For official use only: not just an expression

IT'S easy to play fast and loose with material labeled "For Official Use Only" (FOUO). After all, it's not classified. But FOUO is "controlled unclassified information" and the Air Force expects such material to be controlled, protected and handled responsibly. Another good word for it is "privileged."

What documents qualify for the FOUO designation, the privilege? Those documents being protected are those that invoke the Air Force's "deliberative" or "decision making process." Government entities must be free to conduct internal reviews and assessments to determine effectiveness, efficiency and operational readiness secure in the knowledge that these internal reviews will not be released without proper notice and review. That's where the markings come into play. Inspector General reports, for example, are "privileged" and exempt from discovery under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). See DoD Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Program, DoD 5400.7-R, AF Sup, C3.2.1.5.1.6, June 24, 2002. Unclassified reports and portions of "For Official Use Only" must be labeled as such if they contain privileged or deliberative process FOUO information per AF Supplement to DoD R 5400.7-R, DoD Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Program. See also AFI Reference 90-201, IG Activities, paragraph 2.8.1, Oct. 1, 2002.

IG reports employ special marking and handling, per AFI 90-201, paragraph 4.8, Oct. 1, 2002. An FOUO document can be on any form of today's media, to include CD ROM, DVD and floppy disks, as well as audio and video tapes. And, of course, paper. All must receive the same level of protection.

A document doesn't have to be in final form to be a candidate for FOUO. For example, the Air Force Inspection Agency has a policy of designating the many draft versions of its Eagle Looks (management reviews) as FOUO. The preliminary iterations of those reports can be just as sensitive as the final published review.

By extension, even notes and working papers used in preparing FOUO documents may themselves be FOUO. When in doubt, dispose of those scraps of paper properly, too.

In fact, the FOUO label must be applied to any material that might result in an FOUO final document.

These regulations govern FOUO: Air Force Instruction 31-401, Information Security Program Management (Nov. 1, 2001) and Department of Defense Instruction 5200.1, Information Security Program (January 1997), Appendix 3.

To properly dispose of FOUO, shredding by machine or tearing up by hand suffice for paper documents.

Many shredders can also render CD ROMs and DVDs "inop."

Shredders don't have to be designated for classified information to destroy FOUO material.

To destroy audio and video tapes, be sure to destroy the tape, not just the case.

Unit security managers can answer questions about handling and disposing of FOUO.

Protect FOUO by:

* Placing it in drawers, cabinets, etc. During duty hours, locking isn't essential, but it is after hours if the building itself isn't secure.

* Never leaving material out in the open, on desktops, etc.

* Destroying documents when they're no longer valid, applicable, relevant or otherwise useful due to age, or because updates supersede them.

* Password-protecting computer files.

This is easily accomplished in many of the most widely used programs, including Microsoft Word and Excel, and Adobe Acrobat (the full-blown version, not Acrobat Reader). In Acrobat, one or two passwords can be used: one to prevent unauthorized people from opening a file, and another to keep them from altering its contents.

What about e-mail?

FOUO material must be protected when transmitted via e-mail:

* Use DMS (Defense Messaging Service) encryption or "Password and ID" protection per AFI 33-129, Table 2, April 4, 2001.

* Call attention to FOUO attachments in e-mails.

TIG Brief thanks Col. Wayne Wisniewski, staff judge advocate for the Air Force Inspection Agency, and Master Sgt. George Palma, chief of information management for the agency.

COPYRIGHT 2003 Air Force Inspector General
COPYRIGHT 2003 Gale Group