CHAPTER 4
PUBLICATIONS AND DIRECTIVES
Numerous publications and directives are
used every day to conduct business in the office
of the chaplain in support of the Command
Religious Program (CRP). It is the responsibil-
ity of the RP to maintain office of the chaplain
publications and directives by making the appro-
priate changes and corrections. These changes are
normally made by inserting new pages, removing
obsolete pages, or by making pen-and-ink changes
in existing documents.
This chapter will be devoted to identifying
many of the publications and directives used in
today’s Navy and Marine Corps; explaining the
basic contents of the Department of the Navy
Directives Issuance System (SECNAVINST
5215.1); and illustrating various types of
directives.
The chief publications/directives which the RP
will use in conducting business in the office of the
chaplain will be described in the first sections of
this chapter. It should be noted that the RP is not
expected to know the entire contents of each of
these documents. However, locating accurate in-
formation in a timely manner for assigned
chaplains is one of the most important tasks that
RPs perform. Knowing where to look for this
information is one skill every RP must possess.
NOTE: For purposes of this discussion, publica-
tions have been grouped under the general
headings: regulatory/guidance, correspondence/
directives, supply, Command Religious Program,
and Marine Corps. It should also be noted that
each command decides which publications are
maintained in the various departments. The RP
should ensure that the office of the chaplain has
access to any publications that may be needed to
support the CRP. Having a copy of each publica-
tion may not be required; however, ready access
to the publications is imperative.
4-1
REGULATORY/GUIDANCE
PUBLICATIONS
The fundamental law governing the Depart-
ment of the Navy is derived from three basic
sources. These sources are:
The Constitution of the United States.
Treaties of the United States.
Laws passed by the Congress of the United
States.
These three sources provide broad outlines from
which publications and directives are developed
to establish and define specific rules and regula-
tions. Title 10 of the United States Code, which
is entitled “Armed Forces, ” is derived from these
three sources as well as other statutory sources.
The following sections will be devoted to identi-
fying various publications which define specific
rules and regulations in the Department of the
Navy.
UNITED STATES NAVY
REGULATIONS
The publication, United States Navy Regula-
tions, is foremost in general importance among
official publications. This publication outlines the
organizational structure of the Department of the
Navy and promulgates the principles and policies
by which the Navy and Marine Corps are gov-
erned. It consists of the following 12 chapters.
Chapter 1 —The Department of the Navy
(Articles 0100 series)
