Natural  disasters,  such  as  hurricanes; Civil disturbances, such as rioting; and Enemy action. Emergency plans should provide for the protection of classified material in such a manner as to minimize the risk of loss of life or injury to personnel. For destruction, the command’s emergency plan must do the following: Emphasize  procedures  and  methods  of destruction, including place and destruction equipment required; Clearly  identify  the  exact  location  of  all classified material; Prioritize material for destruction; and Assign   personnel   by   billet,   areas   of responsibility for destruction. Priorities When the emergency plan is implemented, priority of destruction is based on the potential effect on national security should the material fall into hostile hands. COMSEC material is destroyed first. The priorities for emergency destruction are as follows: FIRST PRIORITY—  Top Secret  COMSEC material   and   classified   components   of equipment and all other Top Secret material; SECOND PRIORITY—  Secret  COMSEC material and all other Secret material; THIRD PRIORITY— Confidential COMSEC material and all other Confidential material. After you have destroyed the classified for which you  are  responsible,  you  should  destroy  any unclassified equipment that could be of use to an enemy. You should also destroy pertinent technical, descriptive, and operating instructions. FIRE PLANS In addition to an emergency plan, a plan of action in  the  event  of  fire  is  also  required.  As  with  an emergency plan, it is important that all comunications personnel familiarize themselves with their command fire plan. Normally, the fire plan provides for the following: Local fire-fighting apparatus and personnel to operate the equipment; 5-12 Evacuation of the area, including a decision whether to store classified material or remove it from the area; and Admitting outside fire fighters into the area. PRECAUTIONARY ACTIONS Precautionary destruction reduces the amount of classified  material  on  hand  in  case  emergency destruction  later  becomes  necessary.  Destruction priorities  remain  the  same  during  precautionary destruction. However, when precautionary destruction is held, material essential to communications must not be destroyed. For example, communications operating procedures  and  publications  that  are  to  become effective in the near future would not be destroyed. Communications operating procedures that are already effective, necessary, and being used would also not be destroyed. The following actions should be taken daily: All superseded material should be destroyed in accordance with its prescribed time frame. Unneeded  material  should  be  returned  to  the issuing agencies. Material should be stored in such a way as to make it readily accessible for removal during destruction. Contrary to widespread opinion, there is no security policy requiring destruction of unclassified messages. However, some message centers with high volumes of classified and unclassified message traffic may find it more  efficient  to  destroy  all  messages  and  intermingled files  as  though  they  were  classified.  Under  some circumstances, units operating in foreign ports or waters and commands situated in foreign countries may take additional precautions in disposing of unclassified material. SUMMARY This  chapter  has  discussed  general  security considerations   to   provide   you   with   a   working knowledge of this important aspect of your job. As a Radioman, you have a two-fold job concerning security. The first, of course, is to properly perform your duties within general security guidelines. Security guidelines pertain to everyone in every official capacity. Second, you must also perform your duties in such a manner as to protect the integrity and overall value of secure communications.