1. This Web site is provided as a public service by the U.S. Army Environmental Command (USAEC).

2. Information presented on the USAEC Web site is considered public information and may be distributed or copied. Use of appropriate byline/photo/image credits is requested.

3. In providing links to commercial (".com" or ".net"), not-for-profit organization (".org") or academic (".edu") web sites, USAEC does not endorse nor make any representations or warranties with respect to the concerns or their products. Any mention of trade names or commercial products does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation for use on the part of USAEC.

4. USAEC pages may include links to documents that require additional programs to view them. These programs are typically called plug-ins because they are designed to "plug into" and co-operate with the browser. Adobe's Acrobat reader, for example, is one such plug-in, used to read files with the extension .PDF.

   For your convenience, we are providing links to the plug-ins most frequently required by documents on the USAEC web site so you can download and install them if you need them:

   • For Adobe products, including the Acrobat reader, go to http://www.abode.com/.

   • For Microsoft products, including Word, Excel, Outlook, Powerpoint and Access, go to http://office.microsoft.com/Assistance/9798/viewerscvt.aspx.

   Be aware that Microsoft Internet Explorer (MSIE) versions 6.0 and above do not use plug-ins.

5. For site management, information is collected for statistical purposes. This government computer system uses software programs to create summary statistics, which are used for such purposes as assessing what information is of most and least interest, determining technical design specifications and identifying system performance or problem areas.

6. For site security purposes and to ensure that this service remains available to all users, this government system employs software programs to monitor network traffic to identify unauthorized attempts to upload or change information, or otherwise cause damage.

7. Except for authorized law enforcement investigations, no other attempts are made to identify individual users or their usage habits. Raw data logs are used for no other purposes and are scheduled for regular destruction in accordance with the National Archives and Records Administration's General Records Schedule 20 (Electronic Records). All data collection activities are in strict accordance with DoD Directive 5240.1.

8. Unauthorized attempts to upload information or change information on this service are strictly prohibited and may be punishable under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1987 and the National Information Infrastructure Protection Act.

9. The Freedom of Information Act program provides a formal process by which the public can access official records and documents.
10. This Standard Operating Procedure covers the handling of reader responses to articles on the USAEC Web site.
11. If you have any questions or comments about the information presented here, please forward them to the USAEC Web site docmaster (docmaster@aec.apgea.army.mil).

Information Collected for Statistics