CHARLESTON AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. –
Official records include items such as official papers, letters, messages, reports, forms, additional duty books, continuity books, log books, documentary material, e-mail messages, electronic files, maps, machine readable material and photographs, just to name a few.
Records play a vital role in managing and operating Air Force activities.
Records document official business, serve as the memory of the organization, are a record of past events and are the basis for future actions.
Records are evidence of functions, policies, decisions, procedures, operations or other activities of the government because the informational value of data in them.
It protects the rights of the U.S. government and persons directly affected by agency actions.
Air Force units at all levels must manage records systematically to make sure they are complete, accurate, trustworthy and easily accessible. Also, every activity or organization must manage its records to comply with legal accountability requirements:
Create sufficient records to document Air Force activities and functions.
Maintain records efficiently allowing authorized individuals' access to find and retrieve records.
Protect vital records in a manner consistent with their value.
Establish safeguards against the unlawful removal, loss or destruction of records.
Transfer or destroy eligible records according to Records Disposition Schedule.
Do all of this in a cost-effective manner.
What are vital records?
· Records deemed by the office to be essential to the continued functioning or reconstitution of an organization during and after an emergency, sometimes referred to as essential records. Vital records considerations are part of an agency's records disaster prevention and recovery program.
What is not considered a record?
Library and museum material made or acquired and preserved solely for reference or exhibition purposes.
Extra copies of documents preserved only for convenience of reference so long as the record copy is already accounted for.
Extra copies of publications so long as the office is not responsible for creating, revising or rescinding the publications.
Manufacturer user manuals and regulations your office is not the office of primary responsibility. These items are general reference and are not required to be listed on your file plan.
During unit compliance inspection preparation, commanders need to place emphasis on records management policies and procedures at staff meetings, stand-up or commanders' call. Air Force Instruction 33-322 governs the Records Management Program. This AFI redefines roles and responsibilities at all levels. Commanders and staff agency chiefs must implement records management programs in order to comply with this instruction and protect the rights of the U.S. government and persons directly affected by Air Force actions.
If you need assistance with record management, please call 963-3273.