GAGGING THE EMPLOYEES

Gag orders are a violation of the first amendment and are illegal. GE and the DOE were sued in Federal Court to force a retraction of the gag order. The first filing was in the Second Federal Judicial Circuit. The "Judge" in this circuit ruled that the term et. al. Should not have been used in referring to all of the other defendants and dismissed the case.

That ridiculous decision was appealed. During January 1990 the Second District Court of Appeals ruled that the GAG order was indeed illegal, but a letter of explanation about the gag order was sufficient justification not to require GE and the Government to withdraw the, now pronounced, illegal gag order.

The damage had been done and the courts ruled that a letter of explanation corrected the problem. Such was not the case. Most KAPL employees had been sufficiently frightened such that the gag order had served it's purpose and the letter of explanation never stated that the gag order was illegal.

The saying about how much justice can you afford has been preserved by a ridiculous decision made by three High Level Judges in our legal system.

The protection of classified and Sensitive Unclassified information is normally accomplished by preventing its unauthorized dissemination. However, there are occasions when such information my appear without authorization in the public domain. In such cases, commenting on the information could result in greater damage to national security than would occur if no comment were made.

This restriction includes comments on NR program statements appearing in newspapers, magazines, and books, or that are made in speeches, on TV, at open meetings, or even in casual conversations.

The fact that specific classified information has appeared publically is itself classified. In addition, the fact that information has appeared publicly does not make it become unclassified. Therefore, employees should not confirm, deny or otherwise comment or expand on any question raised about the accuracy, classification or technical merit of such information. Instead, all such inquiries as well as all inquiries from non-NR program sources, should be directed to KAPL's spokesperson, GE Sabian - Bldg. A1-247A, Ext. 4413.

KAPL employees are also cautioned that even after a person leaves the program, he or she remains responsible for protecting Classified and Sensitive Unclassified information (e.g. Naval Nuclear Propulsion Information-NNPI or Unclassified Controlled Nuclear Information - UCNI obtained through Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program work.

It is best to avoid any discussion of Program work. Where this is not practical, guidance must be sought from the KAPL Classification Officer, C.J. Schmidt, Ext. 6106 concerning what statements can be made on an unclassified basis.

Another important security aspect of the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program is that all public releases of information concerning program work (i.e. technical meetings, forums, etc.) must be reviewed and approved prior to release. This includes releases to DOE and DOE contractors outside the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program. Therefore, while employed at KAPL, if you are required to make statements about Program work to the public, formal approval must be obtained by use of KAP-418 form. It should be provided to Information Protection and Control via FM Pierone, Bldg. C-3 Rm.125 (EXT. 6072) for approval processing.

It is up to All of us to protect Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program Information in the interest of National Security. If we fail, vital information could be compromised.

Any deviation from the above policy is unacceptable.

Remember, Unauthorized Release of Information Can:

Information Security is job-related, and it is your responsibility to provide the protection required for all Classified, and unclassified sensitive interests entrusted to you.