SECNAV M-5000.3 Provides Guidance for Timely Response to Documentary Material Requests
Published, July 10, 2016
SECNAV Manual 5000.3, "DON Documentary Material Task," was signed by the Secretary of the Navy on June 27, 2016. The manual provides guidance to every organization that receives a request to search for, locate, preserve, and, if appropriate, collect, review, and provide documentary material in response to subpoenas, document production requests in litigation, record hold requests, Congressional inquiries, requests from U.S. Government agencies, and other similar requests. ...
This manual implements the policy set forth in the SECNAVINST 5000.37 Provision of Department of the Navy Documentary Material, Sept., 21 2009. It provides guidance for tasking, coordinating, and responding in a timely manner to requests for Documentary Material (DM) related to reasonably anticipated or ongoing litigation (including Touhy requests), investigations, Congressional inquiries, Executive Branch inquiries, and other governmental requests for DM from the DON. It is and remains the policy of the DON to encourage transparency and to comply to the maximum extent possible with validated requests for information consistent with applicable laws and regulations. It is important to note that this manual does not apply to requests for records under the Freedom of Information (FOIA) Act nor requests under the Privacy Act.
Download SECNAV M-5000.3.