CHAPTER 5 CORRESPONDENCE    PREPARATION A Religious Program Specialist is required by occupational standards to type and route official correspondence   prepared   in   the   office   of   the chaplain. It is therefore extremely important for the   RP   to   know   the   proper   procedures   for preparing  naval  correspondence. Policies,  procedures,  and  guidance  for preparing  correspondence  are  presented  in  the Department  of  the  Navy  Correspondence  Manual (SECNAVINST  5216.5).  This  manual  contains specific   preparation   instructions   concerning letters,  endorsements,  memoranda,  and  messages. This   chapter   will   cover   the   guidelines contained  in  SECNAVINST  5216.5;  the  format of a naval letter including authorized variations; the   requirements   for   using   special   types   of correspondence;  the  format  of  a  business  style letter;  and  the  basic  rules  of  grammar. OFFICE  OF  THE  CHAPLAIN CORRESPONDENCE Religious  Program  Specialists  are  normally tasked   with   typing and   proofreading correspondence   prepared   in   the   office   of   the chaplain  in  support  of  the  Command  Religious Program   (CRP).   It   should   be   noted   that   the religious program is a “command” responsibility. Therefore,   correspondence   involving   the   Navy and/or  Marine  Corps  is  considered  to  be  official correspondence. Official   correspondence   is usually   prepared   for   the   signature   of   the commanding  officer. As was noted in Chapter 4 of this module, “By direction”  signature  authority  is  generally  granted to  the  command  chaplain  by  the  commanding officer  concerning  routine  matters  and  official correspondence   relating   to   the   CRP.   Such correspondence   officially   comes   from   the commanding  officer.  This  means  that  recipients will usually handle the correspondence as if it were written by the commanding officer. A chaplain’s signature  “By  direction”  is  not  followed  by  his or her rank or office since the chaplain is signing the  correspondence  for  the  commanding  officer. Before  proceeding  to  a  discussion  on  the preparation of correspondence, it is important to note  again  that  chaplains  also  originate  both pastoral   and   professional   correspondence. Pastoral correspondence relates to the chaplain’s pastoral   relationship   with   personnel   of   the command,  dependents,  or  civilians.  A  business style format and the chaplain’s own name are used for  this  type  of  correspondence.  Since  the chaplain’s  pastoral  role  rather  than  the  officer  role is involved, the signature maybe followed by the identification,    “Chaplain,   U.S.   Navy,”   rather than   the   official   rank   and   Chaplain   Corps designation   (CHC). Professional  correspondence  is  between  two or more chaplains, or between a chaplain and any officer/enlisted service member, which relates to professional matters within the Chaplain Corps. A  business  style  format  and  the  chaplain’s  own name   are   also   used   for   this   type   of   corre- spondence. The   next   sections   of   this   chapter   contain information  concerning  a  standard  naval  letter, variations  of  the  naval  letter,  special  types  of correspondence, and  a  business  letter.  It  is important to remember that complete guidelines and  procedures  for  preparing  naval  corre- spondence are contained in the Department of the Navy   Correspondence   Manual   (SECNAVINST 5216.5). STANDARD   NAVAL   LETTER The standard naval letter is normally used in writing  officially  to  addressees  within  the Department  of  Defense.  It  may  also  be  used  in writing to other addressees who are known to have adopted similar formats. The standard or typical naval letter is from one originator to one addressee and is usually referred to as the naval letter. 5-1