vacated  warehouses,  or  other  unoccupied spaces  that  are  unattended  and  do  not  require  specialized storage equipment are normally used for local storage areas. Records  eligible  for  local  retirement  must  be short-term  records  that  are  eligible  for  destruction  in  5 years or less and  long-term records that must be retained close at hand until the frequency of reference to the records  will  permit  their  transfer  to  the  federal  records center. Transfer to Federal Records Centers Procedures  for  transferring  records  to  federal records  centers  (FRCs)  are  outlined  in  SECNAVINST 5212.5, Appendix C. Activities are authorized to transfer records to FRCs under the following conditions: l l l When the records are specifically designated in SECNAVINST 5212.5 for periodic transfer and designated as permanent or indefinite retention. Records have at least 3 years retention period at the  FRC. Records are inactive and are not required for local  operating  purposes. 1-16