SYSTEM OF RECORDS NOTICES (SORNs)

DoD COMPONENT NOTICES

Office of the Secretary, DoD/Joint Staff

SYSTEM NAME

Enterprise Correspondence Control System (ECCS) (September 13, 2012, 77 FR 56629)

SYSTEM LOCATION:

Correspondence Management Division, Executive Services Directorate, Washington Headquarters Services, Room 3C843, 1155 Defense Pentagon, Washington, DC 20301-1155.

CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:

Individuals who either initiated, or are the subject of communications with the Office of the Secretary of Defense.

CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:

Name (last name and first name initial) and contact information (mailing address, telephone number, fax number, email address) of individuals writing to the Secretary of Defense. This may include inquiries and other communications pertaining to any matter under the cognizance of the Secretary of Defense. Records may include complaints, appeals, grievances, investigations, alleged improprieties, personnel actions, medical reports, intelligence, and related matters associated with the mission and business activities of the department. They may be either specific or general in nature and may include such personal information as an individual's name, Social Security Number (SSN), date and place of birth, description of events or incidents of a sensitive or privileged nature, commendatory or unfavorable data.

Staff packages pertaining to individuals. Examples of such packages include: assignment requests, awards, nominations, promotions, and presidential support letters; condolence letters, retirement letters and letters of appreciation; Senior Executive Service letters and pay adjustments, appointment letters, certificates, Secretary of Defense letters of appreciation, travel requests, military airlift requests and other related documents.

Authority for maintenance of the system:

10 U.S.C. 113, Secretary of Defense; 44 U.S.C. Chapter 31, Records Management by Federal Agencies; DoD Directive 5105.53, Director of Administration and Management (DA&M); DoD Directive 5110.4, Washington Headquarters Services (WHS); and E.O. 9397(SSN), as amended.

PURPOSE(S):

Information is collected on behalf of the Secretary of Defense to support the functions of the Department of Defense and maintain a record of actions taken and responses to the President, White House staff, other Cabinet officials, Congress, state and local officials, corporate officials, members of the Department of Defense and the public.

Routine uses of records maintained in the system, including categories of users and the purposes of such uses:

In addition to the disclosures generally permitted under 5 U.S.C. 552a(b) of the Privacy Act of 1974, these records may specifically be disclosed outside the DoD as a routine use pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(b)(3) as follows:

The DoD Blanket Routine Uses set forth at the beginning of the OSD's compilation of systems of records notices may apply to this system.

Policies and practices for storing, retrieving, accessing, retaining, and disposing of records in the system:

STORAGE:

Maintained in paper files and electronic storage media.

RETRIEVABILITY:

Last name and first name initial of the individual, subject and date of the document.

SAFEGUARDS:

Records are maintained in a controlled facility. Physical entry is restricted by the use of locks, guards, and is accessible only to authorized personnel. Access to records is limited to person(s) responsible for servicing the record in performance of their official duties and who are properly screened and cleared for need-to-know. Access to computerized data is restricted by Common Access Card (CAC).

RETENTION AND DISPOSAL:

Records are cut off annually and destroyed when 7 years old.

System manager(s) and address:

Chief, Correspondence Management Division, Executive Services Directorate, Washington Headquarters Services, 1155 Defense Pentagon, Washington, DC 20301-1155.

Notification procedure:

Individuals seeking to determine whether information about themselves is contained in this system should address written inquiries to the Chief, Correspondence Management Division, Executive Services Directorate, Washington Headquarters Services, Room 3C843, 1155 Defense Pentagon, Washington, DC 20301-1155.

The requests should contain the individual's last name, first name initial, subject, and document date.

Record access procedures:

Individuals seeking access to records about themselves contained in this system of records should address written inquiries to the Office of the Secretary of Defense/Joint Staff Freedom of Information Act, Requester Service Center, Office of Freedom of Information, 1155 Defense Pentagon, Washington, DC 20301-1155.

Individuals should provide the name and number of this system of records notice, the individuals last name, first name initial, subject, date of document and be signed.

Contesting record procedures:

The Office of the Secretary of Defense rules for accessing records, for contesting contents and appealing initial agency determinations are published in Office of the Secretary of Defense Administrative Instruction 81; 32 CFR part 311; or may be obtained from the system manager.

Record source categories:

Individuals and those writing on their behalf, and official records.

Exemptions claimed for the system:

During the staffing and coordination of actions to, from, and within components in conduct of daily business, exempt materials from other systems of records may in turn become part of the case record in this document control system. To the extent that copies of exempt records from those "other" systems of records are entered into this system, the Office of the Secretary of Defense hereby claims the same exemptions for the records from those "other" systems that are entered into this system, as claimed for the original primary system of which they are a part.

Records are only exempt from pertinent provisions of 5 U.S.C. 552a to the extent such provisions have been identified and an exemption claimed for the original record and the purposes underlying the exemption for the original record still pertain to the record which is now contained in this system of records. In general, the exemptions were claimed in order to protect properly classified information relating to national defense and foreign policy, to avoid interference during the conduct of criminal, civil, or administrative actions or investigations, to ensure protective services provided the President and others are not compromised, to protect the identity of confidential sources incident to Federal employment, military service, contract, and security clearance determinations, to preserve the confidentiality and integrity of Federal testing materials, and to safeguard evaluation materials used for military promotions when furnished by a confidential source. The exemption rule for the original records will identify the specific reasons why the records are exempt from specific provisions of 5 U.S.C. 552a.

An exemption rule for this system has been promulgated in accordance with requirements of 5 U.S.C. 553 (b) (1), (2), and (3) (c), and (e) and published in 32 CFR part 311. For additional information contact the system manager.

Federal Register History:

August 19, 2009, 74 FR 41870; September 13, 2012, 77 FR 56629