EMERGENCY DESTRUCTION.- COMSEC material that must be destroyed in an emergency is divided into three categories:

Keying material;

COMSEC documents; and

COMSEC equipment.

As we mentioned earlier, an emergency plan consists of both precautionary destruction and complete destruction.

PRECAUTIONARY DESTRUCTION.- When precautionary destruction is ordered, COMSEC material must be destroyed as follows:

Figure 3-3.-CMS 25MC COMSEC KEYING MATERIAL LOCAL DESTRUCTION REPORT.

Keying Material- Superseded keying material must be destroyed first, then keying material that becomes effective in 1 or 2 months.

Nonessential Classified COMSEC Documents- This material includes maintenance, operating, and administrative manuals.

COMPLETE DESTRUCTION.- When complete destruction is ordered, COMSEC material must be destroyed as follows:

Keying Material- Keying material is always destroyed first in the following order: superseded, effective, then reserve.

Superseded keying material that has been used to encrypt traffic is the most sensitive of the three categories. If superseded keying material falls into enemy hands, all past intercepted traffic is subject to compromise and analysis. Superseded keying material must be destroyed within 12 hours after supersession.

Effective keying material is destroyed after superseded keying material. Reserve keying material is keying material that will become effective within the next 30 days. Reserve keying material is destroyed after effective keying material.

Keying material must be stored in priority order for destruction. Top Secret material must be destroyed ahead of Secret material, and Secret material destroyed ahead of Confidential material. This applies to all categories of keying material.

COMSEC Documents- COMSEC documents are destroyed next. COMSEC documents include cryptoequipment maintenance manuals, operating instructions, general publications, status publications, CMS-holder lists and directories. COMSEC documents contain information on the types of cryptoequipments we use, the level of technology we have attained, and the way our COMSEC operations are organized and conducted.

COMSEC Equipment- COMSEC equipment is destroyed last. In emergencies, the immediate goal regarding cryptoequipment is to render the equipment unusable and unrepairable. The operating and technical manuals for cryptoequipments provide details on the techniques for rapid and effective destruction.

VERIFY DESTRUCTION.- There are two parts to verifying the destruction of COMSEC material, witnessing and inspection of destroyed material.

Two individuals conducting the destruction must personally witness the complete destruction of the material. Then, they will sign and date the destruction documents after all material has actually been destroyed.

An inspection of the destroyed material must ensure that the destruction is complete and the destruction device is working properly. When using shredders, choppers, pulverizers or pulpers, you need only to examine a sample of the residue. If you are using an incinerator, verify that all residue is broken up by stirring or sifting through the remains.

The last detail is to inspect the surrounding area afterwards to ensure that no material escaped during the destruction process.

The destruction plan itself is contained in the overall emergency plan. The emergency plan should always provide for securing, removing, or destroying the material, depending on the situation.

The appropriate course of action and timing should be stated in the overall destruction plan. For example, if there is a local civil uprising that appears to be short-lived, destroying all material would probably not be necessary. In this situation, a partial destruction of the more sensitive superseded material might be made, some of the remaining material removed, and the rest secured.

The commanding officer will normally implement the emergency plan. Should the situation prevent contact with the commanding officer, other individuals, such as the COMSEC officer or COMSEC custodian, are usually authorized to implement the plan. During an emergency, personnel safety overrides the destruction priority.