OK, let's finally explain what a classified document looks like.

[rdean]

Notice the "SECRET" in red at the top and the bottom. In classified documentation, there are typically three markings:
(TS) Top Secret

(S) Secret

(C) Confidential

(U) Unclassified

Notice I said three. (U) is rarely used. If the document doesn't have the "TOP SECRET", "SECRET" or "CONFIDENTIAL" marking at the top and the bottom, it is typically understood to be (U) Unclassified.
And if portions of the document are SECRET, then the document is considered to be SECRET even if there are CONFIDENTIAL and Unclassified material within the document. (C) is always "Confidential", not "classified". You may get a folder that says classified on the jacket, but on the document itself, C always means confidential.

There is some material occasionally labeled "Sensitive", but that could be anything from the name of something classified or something slightly embarrassing.

Why the different classifications? You can go look that up on your own.

If you have a TOP SECRET clearance, can you look at every classified document under that level? The answer is yes and no. Legally, you are qualified to look at all classified material with a rating less than what you have been granted, but they also have something called "A Need to Know".

So what is the difference:

Confidential - damage to national security. (on the level of "embarrassing")

Secret - serious damage to National Security. (on the level of "very embarrassing enough to affect relationships" to "a distant risk to lives")

Top Secret - GRAVE damage to National Security. (immediate threat to safety and lives)

Is the process the same for getting the three different levels of classification? No.

I was in S2 at the Battalion level. The unit was nuclear capable, so there were a couple of Top Secret's within the Battalion, but only a couple.

A Confidential clearance is handled at the Battalion level. A check of the person's 201 file and a review of their records and a check of their citizenship is enough. The Clearance is granted by the S2 Officer and Battery Captain.

To obtain a secret clearance, you have to start off with multiple copies of:

DD 398 a Statement of Personal History:

Loading...

DD 1584 Check Request:

A fingerprint card.

And a couple of other minor forms that have been so long ago, I've forgotten what they are. Then the investigation is approved at the Division and sent by them to the FBI and/or CIA.

Receiving the clearance itself once the investigation is complete.

Like I said, Confidential is approved at the Battalion level.

But Secret has to be approved by one level higher. In this case, at the Division level.

The Top Secret were approved and assigned to the Battalion from before, so I never handled the paperwork for that classification.

Now, if you are working at the State Department and you are Secretary of State or a high official, you may or may not have two systems. One will be for classified material. Encrypted and sent over secure lines. Or, you can have regular email, or not. It's not a requirement. You can always use a telephone or have an aid send a message. But these days, most people have email.

Now in Hillary's case and in Colin Powell's case, they had both. She had a private server and he had an AOL account. The private server can be more secure than the AOL account, since AOL is so public.

It has been said some Hillary emails contained classified material. But none of the documents had the TS, S or C stamps at the top and the bottom of the document. We can assume if she received some classified material, then we can assume so did Colin and Condi. But neither Colin nor Condi turned over a single email even though both were requested. But for some reason, unknown to us, the GOP never followed up and just let the matter go for Colin and Condi.

The GOP head of the FBI said only three of the documents had any classified markings. And that was a (C) for Confidential. The lowest level of classification. I've seen documents also marked "C" or just a plain C. But the requirement is supposed to be (C). We don't know what it was in this case. According to the FBI, the documents with classified material were sent TO Hillary. She didn't forward any of those documents to anyone else. And none of the documents had the required markings at the top or bottom of the page. Anyone who has been sent a hundred page report may not have read every single page from top to bottom.

Anyway, that's how classifications work and how Classified documents look. And if I'm wrong, please correct me. I haven't worked in S2 for 40 years.

 

[OKTexas]

Notice the "SECRET" in red at the top and the bottom. In classified documentation, there are typically three markings:
(TS) Top Secret

(S) Secret

(C) Confidential

(U) Unclassified

Notice I said three. (U) is rarely used. If the document doesn't have the "TOP SECRET", "SECRET" or "CONFIDENTIAL" marking at the top and the bottom, it is typically understood to be (U) Unclassified.
And if portions of the document are SECRET, then the document is considered to be SECRET even if there are CONFIDENTIAL and Unclassified material within the document. (C) is always "Confidential", not "classified". You may get a folder that says classified on the jacket, but on the document itself, C always means confidential.

There is some material occasionally labeled "Sensitive", but that could be anything from the name of something classified or something slightly embarrassing.

Why the different classifications? You can go look that up on your own.

If you have a TOP SECRET clearance, can you look at every classified document under that level? The answer is yes and no. Legally, you are qualified to look at all classified material with a rating less than what you have been granted, but they also have something called "A Need to Know".

So what is the difference:

Confidential - damage to national security. (on the level of "embarrassing")

Secret - serious damage to National Security. (on the level of "very embarrassing enough to affect relationships" to "a distant risk to lives")

Top Secret - GRAVE damage to National Security. (immediate threat to safety and lives)

Is the process the same for getting the three different levels of classification? No.

I was in S2 at the Battalion level. The unit was nuclear capable, so there were a couple of Top Secret's within the Battalion, but only a couple.

A Confidential clearance is handled at the Battalion level. A check of the person's 201 file and a review of their records and a check of their citizenship is enough. The Clearance is granted by the S2 Officer and Battery Captain.

To obtain a secret clearance, you have to start off with multiple copies of:

DD 398 a Statement of Personal History:

Loading...

DD 1584 Check Request:

A fingerprint card.

And a couple of other minor forms that have been so long ago, I've forgotten what they are. Then the investigation is approved at the Division and sent by them to the FBI and/or CIA.

Receiving the clearance itself once the investigation is complete.

Like I said, Confidential is approved at the Battalion level.

But Secret has to be approved by one level higher. In this case, at the Division level.

The Top Secret were approved and assigned to the Battalion from before, so I never handled the paperwork for that classification.

Now, if you are working at the State Department and you are Secretary of State or a high official, you may or may not have two systems. One will be for classified material. Encrypted and sent over secure lines. Or, you can have regular email, or not. It's not a requirement. You can always use a telephone or have an aid send a message. But these days, most people have email.

Now in Hillary's case and in Colin Powell's case, they had both. She had a private server and he had an AOL account. The private server can be more secure than the AOL account, since AOL is so public.

It has been said some Hillary emails contained classified material. But none of the documents had the TS, S or C stamps at the top and the bottom of the document. We can assume if she received some classified material, then we can assume so did Colin and Condi. But neither Colin nor Condi turned over a single email even though both were requested. But for some reason, unknown to us, the GOP never followed up and just let the matter go for Colin and Condi.

The GOP head of the FBI said only three of the documents had any classified markings. And that was a (C) for Confidential. The lowest level of classification. I've seen documents also marked "C" or just a plain C. But the requirement is supposed to be (C). We don't know what it was in this case. According to the FBI, the documents with classified material were sent TO Hillary. She didn't forward any of those documents to anyone else. And none of the documents had the required markings at the top or bottom of the page. Anyone who has been sent a hundred page report may not have read every single page from top to bottom.

Anyway, that's how classifications work and how Classified documents look. And if I'm wrong, please correct me. I haven't worked in S2 for 40 years.

Well you forgot at least two.

Top Secret SAP (special access programs)
and FOUO (for official use only)

 

[Pete7469]

 

[MarathonMike]

That's a fairly accurate albeit dated description of how one obtains a clearance and also accurate about how classified documents are marked.

The FBI stated that there were at least 20 emails on Hillary's server that CONTAINED Top Secret information. The markings or lack thereof on those emails is meaningless since the CONTENT is what made the emails Top Secret, not the markings on the emails.

Hillary is using the lack of markings excuse to lawyer her way out of clear and undeniable violations of National Security. Especially since there was evidence that she instructed her staff to "carve out" the content of marked classified documents and email it unclassified, another serious violation of National Security.

 

[theliq]

Notice the "SECRET" in red at the top and the bottom. In classified documentation, there are typically three markings:
(TS) Top Secret

(S) Secret

(C) Confidential

(U) Unclassified

Notice I said three. (U) is rarely used. If the document doesn't have the "TOP SECRET", "SECRET" or "CONFIDENTIAL" marking at the top and the bottom, it is typically understood to be (U) Unclassified.
And if portions of the document are SECRET, then the document is considered to be SECRET even if there are CONFIDENTIAL and Unclassified material within the document. (C) is always "Confidential", not "classified". You may get a folder that says classified on the jacket, but on the document itself, C always means confidential.

There is some material occasionally labeled "Sensitive", but that could be anything from the name of something classified or something slightly embarrassing.

Why the different classifications? You can go look that up on your own.

If you have a TOP SECRET clearance, can you look at every classified document under that level? The answer is yes and no. Legally, you are qualified to look at all classified material with a rating less than what you have been granted, but they also have something called "A Need to Know".

So what is the difference:

Confidential - damage to national security. (on the level of "embarrassing")

Secret - serious damage to National Security. (on the level of "very embarrassing enough to affect relationships" to "a distant risk to lives")

Top Secret - GRAVE damage to National Security. (immediate threat to safety and lives)

Is the process the same for getting the three different levels of classification? No.

I was in S2 at the Battalion level. The unit was nuclear capable, so there were a couple of Top Secret's within the Battalion, but only a couple.

A Confidential clearance is handled at the Battalion level. A check of the person's 201 file and a review of their records and a check of their citizenship is enough. The Clearance is granted by the S2 Officer and Battery Captain.

To obtain a secret clearance, you have to start off with multiple copies of:

DD 398 a Statement of Personal History:

Loading...

DD 1584 Check Request:

A fingerprint card.

And a couple of other minor forms that have been so long ago, I've forgotten what they are. Then the investigation is approved at the Division and sent by them to the FBI and/or CIA.

Receiving the clearance itself once the investigation is complete.

Like I said, Confidential is approved at the Battalion level.

But Secret has to be approved by one level higher. In this case, at the Division level.

The Top Secret were approved and assigned to the Battalion from before, so I never handled the paperwork for that classification.

Now, if you are working at the State Department and you are Secretary of State or a high official, you may or may not have two systems. One will be for classified material. Encrypted and sent over secure lines. Or, you can have regular email, or not. It's not a requirement. You can always use a telephone or have an aid send a message. But these days, most people have email.

Now in Hillary's case and in Colin Powell's case, they had both. She had a private server and he had an AOL account. The private server can be more secure than the AOL account, since AOL is so public.

It has been said some Hillary emails contained classified material. But none of the documents had the TS, S or C stamps at the top and the bottom of the document. We can assume if she received some classified material, then we can assume so did Colin and Condi. But neither Colin nor Condi turned over a single email even though both were requested. But for some reason, unknown to us, the GOP never followed up and just let the matter go for Colin and Condi.

The GOP head of the FBI said only three of the documents had any classified markings. And that was a (C) for Confidential. The lowest level of classification. I've seen documents also marked "C" or just a plain C. But the requirement is supposed to be (C). We don't know what it was in this case. According to the FBI, the documents with classified material were sent TO Hillary. She didn't forward any of those documents to anyone else. And none of the documents had the required markings at the top or bottom of the page. Anyone who has been sent a hundred page report may not have read every single page from top to bottom.

Anyway, that's how classifications work and how Classified documents look. And if I'm wrong, please correct me. I haven't worked in S2 for 40 years.

Top Secret

 

[320 Years of History]

Anyone who has been sent a hundred page report may not have read every single page from top to bottom.

I don't know how many people are senior principals in organizations having tens of thousands of employees. I do know that anyone who is or has been is well aware of the volume of emails that come one's way and that one never reads, or never reads in their entirety. In my own case, the various partners who work for me include me on all sorts of email chains for a variety of reasons, including but not limited to:

• Because I need to know what's being discussed.
• Because they want a response from me about something having to do with the topic.
• So that I have a copy of what they are discussing with someone else in case at some point prior to the matter being resolved they need to discuss it with me.
• To "cover their asses."

Out of all the emails that come my way, the only one's for which I'm aware of the entirety of the "back and forth" are the ones that come from my bosses or clients, the ones I initiated, and the ones on which my subordinates note in the subject line "RRPRC" or "RRPRF" (response requested, please read - Client-related; response requested, please read - Firm-related). That's just for the stuff that comes into my inbox that is given only to my superiors and people whom I want to have it. There's also the email that comes to my firm-publicized email address. I don't read any of that email unless my assistant calls it to my attention as being something I need to read.

I get about 500-600 emails a day between both my firm email accounts and I read or peruse about 50 to 100 of them. I can't begin to image the quantity of emails that a government department secretary receives and I have no way to speculate with any credibility on how many or few s/he may actually look at, let alone look at in their entirety (especially those that are part of a chain).

 

[OKTexas]

Anyone who has been sent a hundred page report may not have read every single page from top to bottom.

I don't know how many people are senior principals in organizations having tens of thousands of employees. I do know that anyone who is or has been is well aware of the volume of emails that come one's way and that one never reads, or never reads in their entirety. In my own case, the various partners who work for me include me on all sorts of email chains for a variety of reasons, including but not limited to:

• Because I need to know what's being discussed.
• Because they want a response from me about something having to do with the topic.
• So that I have a copy of what they are discussing with someone else in case at some point prior to the matter being resolved they need to discuss it with me.
• To "cover their asses."

Out of all the emails that come my way, the only one's for which I'm aware of the entirety of the "back and forth" are the ones that come from my bosses or clients, the ones I initiated, and the ones on which my subordinates note in the subject line "RRPRC" or "RRPRF" (response requested, please read - Client-related; response requested, please read - Firm-related). That's just for the stuff that comes into my inbox that is given only to my superiors and people whom I want to have it. There's also the email that comes to my firm-publicized email address. I don't read any of that email unless my assistant calls it to my attention as being something I need to read.

I get about 500-600 emails a day between both my firm email accounts and I read or peruse about 50 to 100 of them. I can't begin to image the quantity of emails that a government department secretary receives and I have no way to speculate with any credibility on how many or few s/he may actually look at, let alone look at in their entirety (especially those that are part of a chain).

But I bet you company has a government mandate to archive emails in case of litigation. Also if classified information finds its way to your system and you don't immediately report it, your company would be liable for it. Clinton owned the server, she had a legal obligation to preserve work related email. She was also responsible for the people given access to that system, many of which did not have the necessary clearance to have access. The fact that her system contained classified email and was not authorized to do so is a violation of law. It's just that simple.

Her failure to preserve the emails, her false exculpatory statements and her not following her own depts policies of sending copies to the dept archivist, are clear indications of intent. You can try to soft peddle it anyway you want, but it doesn't alter the facts.

 

[320 Years of History]

Anyone who has been sent a hundred page report may not have read every single page from top to bottom.

I don't know how many people are senior principals in organizations having tens of thousands of employees. I do know that anyone who is or has been is well aware of the volume of emails that come one's way and that one never reads, or never reads in their entirety. In my own case, the various partners who work for me include me on all sorts of email chains for a variety of reasons, including but not limited to:

• Because I need to know what's being discussed.
• Because they want a response from me about something having to do with the topic.
• So that I have a copy of what they are discussing with someone else in case at some point prior to the matter being resolved they need to discuss it with me.
• To "cover their asses."

Out of all the emails that come my way, the only one's for which I'm aware of the entirety of the "back and forth" are the ones that come from my bosses or clients, the ones I initiated, and the ones on which my subordinates note in the subject line "RRPRC" or "RRPRF" (response requested, please read - Client-related; response requested, please read - Firm-related). That's just for the stuff that comes into my inbox that is given only to my superiors and people whom I want to have it. There's also the email that comes to my firm-publicized email address. I don't read any of that email unless my assistant calls it to my attention as being something I need to read.

I get about 500-600 emails a day between both my firm email accounts and I read or peruse about 50 to 100 of them. I can't begin to image the quantity of emails that a government department secretary receives and I have no way to speculate with any credibility on how many or few s/he may actually look at, let alone look at in their entirety (especially those that are part of a chain).

But I bet you company has a government mandate to archive emails in case of litigation. Also if classified information finds its way to your system and you don't immediately report it, your company would be liable for it. Clinton owned the server, she had a legal obligation to preserve work related email. She was also responsible for the people given access to that system, many of which did not have the necessary clearance to have access. The fact that her system contained classified email and was not authorized to do so is a violation of law. It's just that simple.

Her failure to preserve the emails, her false exculpatory statements and her not following her own depts policies of sending copies to the dept archivist, are clear indications of intent. You can try to soft peddle it anyway you want, but it doesn't alter the facts.

I'm not going to be drawn into yet another legal theory discussion about mens rea, actus rea, the role of both in determining criminal culpability, Gorin and whether a former U.S. Deputy Attorney General's interpretation of 793(f) is credible. I've said I care to say about it.

 

[MarathonMike]

Anyone who has been sent a hundred page report may not have read every single page from top to bottom.

I don't know how many people are senior principals in organizations having tens of thousands of employees. I do know that anyone who is or has been is well aware of the volume of emails that come one's way and that one never reads, or never reads in their entirety. In my own case, the various partners who work for me include me on all sorts of email chains for a variety of reasons, including but not limited to:

• Because I need to know what's being discussed.
• Because they want a response from me about something having to do with the topic.
• So that I have a copy of what they are discussing with someone else in case at some point prior to the matter being resolved they need to discuss it with me.
• To "cover their asses."

Out of all the emails that come my way, the only one's for which I'm aware of the entirety of the "back and forth" are the ones that come from my bosses or clients, the ones I initiated, and the ones on which my subordinates note in the subject line "RRPRC" or "RRPRF" (response requested, please read - Client-related; response requested, please read - Firm-related). That's just for the stuff that comes into my inbox that is given only to my superiors and people whom I want to have it. There's also the email that comes to my firm-publicized email address. I don't read any of that email unless my assistant calls it to my attention as being something I need to read.

I get about 500-600 emails a day between both my firm email accounts and I read or peruse about 50 to 100 of them. I can't begin to image the quantity of emails that a government department secretary receives and I have no way to speculate with any credibility on how many or few s/he may actually look at, let alone look at in their entirety (especially those that are part of a chain).

The thread is about classified emails, not about the volume of emails a manager or high ranking official might see in a day.

 

[320 Years of History]

Anyone who has been sent a hundred page report may not have read every single page from top to bottom.

I don't know how many people are senior principals in organizations having tens of thousands of employees. I do know that anyone who is or has been is well aware of the volume of emails that come one's way and that one never reads, or never reads in their entirety. In my own case, the various partners who work for me include me on all sorts of email chains for a variety of reasons, including but not limited to:

• Because I need to know what's being discussed.
• Because they want a response from me about something having to do with the topic.
• So that I have a copy of what they are discussing with someone else in case at some point prior to the matter being resolved they need to discuss it with me.
• To "cover their asses."

Out of all the emails that come my way, the only one's for which I'm aware of the entirety of the "back and forth" are the ones that come from my bosses or clients, the ones I initiated, and the ones on which my subordinates note in the subject line "RRPRC" or "RRPRF" (response requested, please read - Client-related; response requested, please read - Firm-related). That's just for the stuff that comes into my inbox that is given only to my superiors and people whom I want to have it. There's also the email that comes to my firm-publicized email address. I don't read any of that email unless my assistant calls it to my attention as being something I need to read.

I get about 500-600 emails a day between both my firm email accounts and I read or peruse about 50 to 100 of them. I can't begin to image the quantity of emails that a government department secretary receives and I have no way to speculate with any credibility on how many or few s/he may actually look at, let alone look at in their entirety (especially those that are part of a chain).

The thread is about classified emails, not about the volume of emails a manager or high ranking official might see in a day.

Okay. If you'd be so kind as to insert "Off Topic" at the start of that post, I'd be thankful.

 

[NYcarbineer]

BTW... I'll bet Rderp hasn't worked in 40 years.

I'll bet he's 43 years old too.

I was in an S-2 section in the Army and the OP is correct.

 

[boedicca]

Poor rdeany...always missing the point.

INFORMATION is deemed classified based on its nature, regardless of labeling.

 

[Pete7469]

Speaking from the perspective of a mere NCO in an engineer unit, what infinitesimal quantity of sensitive items/information we worked with were under lock/vault and signed for and kept under the physical security of the dude whose life was signed for.

If you didn't know better and plugged a personal laptop onto a government wire phones would start ringing and pissed off people will be working their way towards that wire.

The government email we had was screened constantly. You couldn't send copies of your own record if YOUR social security number was in it. Considering the stringent scrutiny us nobody's we under, you'd think the highest branch in the country would have at least similar standards.

Then they're indignant they've been exposed and try blaming and old "enemy" from their cold war Era programing. Bed wetters lap up the piles and we're stuck smelling their breath.

 

[flacaltenn]

Notice the "SECRET" in red at the top and the bottom. In classified documentation, there are typically three markings:
(TS) Top Secret

(S) Secret

(C) Confidential

(U) Unclassified

Notice I said three. (U) is rarely used. If the document doesn't have the "TOP SECRET", "SECRET" or "CONFIDENTIAL" marking at the top and the bottom, it is typically understood to be (U) Unclassified.
And if portions of the document are SECRET, then the document is considered to be SECRET even if there are CONFIDENTIAL and Unclassified material within the document. (C) is always "Confidential", not "classified". You may get a folder that says classified on the jacket, but on the document itself, C always means confidential.

There is some material occasionally labeled "Sensitive", but that could be anything from the name of something classified or something slightly embarrassing.

Why the different classifications? You can go look that up on your own.

If you have a TOP SECRET clearance, can you look at every classified document under that level? The answer is yes and no. Legally, you are qualified to look at all classified material with a rating less than what you have been granted, but they also have something called "A Need to Know".

So what is the difference:

Confidential - damage to national security. (on the level of "embarrassing")

Secret - serious damage to National Security. (on the level of "very embarrassing enough to affect relationships" to "a distant risk to lives")

Top Secret - GRAVE damage to National Security. (immediate threat to safety and lives)

Is the process the same for getting the three different levels of classification? No.

I was in S2 at the Battalion level. The unit was nuclear capable, so there were a couple of Top Secret's within the Battalion, but only a couple.

A Confidential clearance is handled at the Battalion level. A check of the person's 201 file and a review of their records and a check of their citizenship is enough. The Clearance is granted by the S2 Officer and Battery Captain.

To obtain a secret clearance, you have to start off with multiple copies of:

DD 398 a Statement of Personal History:

Loading...

DD 1584 Check Request:

A fingerprint card.

And a couple of other minor forms that have been so long ago, I've forgotten what they are. Then the investigation is approved at the Division and sent by them to the FBI and/or CIA.

Receiving the clearance itself once the investigation is complete.

Like I said, Confidential is approved at the Battalion level.

But Secret has to be approved by one level higher. In this case, at the Division level.

The Top Secret were approved and assigned to the Battalion from before, so I never handled the paperwork for that classification.

Now, if you are working at the State Department and you are Secretary of State or a high official, you may or may not have two systems. One will be for classified material. Encrypted and sent over secure lines. Or, you can have regular email, or not. It's not a requirement. You can always use a telephone or have an aid send a message. But these days, most people have email.

Now in Hillary's case and in Colin Powell's case, they had both. She had a private server and he had an AOL account. The private server can be more secure than the AOL account, since AOL is so public.

It has been said some Hillary emails contained classified material. But none of the documents had the TS, S or C stamps at the top and the bottom of the document. We can assume if she received some classified material, then we can assume so did Colin and Condi. But neither Colin nor Condi turned over a single email even though both were requested. But for some reason, unknown to us, the GOP never followed up and just let the matter go for Colin and Condi.

The GOP head of the FBI said only three of the documents had any classified markings. And that was a (C) for Confidential. The lowest level of classification. I've seen documents also marked "C" or just a plain C. But the requirement is supposed to be (C). We don't know what it was in this case. According to the FBI, the documents with classified material were sent TO Hillary. She didn't forward any of those documents to anyone else. And none of the documents had the required markings at the top or bottom of the page. Anyone who has been sent a hundred page report may not have read every single page from top to bottom.

Anyway, that's how classifications work and how Classified documents look. And if I'm wrong, please correct me. I haven't worked in S2 for 40 years.

You are so wrong and deluded -- it ain't really funny.. You need to engage your brain. Because BRAINS are where secret information are stored. It's IN PEOPLE'S HEADS. And if they have a need to communicate about classified information, there are MANY OPTIONS and MOST of those never go on a sheet of paper..

There are approved communication channels for EVERY LEVEL of classification. And there are protocols for WHERE and HOW meetings, conversations occur. She violated ALL OF THAT..

I don't know how stupid you want me to make you look with your TV/Movie concept of classified information handling. But I will. You know NOTHING about classified channels or protocols. And that example is juvenile stupidity..

 

[rdean]

Notice the "SECRET" in red at the top and the bottom. In classified documentation, there are typically three markings:
(TS) Top Secret

(S) Secret

(C) Confidential

(U) Unclassified

Notice I said three. (U) is rarely used. If the document doesn't have the "TOP SECRET", "SECRET" or "CONFIDENTIAL" marking at the top and the bottom, it is typically understood to be (U) Unclassified.
And if portions of the document are SECRET, then the document is considered to be SECRET even if there are CONFIDENTIAL and Unclassified material within the document. (C) is always "Confidential", not "classified". You may get a folder that says classified on the jacket, but on the document itself, C always means confidential.

There is some material occasionally labeled "Sensitive", but that could be anything from the name of something classified or something slightly embarrassing.

Why the different classifications? You can go look that up on your own.

If you have a TOP SECRET clearance, can you look at every classified document under that level? The answer is yes and no. Legally, you are qualified to look at all classified material with a rating less than what you have been granted, but they also have something called "A Need to Know".

So what is the difference:

Confidential - damage to national security. (on the level of "embarrassing")

Secret - serious damage to National Security. (on the level of "very embarrassing enough to affect relationships" to "a distant risk to lives")

Top Secret - GRAVE damage to National Security. (immediate threat to safety and lives)

Is the process the same for getting the three different levels of classification? No.

I was in S2 at the Battalion level. The unit was nuclear capable, so there were a couple of Top Secret's within the Battalion, but only a couple.

A Confidential clearance is handled at the Battalion level. A check of the person's 201 file and a review of their records and a check of their citizenship is enough. The Clearance is granted by the S2 Officer and Battery Captain.

To obtain a secret clearance, you have to start off with multiple copies of:

DD 398 a Statement of Personal History:

Loading...

DD 1584 Check Request:

A fingerprint card.

And a couple of other minor forms that have been so long ago, I've forgotten what they are. Then the investigation is approved at the Division and sent by them to the FBI and/or CIA.

Receiving the clearance itself once the investigation is complete.

Like I said, Confidential is approved at the Battalion level.

But Secret has to be approved by one level higher. In this case, at the Division level.

The Top Secret were approved and assigned to the Battalion from before, so I never handled the paperwork for that classification.

Now, if you are working at the State Department and you are Secretary of State or a high official, you may or may not have two systems. One will be for classified material. Encrypted and sent over secure lines. Or, you can have regular email, or not. It's not a requirement. You can always use a telephone or have an aid send a message. But these days, most people have email.

Now in Hillary's case and in Colin Powell's case, they had both. She had a private server and he had an AOL account. The private server can be more secure than the AOL account, since AOL is so public.

It has been said some Hillary emails contained classified material. But none of the documents had the TS, S or C stamps at the top and the bottom of the document. We can assume if she received some classified material, then we can assume so did Colin and Condi. But neither Colin nor Condi turned over a single email even though both were requested. But for some reason, unknown to us, the GOP never followed up and just let the matter go for Colin and Condi.

The GOP head of the FBI said only three of the documents had any classified markings. And that was a (C) for Confidential. The lowest level of classification. I've seen documents also marked "C" or just a plain C. But the requirement is supposed to be (C). We don't know what it was in this case. According to the FBI, the documents with classified material were sent TO Hillary. She didn't forward any of those documents to anyone else. And none of the documents had the required markings at the top or bottom of the page. Anyone who has been sent a hundred page report may not have read every single page from top to bottom.

Anyway, that's how classifications work and how Classified documents look. And if I'm wrong, please correct me. I haven't worked in S2 for 40 years.

Well you forgot at least two.

Top Secret SAP (special access programs)
and FOUO (for official use only)

Like I said, I never worked Top secret.
And "Official use only" isn't classified. It generally refers to a "form" and they are just telling you to not waste the form. Don't use it for note paper or something similar.

----------------

(SAP) which are phrases used by media. It is not truly "above" Top Secret, since there is no civilian clearance higher than Top Secret.

List of U.S. security clearance terms - Wikipedia

Perhaps I should write to Wikipedia to correct them. They give basically the same definition to Secret and Top Secret.. But "grave" is part of the definition of Top Secret for anyone who actually attended a security class. A requirement to work in S2.

 

[rdean]

Notice the "SECRET" in red at the top and the bottom. In classified documentation, there are typically three markings:
(TS) Top Secret

(S) Secret

(C) Confidential

(U) Unclassified

Notice I said three. (U) is rarely used. If the document doesn't have the "TOP SECRET", "SECRET" or "CONFIDENTIAL" marking at the top and the bottom, it is typically understood to be (U) Unclassified.
And if portions of the document are SECRET, then the document is considered to be SECRET even if there are CONFIDENTIAL and Unclassified material within the document. (C) is always "Confidential", not "classified". You may get a folder that says classified on the jacket, but on the document itself, C always means confidential.

There is some material occasionally labeled "Sensitive", but that could be anything from the name of something classified or something slightly embarrassing.

Why the different classifications? You can go look that up on your own.

If you have a TOP SECRET clearance, can you look at every classified document under that level? The answer is yes and no. Legally, you are qualified to look at all classified material with a rating less than what you have been granted, but they also have something called "A Need to Know".

So what is the difference:

Confidential - damage to national security. (on the level of "embarrassing")

Secret - serious damage to National Security. (on the level of "very embarrassing enough to affect relationships" to "a distant risk to lives")

Top Secret - GRAVE damage to National Security. (immediate threat to safety and lives)

Is the process the same for getting the three different levels of classification? No.

I was in S2 at the Battalion level. The unit was nuclear capable, so there were a couple of Top Secret's within the Battalion, but only a couple.

A Confidential clearance is handled at the Battalion level. A check of the person's 201 file and a review of their records and a check of their citizenship is enough. The Clearance is granted by the S2 Officer and Battery Captain.

To obtain a secret clearance, you have to start off with multiple copies of:

DD 398 a Statement of Personal History:

Loading...

DD 1584 Check Request:

A fingerprint card.

And a couple of other minor forms that have been so long ago, I've forgotten what they are. Then the investigation is approved at the Division and sent by them to the FBI and/or CIA.

Receiving the clearance itself once the investigation is complete.

Like I said, Confidential is approved at the Battalion level.

But Secret has to be approved by one level higher. In this case, at the Division level.

The Top Secret were approved and assigned to the Battalion from before, so I never handled the paperwork for that classification.

Now, if you are working at the State Department and you are Secretary of State or a high official, you may or may not have two systems. One will be for classified material. Encrypted and sent over secure lines. Or, you can have regular email, or not. It's not a requirement. You can always use a telephone or have an aid send a message. But these days, most people have email.

Now in Hillary's case and in Colin Powell's case, they had both. She had a private server and he had an AOL account. The private server can be more secure than the AOL account, since AOL is so public.

It has been said some Hillary emails contained classified material. But none of the documents had the TS, S or C stamps at the top and the bottom of the document. We can assume if she received some classified material, then we can assume so did Colin and Condi. But neither Colin nor Condi turned over a single email even though both were requested. But for some reason, unknown to us, the GOP never followed up and just let the matter go for Colin and Condi.

The GOP head of the FBI said only three of the documents had any classified markings. And that was a (C) for Confidential. The lowest level of classification. I've seen documents also marked "C" or just a plain C. But the requirement is supposed to be (C). We don't know what it was in this case. According to the FBI, the documents with classified material were sent TO Hillary. She didn't forward any of those documents to anyone else. And none of the documents had the required markings at the top or bottom of the page. Anyone who has been sent a hundred page report may not have read every single page from top to bottom.

Anyway, that's how classifications work and how Classified documents look. And if I'm wrong, please correct me. I haven't worked in S2 for 40 years.

You are so wrong and deluded -- it ain't really funny.. You need to engage your brain. Because BRAINS are where secret information are stored. It's IN PEOPLE'S HEADS. And if they have a need to communicate about classified information, there are MANY OPTIONS and MOST of those never go on a sheet of paper..

There are approved communication channels for EVERY LEVEL of classification. And there are protocols for WHERE and HOW meetings, conversations occur. She violated ALL OF THAT..

I don't know how stupid you want me to make you look with your TV/Movie concept of classified information handling. But I will. You know NOTHING about classified channels or protocols. And that example is juvenile stupidity..

OMG. A ridiculous tard is telling me I'm wrong.

I love this part:

BRAINS are where secret information are stored. It's IN PEOPLE'S HEADS.

And then you made it worse with this:

And there are protocols for WHERE and HOW meetings

Where and how meetings? Where did you get such nonsense and how can you be so ignorant?

Our government and our military is slightly more flexible than what you suggest. But keep it coming, I love the laughs.

 

[rdean]

Speaking from the perspective of a mere NCO in an engineer unit, what infinitesimal quantity of sensitive items/information we worked with were under lock/vault and signed for and kept under the physical security of the dude whose life was signed for.

If you didn't know better and plugged a personal laptop onto a government wire phones would start ringing and pissed off people will be working their way towards that wire.

The government email we had was screened constantly. You couldn't send copies of your own record if YOUR social security number was in it. Considering the stringent scrutiny us nobody's we under, you'd think the highest branch in the country would have at least similar standards.

Then they're indignant they've been exposed and try blaming and old "enemy" from their cold war Era programing. Bed wetters lap up the piles and we're stuck smelling their breath.

Which is why two systems. One was encrypted and across secure lines. Anyone who listened to Hillary's testimony should remember when she said the little tents were set up where they had classified meetings overseas. And a secure system was set up. Why the little tent? A couple of reasons. You could have bugs in buildings and no one would know they are there. You could have professional lip readers writing down what you are saying. Someone could see what you are typing on your keyboard. Of course she used such a system.

The other was your regular work system. But even private companies don't like employees using their system for anything other then company business.

No one could possibly believe the Secretary of State only dealt with three classified documents in four years. And remember, the three that were marked, were sent TO her. She didn't send them to someone else. And they were only a measly confidential.

 

[OKTexas]

Notice the "SECRET" in red at the top and the bottom. In classified documentation, there are typically three markings:
(TS) Top Secret

(S) Secret

(C) Confidential

(U) Unclassified

Notice I said three. (U) is rarely used. If the document doesn't have the "TOP SECRET", "SECRET" or "CONFIDENTIAL" marking at the top and the bottom, it is typically understood to be (U) Unclassified.
And if portions of the document are SECRET, then the document is considered to be SECRET even if there are CONFIDENTIAL and Unclassified material within the document. (C) is always "Confidential", not "classified". You may get a folder that says classified on the jacket, but on the document itself, C always means confidential.

There is some material occasionally labeled "Sensitive", but that could be anything from the name of something classified or something slightly embarrassing.

Why the different classifications? You can go look that up on your own.

If you have a TOP SECRET clearance, can you look at every classified document under that level? The answer is yes and no. Legally, you are qualified to look at all classified material with a rating less than what you have been granted, but they also have something called "A Need to Know".

So what is the difference:

Confidential - damage to national security. (on the level of "embarrassing")

Secret - serious damage to National Security. (on the level of "very embarrassing enough to affect relationships" to "a distant risk to lives")

Top Secret - GRAVE damage to National Security. (immediate threat to safety and lives)

Is the process the same for getting the three different levels of classification? No.

I was in S2 at the Battalion level. The unit was nuclear capable, so there were a couple of Top Secret's within the Battalion, but only a couple.

A Confidential clearance is handled at the Battalion level. A check of the person's 201 file and a review of their records and a check of their citizenship is enough. The Clearance is granted by the S2 Officer and Battery Captain.

To obtain a secret clearance, you have to start off with multiple copies of:

DD 398 a Statement of Personal History:

Loading...

DD 1584 Check Request:

A fingerprint card.

And a couple of other minor forms that have been so long ago, I've forgotten what they are. Then the investigation is approved at the Division and sent by them to the FBI and/or CIA.

Receiving the clearance itself once the investigation is complete.

Like I said, Confidential is approved at the Battalion level.

But Secret has to be approved by one level higher. In this case, at the Division level.

The Top Secret were approved and assigned to the Battalion from before, so I never handled the paperwork for that classification.

Now, if you are working at the State Department and you are Secretary of State or a high official, you may or may not have two systems. One will be for classified material. Encrypted and sent over secure lines. Or, you can have regular email, or not. It's not a requirement. You can always use a telephone or have an aid send a message. But these days, most people have email.

Now in Hillary's case and in Colin Powell's case, they had both. She had a private server and he had an AOL account. The private server can be more secure than the AOL account, since AOL is so public.

It has been said some Hillary emails contained classified material. But none of the documents had the TS, S or C stamps at the top and the bottom of the document. We can assume if she received some classified material, then we can assume so did Colin and Condi. But neither Colin nor Condi turned over a single email even though both were requested. But for some reason, unknown to us, the GOP never followed up and just let the matter go for Colin and Condi.

The GOP head of the FBI said only three of the documents had any classified markings. And that was a (C) for Confidential. The lowest level of classification. I've seen documents also marked "C" or just a plain C. But the requirement is supposed to be (C). We don't know what it was in this case. According to the FBI, the documents with classified material were sent TO Hillary. She didn't forward any of those documents to anyone else. And none of the documents had the required markings at the top or bottom of the page. Anyone who has been sent a hundred page report may not have read every single page from top to bottom.

Anyway, that's how classifications work and how Classified documents look. And if I'm wrong, please correct me. I haven't worked in S2 for 40 years.

Well you forgot at least two.

Top Secret SAP (special access programs)
and FOUO (for official use only)

Like I said, I never worked Top secret.
And "Official use only" isn't classified. It generally refers to a "form" and they are just telling you to not waste the form. Don't use it for note paper or something similar.

----------------

(SAP) which are phrases used by media. It is not truly "above" Top Secret, since there is no civilian clearance higher than Top Secret.

List of U.S. security clearance terms - Wikipedia

Perhaps I should write to Wikipedia to correct them. They give basically the same definition to Secret and Top Secret.. But "grave" is part of the definition of Top Secret for anyone who actually attended a security class. A requirement to work in S2.

Actually no, FOUO it's also a classification on rosters or list, that contain personal or semi-sensitive information intended for internal use, that are not for release to the public. A company personnel or alert roster is a good example.

 

[rdean]

Notice the "SECRET" in red at the top and the bottom. In classified documentation, there are typically three markings:
(TS) Top Secret

(S) Secret

(C) Confidential

(U) Unclassified

Notice I said three. (U) is rarely used. If the document doesn't have the "TOP SECRET", "SECRET" or "CONFIDENTIAL" marking at the top and the bottom, it is typically understood to be (U) Unclassified.
And if portions of the document are SECRET, then the document is considered to be SECRET even if there are CONFIDENTIAL and Unclassified material within the document. (C) is always "Confidential", not "classified". You may get a folder that says classified on the jacket, but on the document itself, C always means confidential.

There is some material occasionally labeled "Sensitive", but that could be anything from the name of something classified or something slightly embarrassing.

Why the different classifications? You can go look that up on your own.

If you have a TOP SECRET clearance, can you look at every classified document under that level? The answer is yes and no. Legally, you are qualified to look at all classified material with a rating less than what you have been granted, but they also have something called "A Need to Know".

So what is the difference:

Confidential - damage to national security. (on the level of "embarrassing")

Secret - serious damage to National Security. (on the level of "very embarrassing enough to affect relationships" to "a distant risk to lives")

Top Secret - GRAVE damage to National Security. (immediate threat to safety and lives)

Is the process the same for getting the three different levels of classification? No.

I was in S2 at the Battalion level. The unit was nuclear capable, so there were a couple of Top Secret's within the Battalion, but only a couple.

A Confidential clearance is handled at the Battalion level. A check of the person's 201 file and a review of their records and a check of their citizenship is enough. The Clearance is granted by the S2 Officer and Battery Captain.

To obtain a secret clearance, you have to start off with multiple copies of:

DD 398 a Statement of Personal History:

Loading...

DD 1584 Check Request:

A fingerprint card.

And a couple of other minor forms that have been so long ago, I've forgotten what they are. Then the investigation is approved at the Division and sent by them to the FBI and/or CIA.

Receiving the clearance itself once the investigation is complete.

Like I said, Confidential is approved at the Battalion level.

But Secret has to be approved by one level higher. In this case, at the Division level.

The Top Secret were approved and assigned to the Battalion from before, so I never handled the paperwork for that classification.

Now, if you are working at the State Department and you are Secretary of State or a high official, you may or may not have two systems. One will be for classified material. Encrypted and sent over secure lines. Or, you can have regular email, or not. It's not a requirement. You can always use a telephone or have an aid send a message. But these days, most people have email.

Now in Hillary's case and in Colin Powell's case, they had both. She had a private server and he had an AOL account. The private server can be more secure than the AOL account, since AOL is so public.

It has been said some Hillary emails contained classified material. But none of the documents had the TS, S or C stamps at the top and the bottom of the document. We can assume if she received some classified material, then we can assume so did Colin and Condi. But neither Colin nor Condi turned over a single email even though both were requested. But for some reason, unknown to us, the GOP never followed up and just let the matter go for Colin and Condi.

The GOP head of the FBI said only three of the documents had any classified markings. And that was a (C) for Confidential. The lowest level of classification. I've seen documents also marked "C" or just a plain C. But the requirement is supposed to be (C). We don't know what it was in this case. According to the FBI, the documents with classified material were sent TO Hillary. She didn't forward any of those documents to anyone else. And none of the documents had the required markings at the top or bottom of the page. Anyone who has been sent a hundred page report may not have read every single page from top to bottom.

Anyway, that's how classifications work and how Classified documents look. And if I'm wrong, please correct me. I haven't worked in S2 for 40 years.

Well you forgot at least two.

Top Secret SAP (special access programs)
and FOUO (for official use only)

Like I said, I never worked Top secret.
And "Official use only" isn't classified. It generally refers to a "form" and they are just telling you to not waste the form. Don't use it for note paper or something similar.

----------------

(SAP) which are phrases used by media. It is not truly "above" Top Secret, since there is no civilian clearance higher than Top Secret.

List of U.S. security clearance terms - Wikipedia

Perhaps I should write to Wikipedia to correct them. They give basically the same definition to Secret and Top Secret.. But "grave" is part of the definition of Top Secret for anyone who actually attended a security class. A requirement to work in S2.

Actually no, FOUO it's also a classification on rosters or list, that contain personal or semi-sensitive information intended for internal use, that are not for release to the public. A company personnel or alert roster is a good example.

I believe you. I was in the Service in the 70's. I think the Internet showed up some years later.

Political misquotes: The 10 most famous things never actually said

Everybody knows that Al Gore claimed to have invented the Internet. But like many things that everyone knows, it's not actually true.

-----------------

Oops, sorry, I thought you said "Internet" use.

 

[rdean]

Notice the "SECRET" in red at the top and the bottom. In classified documentation, there are typically three markings:
(TS) Top Secret

(S) Secret

(C) Confidential

(U) Unclassified

Notice I said three. (U) is rarely used. If the document doesn't have the "TOP SECRET", "SECRET" or "CONFIDENTIAL" marking at the top and the bottom, it is typically understood to be (U) Unclassified.
And if portions of the document are SECRET, then the document is considered to be SECRET even if there are CONFIDENTIAL and Unclassified material within the document. (C) is always "Confidential", not "classified". You may get a folder that says classified on the jacket, but on the document itself, C always means confidential.

There is some material occasionally labeled "Sensitive", but that could be anything from the name of something classified or something slightly embarrassing.

Why the different classifications? You can go look that up on your own.

If you have a TOP SECRET clearance, can you look at every classified document under that level? The answer is yes and no. Legally, you are qualified to look at all classified material with a rating less than what you have been granted, but they also have something called "A Need to Know".

So what is the difference:

Confidential - damage to national security. (on the level of "embarrassing")

Secret - serious damage to National Security. (on the level of "very embarrassing enough to affect relationships" to "a distant risk to lives")

Top Secret - GRAVE damage to National Security. (immediate threat to safety and lives)

Is the process the same for getting the three different levels of classification? No.

I was in S2 at the Battalion level. The unit was nuclear capable, so there were a couple of Top Secret's within the Battalion, but only a couple.

A Confidential clearance is handled at the Battalion level. A check of the person's 201 file and a review of their records and a check of their citizenship is enough. The Clearance is granted by the S2 Officer and Battery Captain.

To obtain a secret clearance, you have to start off with multiple copies of:

DD 398 a Statement of Personal History:

Loading...

DD 1584 Check Request:

A fingerprint card.

And a couple of other minor forms that have been so long ago, I've forgotten what they are. Then the investigation is approved at the Division and sent by them to the FBI and/or CIA.

Receiving the clearance itself once the investigation is complete.

Like I said, Confidential is approved at the Battalion level.

But Secret has to be approved by one level higher. In this case, at the Division level.

The Top Secret were approved and assigned to the Battalion from before, so I never handled the paperwork for that classification.

Now, if you are working at the State Department and you are Secretary of State or a high official, you may or may not have two systems. One will be for classified material. Encrypted and sent over secure lines. Or, you can have regular email, or not. It's not a requirement. You can always use a telephone or have an aid send a message. But these days, most people have email.

Now in Hillary's case and in Colin Powell's case, they had both. She had a private server and he had an AOL account. The private server can be more secure than the AOL account, since AOL is so public.

It has been said some Hillary emails contained classified material. But none of the documents had the TS, S or C stamps at the top and the bottom of the document. We can assume if she received some classified material, then we can assume so did Colin and Condi. But neither Colin nor Condi turned over a single email even though both were requested. But for some reason, unknown to us, the GOP never followed up and just let the matter go for Colin and Condi.

The GOP head of the FBI said only three of the documents had any classified markings. And that was a (C) for Confidential. The lowest level of classification. I've seen documents also marked "C" or just a plain C. But the requirement is supposed to be (C). We don't know what it was in this case. According to the FBI, the documents with classified material were sent TO Hillary. She didn't forward any of those documents to anyone else. And none of the documents had the required markings at the top or bottom of the page. Anyone who has been sent a hundred page report may not have read every single page from top to bottom.

Anyway, that's how classifications work and how Classified documents look. And if I'm wrong, please correct me. I haven't worked in S2 for 40 years.

Well you forgot at least two.

Top Secret SAP (special access programs)
and FOUO (for official use only)

Like I said, I never worked Top secret.
And "Official use only" isn't classified. It generally refers to a "form" and they are just telling you to not waste the form. Don't use it for note paper or something similar.

----------------

(SAP) which are phrases used by media. It is not truly "above" Top Secret, since there is no civilian clearance higher than Top Secret.

List of U.S. security clearance terms - Wikipedia

Perhaps I should write to Wikipedia to correct them. They give basically the same definition to Secret and Top Secret.. But "grave" is part of the definition of Top Secret for anyone who actually attended a security class. A requirement to work in S2.

Actually no, FOUO it's also a classification on rosters or list, that contain personal or semi-sensitive information intended for internal use, that are not for release to the public. A company personnel or alert roster is a good example.

I never had a roster. The government forms I sent to initiate a clearance didn't have that marking. Here is one example:

Loading...

5 ea of DD 398 and 5 ea of DD 1584 were included in each investigation.

I'm only talking from my own experience which includes a month long security class.