§130b — Title 10 Armed Forces | U.S. Code

Summary

The Secretary of Defense and, for the Coast Guard when it is not part of the Navy, the Secretary of Homeland Security can keep certain personal details about some service members and Department of Defense or Coast Guard employees secret from the public, even if public records rules would normally require release. This applies to people assigned to overseas units, sensitive units, or routinely deployable units. The President can order exceptions, but officials cannot refuse to give the information to Congress. Definitions (short): Personally identifying information — name, rank, duty address, official title, and pay details. Unit — a military organization. Overseas unit — a unit located outside the United States and its territories. Sensitive unit — a unit that does special or classified missions or training, handles classified material, supports special operations, security weapons stations, or communications, or is marked sensitive by the Secretary. Routinely deployable unit — a unit that regularly deploys outside the United States for operations, training, or is alerted for contingency missions.

Title 10, §130b

Armed Forces — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)The Secretary of Defense and, with respect to the Coast Guard when it is not operating as a service in the Navy, the Secretary of Homeland Security may, notwithstanding section 552 of title 5, authorize to be withheld from disclosure to the public personally identifying information regarding—

(1)any member of the armed forces assigned to an overseas unit, a sensitive unit, or a routinely deployable unit; and

(2)any employee of the Department of Defense or of the Coast Guard whose duty station is with any such unit.

(b)(1)The authority in subsection (a) is subject to such exceptions as the President may direct.

(2)Subsection (a) does not authorize any official to withhold, or to authorize the withholding of, information from Congress.

(c)In this section:

(1)The term “personally identifying information”, with respect to any person, means the person’s name, rank, duty address, and official title and information regarding the person’s pay.

(2)The term “unit” means a military organization of the armed forces designated as a unit by competent authority.

(3)The term “overseas unit” means a unit that is located outside the United States and its territories.

(4)The term “sensitive unit” means a unit that is primarily involved in training for the conduct of, or conducting, special activities or classified missions, including—

(A)a unit involved in collecting, handling, disposing, or storing of classified information and materials;

(B)a unit engaged in training—

(i)special operations units;

(ii)security group commands weapons stations; or

(iii)communications stations; and

(C)any other unit that is designated as a sensitive unit by the Secretary of Defense or, in the case of the Coast Guard when it is not operating as a service in the Navy, by the Secretary of Homeland Security.

(5)The term “routinely deployable unit” means a unit that normally deploys from its permanent home station on a periodic or rotating basis to meet peacetime operational requirements that, or to participate in scheduled training exercises that, routinely require deployments outside the United States and its territories. Such term includes a unit that is alerted for deployment outside the United States and its territories during an actual execution of a contingency plan or in support of a crisis operation.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2002—Subsecs. (a), (c)(4)(C). Pub. L. 107–296 substituted “of Homeland Security” for “of Transportation”.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 2002 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 107–296 effective on the date of transfer of the Coast Guard to the Department of Homeland Security, see section 1704(g) of Pub. L. 107–296, set out as a note under section 101 of this title.

§130b Personnel in overseas, sensitive, or routinely deployable units: nondisclosure of personally identifying information