Routine precedence. Transmission for relay, of course, would be delayed until all higher precedence traffic is cleared. The   date-time   group   (DTG)   indicates   the approximate  time  a  message  was  readied  for transmission. Normally, the DTG is assigned by the communications watch officer or signal officer. The DTG in figure 3-2 indicates the message was ready for transmission at about 1933 Greenwich mean time (is the zone suffix) on the 6th day of March. Because the DTG serves as a positive means of identification, no DTG should be assigned by any station to more than one outgoing message. If for some reason you have to assign a DTG, be sure to inform the communications center of the DTG you used. Figure  3-2  has  no  message  instruction  element. The use of operating signals and the prosign IX will be discussed in chapter 4. Address Component The address component of figure 3-2 is FM NQHS TO OHWZ INFO XGHL XMT NFZV. This component shows who originated the message, the addressee for action, the addressee for information, and the exempt addressee. Provision is also made to show which, if any, addressees included in a collective call sign need not receive the message. (A collective call sign represents two or more ships, stations, or commands.) The   address   component   of   the   message   is determined by the drafter and originator. Communica- tions  personnel  are  authorized  to  convert  the plain-language addressees to call signs or address groups  when  processing  messages  for  transmission. All  four  prosigns  that  can  be  included  in  the address  component  appear  in  the  example  message. The originator's sign, FM, means “The originator of this   message   is   indicated   by   the   designation immediately  following.”  The  prosign  for  action addressee,  TO,  means  “Addressees  indicated  by  the designation immediately following are addressed for action.”  The  information  addressee  sign,  INFO, followed by call signs, shows that the message is for information  only. The  exempted  addressee  sign,  prosign  XMT, means that addressees following XMT are exempted from the collective address. If a collective call is also used, the prosign XMT must  also appear in the call element. It appears as the last element in the address component,  following  the  action  and  information addressees’  designations. 3-7 If the call element gives all the addressees, the address component of a message may be omitted. In the example message, if there were no information addressees, the call would serve as the address. The address component could then be omitted. Prefix The  prefix  of  a  plaindress  message  contains accounting symbols and the group count. Accounting symbols are included in Navy messages when a possibility exists that they may be transmitted over commercial facilities. Instructions for the use of accounting  symbols  are  found  in  JANAP  128. The group count of a message is the number of groups in the text. In a message, GR followed by numeral(s) means "This message contains the number of groups indicated." In a message containing a text of 26 words, the group count is written GR26. If the message were encrypted, the group count would indicate the number of code groups in the text. The group count normally appears in the message prefix, but in certain cases may appear in the final instructions. When a message  is  transmitted  before  the  group  count  is determined, the prosign GRNC may be used in lieu of the group count. The actual group count will then be transmitted in the final instructions and inserted in the message prefix by the receiving operator. Rules to follow when counting groups are the following: Count groups in the text only. Each  sequence  of  characters  uninterrupted  by  a space is counted as one group. Punctuation is not counted unless abbreviated or spelled out. Count  every  word  and  every  continuous combination of letters, figures, and/or symbols as one group. Hyphenated  words  and  hyphenated  names,  when transmitted as one word, count as one group. A numerical group count always must be used in encrypted messages. The group count element may be omitted in messages where the text consists of plain language. Long  Break The long-break prosign, BT, marks the separation between the text and other parts of a message. It immediately  precedes  and  follows  the  text.  In