PRECEDENCE

The message drafter indicates the desired writer-to-reader delivery time (speed-of-service) through the assignment of a message precedence. Although the drafter determines the precedence, the releaser should either confirm or change it. (We will talk more about the responsibilities of the drafter, originator, and releaser later in this chapter.)

Precedence is assigned according to urgency, based solely on speed-of-service, not according to the importance of the subject matter or the text. For example, an unclassified message may be assigned an IMMEDIATE precedence, whereas a Secret message may be assigned a ROUTINE precedence. In this situation, the unclassified message requires fast action or response, whereas the Secret message may not require any action at all.

The following paragraphs list the various precedence categories, their indicators, and basic definitions:

ROUTINE (R)- This category is assigned to all types of traffic that justify electrical transmission but which are not of sufficient urgency to require a higher precedence.

PRIORITY (P)- This category is reserved for messages that furnish essential information for the conduct of operations in progress. This is the highest precedence normally authorized for administrative messages.

IMMEDIATE (O)- This category is reserved for messages relating to situations that gravely affect the national forces or populace and which require immediate delivery to addressees.

FLASH (Z)- This category is reserved for initial enemy contact reports or operational combat messages of extreme urgency; message brevity is mandatory.

YANKEE (Y)- In addition to the four major precedence categories, an EMERGENCY COMMAND PRECEDENCE (ECP) is used within the

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Figure 2-19.-Time zone chart of the world.

AUTODIN system. This ECP is identified by the precedence prosign Y and is limited to designated emergency action command and control messages.