MESSAGE USER RESPONSIBILITIES

A message user is any individual authorized to draft, release, and/or process electronically transmitted messages. There are certain responsibilities associated with the origination of a message. These responsibilities are separate and distinct and concern the following parties:

Originator; Drafter; and Releaser.

Occasionally, the responsibilities may overlap, especially if one person is serving a dual capacity. For example, communications officers may occasionally draft and release messages, thus making them both drafters and releasers.

ORIGINATOR

The originator is the authority (command or activity) in whose name the message is sent. The originator is presumed to be the commanding officer of the command or activity. Most often, the originator and the releaser are one and the same.

In some cases, the drafter, releaser, and originator are all the same person. For example, if the commanding officer drafts a message for transmission, he or she is the drafter as well as the releasing authority for the activity in whose name the message is sent.

DRAFTER

The drafter is the person who actually composes the message. In accordance with NTP 3, the drafter is responsible for:

a Proper addressing and using plain language address (PLA) designators correctly;

e Clear, concise composition;

l Selecting the precedence;

l Ensuring the proper format;

l Assigning the proper classification; and

l Ensuring the application of proper downgrading and declassification instructions to classified messages, except those containing Restricted Data or Formerly Restricted Data.

RELEASER

The releaser is a properly designated individual authorized to release messages for transmission in the name of the command or activity. The releasing individual ensures that the drafter has complied with the requirements contained in NTP 3. In addition to validating the contents of the message, the signature of the releaser affirms compliance with message-drafting instructions. The signature of the releaser authorizes the message for transmission.

After a message has been properly released, it is delivered to the telecommunications center (TCC) for transmission. The DTG is normally assigned here. Proper transmission, receipting, and filing procedures are done by the communications personnel.

An important point that you should remember about the DTG is that it is assigned for identification and file purposes only. It is not used to compute message processing time.

MESSAGE READDRESSALS

If you receive or send a message and later determine that another activity may need to act on or know about the information in the message, you can readdress the original message to that activity. If you receive a copy of a message as an "information addressee," you can only readdress the original for information purposes.

Use a short form or long form, depending on how long ago the original message was sent. For both the short form and long form, you must:

Fully identify the message you are readdressing.

Enter the new addressee(s).

Enter the original message originator.

Include the original date-time group.

Use the Process Sequence Number (PSN), if contained in the original message.

If the original message was sent within the last 60 days, use the short form to readdress it. Messages are held in the message center file for up to 60 days. On the short form, enter the from, to, and information addressees in the fields provided. Send the short form to the message center where it will be combined with the text of the original and then sent.

The short form readdressal is always unclassified. However, it must state the classification of the readdressed message.

Messages over 60 days old are routinely deleted from the message center files. If the original message to be readdressed is more than 60 days old, use the long form. Enter the from, to, and information addressees in the fields provided. Unlike the short form, you retype the entire message. Classify the long form the same as the original message.

When a sectionalized message is readdressed, each section of the message must be readdressed separately. The headerlines and addressees must be the same on each readdressal. The PSN must match that of the section being readdressed, but the respective section number is omitted. Each section of the readdressed message should have the same date-time group.

The precedence of the readdressal message maybe lower, the same as, or of a higher precedence than the original message when deemed operationally imperative by the readdressal authority.

General formatting instructions and preparation guidance are available in NTP 3. Message readdressal procedures may vary slightly at different TCCs. The required procedure may be verified through the local TCC.