COAST GUARD CORRESPONDENCE MANUAL

THE COAST GUARD CORRESPONDENCE MANUAL

COMDTINST M5216.4C

Commandant United States Coast Guard

2100 Second Street, S.W. Washington, DC 20593-0001 Staff Symbol: G-CIM Phone: (202) 267-1016 Fax: (202) 267-4814

E-mail:

COMDTINST M5216.4C

COMMANDANT INSTRUCTION M5216.4C

Subj: THE COAST GUARD CORRESPONDENCE MANUAL

1. PURPOSE. This Manual provides Coast Guard policy for correspondence formats, clearance procedures, writing standards, and other correspondence related issues.

2. ACTION. Area and district commanders, commanders maintenance and logistics commands, commanding officers of headquarters units, assistant commandants for directorates, Chief Counsel, and special staff offices at Headquarters shall ensure compliance with the provisions of this Manual.

3. DIRECTIVES AFFECTED. Upon installation of the Macros II templates, the following directives are canceled: The Correspondence Manual, COMDTINST M5216.4B; the Revision of the Blue Digest, CG-4229, COMDTINST 5216.19; and Correspondence Standards, COMDTINST 5216.17A.

4. DISCUSSION. A Quality Action Team (QAT) was chartered to develop improved guidance for Coast Guard correspondence. In addition to responding to myriad recommendations and comments concerning the program, the QAT's primary task became that of preparing a "One-Stop-Shopping" Correspondence Manual to meet the needs of today's Coast Guard. The new Manual takes into consideration a variety of factors, including organizational readiness, technological changes, and budget reductions/streamlining. In developing this Manual, the QAT also considered the need to adopt Department of Transportation correspondence standards. It incorporates some of those practices. Following a briefing to the Senior Management Team (SMT) at Headquarters, the proposed changes were approved and are included in this Manual.

5. MAJOR CHANGES. The revised macros have been developed to reflect all formats. Significant changes include the following:

a. The Coast Guard "Basic Letter" and variations are canceled and replaced by the new "Memorandum."

DISTRIBUTION ? SDL No. 139

a b c d e f g h i j k l mn o p q r s t u vwx y z

A 3 3 3

3 3 2 2 1 1

11111111

1

B

15 50 2 285 20 20 15 15 15 5 7 3 200 3 65 3 257 3 1 6 2 5 1 1 1

C 5 2 1 5 3 1 2 1 2

6122312112111511

D51121111111111111111111

1

E

2 1 2

1 1

11113

1

11

1 1

F

111

G 1 1 1 1 1

H NON-STANDARD DISTRIBUTION:

COMDTINST M5216.4C

b. The "Memorandum" (memo) is expanded, allowing it to be used in communicating Coast Guardwide and within the framework of the Federal Government.

c. The signature block on the memo is eliminated. The signing official will sign on the "From" line. d. The order of the "Subject," "From," and "To" blocks has changed. The "Subject" line now appears

below the "From" and "To" blocks. e. "Via" has been changed to "Thru". f. The following forms are canceled: CG Letterhead Form, 3517; Sequential Clearance, CG 3584;

Rapidraft, CG-3883; and the CG Memorandum Form, CG-4914. g. Early coordination is emphasized in Chapter 1. h. The chapter on Writing Standards is located in Chapter 10. i. A new section "elements of style" has been added as Appendix B. This is a quick reference guide

to frequently asked grammatical questions. j. New guidance is furnished to achieve cost savings when mailing correspondence. k. A chapter is included on Automated Correspondence. 6. SCOPE AND AUTHORITIES. Messages, directives and other related types of documents are explained further in the following: a. Standard Distribution List, COMDTNOTE 5605 b. Standard Subject Identification Codes (SSIC) Manual, COMDTINST M5210.5 (series) c. Automated Information Systems (AIS) Security Manual, COMDTINST M5500.13 (series) d. Coast Guard Paperwork Management Manual, COMDTINST M5212.12 (series) e. Telecommunications Manual (TCM), COMDTINST M2000.3(series) f. The Coast Guard Directives System, COMDTINST M5215.6 (series) g. The Coast Guard Freedom of Information and Privacy Acts Manual, COMDTINST M5260.3

(series)

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COMDTINST M5216.4C 7. FORMS AVAILABILITY. The CG Digest Form, CG-4229; the Concurrent Clearance Form,

CG-4590; and the Secretary Alert, CGHQ-3517E are available on JetForm Filler on Coast Guard's Standard Workstation III. The CG Acknowledgment/Referral Form, CG-4217 (stock number: 753000-702-1760); Window Envelope, CG-3825B (stock number 7530-00-286-6975); and the Plain Envelope, CG-3825A (stock number 7530-00-767-5709) are available from the Engineering and Logistics Center (ELC) Baltimore, Maryland.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER 1. CORRESPONDENCE MANAGEMENT ....................................... 1-1

INTRODUCTION................................................................................................... 1-1 A. OBJECTIVE .................................................................................................... 1-1 B. STANDARDS AND PROCEDURES ............................................................... 1-1 C. CONTROLLING CORRESPONDENCE......................................................... 1-4 D. OTHER OFFICE PRACTICES ....................................................................... 1-5 E. STATIONERY.................................................................................................. 1-6

CHAPTER 2. MEMORANDUM .............................................................................. 2-1

A. GENERAL ....................................................................................................... 2-1 B. STANDARD SUBJECT IDENTIFICATION CODES...................................... 2-1 C. SERIAL NUMBERS......................................................................................... 2-1 D. DATES............................................................................................................. 2-1 E. FROM/SIGNATURE LINE.............................................................................. 2-2 F. TO LINE .......................................................................................................... 2-2 G. THRU LINE (Formerly Via) ........................................................................... 2-3 H. SUBJECT ........................................................................................................ 2-4 I. REFERENCES ................................................................................................ 2-4 J. TEXT ............................................................................................................... 2-6 K. ENCLOSURES ................................................................................................ 2-6 L. COPY LINE..................................................................................................... 2-9 M. BLIND-COPY LINE ........................................................................................ 2-9 N. DRAFTER'S IDENTIFICATION .................................................................... 2-10 O. OFFICIAL FILE COPIES............................................................................... 2-10 P. PARAGRAPH FORMAT ................................................................................. 2-10

EXAMPLES ............................................................................................... 2-12

CHAPTER 3. LETTERS ........................................................................................... 3-1

A. BUSINESS ....................................................................................................... 3-1 B. SHORT LETTERS ........................................................................................... 3-3 C. CONGRESSIONALS ....................................................................................... 3-4 D. FLAG LETTERS.............................................................................................. 3-4

EXAMPLES ............................................................................................... 3-6

CHAPTER 4. ENDORSEMENT .............................................................................. 4-1

A. GENERAL ....................................................................................................... 4-1 B. THREE KINDS OF ENDORSEMENTS .......................................................... 4-1 C. WHERE TO SEND COPIES ........................................................................... 4-1 D. TO TYPE, STAMP, OR PEN ? WHICH? ........................................................ 4-2 E. REFERENCES ................................................................................................ 4-2 F. ENCLOSURES ................................................................................................ 4-2

EXAMPLES ............................................................................................... 4-3

CHAPTER 5. DIGEST .............................................................................................. 5-1

CHAPTER 6. COORDINATION ............................................................................. 6-1

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