External Affairs Manual COMDTINST M5700.13A May 2021 Commandant US Coast Guard Stop 7103 United States Coast Guard 2703 Martin Luther King Jr Ave SE Washington, DC 20593-7103 Staff Symbol: CG-092 Phone: (202) 372-4600 COMDTINST M5700.13A 12 MAY 2021 COMMANDANT INSTRUCTION M5700.13A Subj: COAST GUARD EXTERNAL AFFAIRS MANUAL Ref: (a) External Affairs Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures, CGTTP 1.04.1 (series) (b) Information and Life Cycle Management Manual, COMDTINST M5212.12 (series) (c) The Coast Guard Freedom of Information and Privacy Acts Manual, COMDTINST M5260.3 (series) (d) Gift Acceptance by Bands, Honor Guard and Drill Teams, COMDTINST 4001.1 (series) (e) U. S. Coast Guard Personal Property Management Manual, COMDTINST M4500.5 (series) (f) Limited Personal Use of Government Office Equipment and Services, COMDTINST 5375.1 (series) (g) Standards of Ethical Conduct, COMDTINST M5370.8 (series) (h) United States Coast Guard Regulations 1992, COMDTINST M5000.3 (series) (i) Office of the Attorney General Memorandum, The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), March 19, 2009 (j) Assistant Attorney General for Administration, U.S. Department of Justice Memorandum, Ensuring Compliance with Freedom of Information Act and Open Government Directive Requirements in Employee Performance Appraisal Records and Work Plans, October 2, 2015 (k) U.S. Coast Guard Foreign Affairs Policy Manual, COMDTINST M5710.5 (series) (l) U.S. Department of State Memorandum, Issuance of Official Passports for U.S. Coast Guard Atlantic and Pacific Area (LANTAREA/PACAREA) Crisis Communications Teams Without Listing a Destination or Departure Date, February 7, 2020 1. PURPOSE. This Manual establishes policies and standards for the administration of the Coast Guard External Affairs Program for both Coast Guard Headquarters and the field. DISTRIBUTION – SDL No. 170 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z A X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X B X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X C X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X D X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X E X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X F X X X G X X X H X X X X X X X NON-STANDARD DISTRIBUTION: COMDTINST M5700.13A 2. ACTION. All Coast Guard commanders, commanding officers, officers-in-charge, deputy/assistant commandants, and chiefs of headquarters staff elements must comply with the provisions of this Manual. Internet release is authorized. 3. DIRECTIVES AFFECTED. The Coast Guard External Affairs Manual, COMDTINST M5700.13 is hereby cancelled. 4. DISCLAIMER. This guidance is not a substitute for applicable legal requirements, nor is it itself a rule. It is intended to provide operational guidance for Coast Guard personnel and is not intended to nor does it impose legally-binding requirements on any party outside the Coast Guard. 5. MAJOR CHANGES. Major changes include the renaming of the Community Relations to External Outreach and Heritage, as well as the renaming of the Internal Information Program to the Organizational Communication Program. Public affairs responsibility for units has been updated to provide clarity in instances when level of support was not clearly defined. Social media and public web guidance was updated to align with recent policy updates, including discussion of accountability as well as official, unofficial and personal use. Personal activities were updated. Public affairs officers’ workforce management was updated to remove the PAOFF competency and replace it with the SEI-13 process for managing subspecialties. Major extractions include: a. Chapter 9, subchapter K. External Affairs Standardization Team (EAST) has been removed. b. Chapter 10, Public Service Awards, has been reassigned to the Recognition Programs Manual, COMDTINST M1650.26 (series). c. Major additions include: (1) Chapter 3, subchapter A. added verbiage to clarify PA support to units. (2) Chapter 3, subchapter C. added verbiage to define 24-hour media relations response with public affairs office staffing. (3) Chapter 3, subchapter G. was updated to reflect current social media environment. (4) Chapter 3, subchapter H. is a new chapter outlining Coast Guard public websites. (5) Chapter 3, subchapter I. has been renamed from “Internal Information Program” to “Organizational Communications Program.” It updates policy and guidance regarding Organizational Communications, clarifies roles and responsibilities of Commandant (CG- 0922), and establishes MyCG as a primary means for organizational communications throughout the Coast Guard. (6) Chapter 6, subchapters B., C., D., and E. were updated to reflect new policies regarding personal activities in relation to publishing, social media, online engagement and personal monetization. 2 COMDTINST M5700.13A (7) Chapter 8, subchapter D. added verbiage to define Volunteer Public Affairs Specialists and their responsibilities as non-rated members assigned to public affairs offices while awaiting PA “A” school orders. 6. ENVIRONMENTAL ASPECT AND IMPACT CONSIDERATIONS. a. Commandant Office of Environmental Management, Commandant (CG-47) reviewed the development of this Manual, and the general policies contained within it, and determined that this policy falls under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) categorical exclusion A3. No further environmental analysis is necessary in accordance with the U.S. Coast Guard Environmental Planning Policy, COMDTINST 5090.1 (series). b. This Manual will not result in any substantial change to existing environmental conditions or violation of any applicable federal, state, or local laws relating to the protection of the environment. It is the responsibility of the action proponent to evaluate all future specific actions resulting from this policy for compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), other applicable environmental mandates, and the U.S. Coast Guard Environmental Planning Policy, COMDTINST 5090.1 (series). 7. DISTRIBUTION. No paper distribution will be made of this Manual. An electronic version will be located on the following Commandant (CG-612) web sites. Internet: https://www.dcms.uscg.mil/directives/, and CGPortal: https://cgportal2.uscg.mil/library/directives/SitePages/Home.aspx. 8. RECORDS MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS. Records created as a result of this Manual, regardless of format or media, must be managed in accordance with the records retention schedules located on the Records Resource Center CGPortal site: https://cg.portal.uscg.mil/units/cg61/CG611/SitePages/Home.aspx. 9. FORMS/REPORTS. None 10. REQUEST FOR CHANGES. Units and individuals may recommend changes via the chain of command to Commandant (CG-0922). /J. P. HICKEY/ Rear Admiral, U.S. Coast Guard Director, Governmental and Public Affairs 3 COMDTINST M5700.13A RECORD OF CHANGES CHANGE DATE OF DATE BY NUMBER CHANGE ENTERED WHOM ENTERED COMDTINST M5700.13A TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1 DOCTRINE A. External Affairs Doctrine 1-1 B. Concept of External Affairs Operations 1-1 C. Operations and External Affairs 1-3 D. Communication Planning Principles 1-4 E. External Engagement Process 1-5 F. Levels of Engagement 1-5 G. Principles of Engagement 1-6 CHAPTER 2 POLICY A. Authority 2-1 B. Components 2-1 C. External Affairs Coordination (Battle Rhythm) 2-3 D. Release of Information 2-3 E. Mission-Specific Guidance for the Release of Information 2-5 F. Communication Plans 2-13 CHAPTER 3 PUBLIC AFFAIRS A. Responsibility 3-1 B. Public Affairs Guidance 3-3 C. Media Relations 3-3 D. Entertainment Media Relations 3-9 E. Authors 3-13 F. Imagery 3-15 G. Social Media 3-21 H. Public Web 3-30 I. Organizational Communications Program 3-32 CHAPTER 4 GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS A. Responsibilities 4-1 B. Coordination and Awareness 4-3 C. Elected Official Access to Operations 4-4 D. Focused Engagements 4-4 E. Overarching Governmental Affairs Policy 4-6 F. Congressional Engagements 4-7 G. Intergovernmental Engagements 4-11 H. Tribal Engagements 4-11 I. Non-Governmental Organization Engagements 4-12 J. White House, Congressional, and DHS Fellows Program 4-13 i COMDTINST M5700.13A CHAPTER 5 OUTREACH AND HERITAGE A. Overview 5-1 B. Coast Guard History (CG-09231) 5-1 C. Community Relations (CG-09232) 5-8 D. National Coast Guard Museum (CG-09234) 5-23 E. Coast Guard Ceremonial Honor Guard (CG-09235) 5-25 CHAPTER 6 PERSONAL ACTIVITIES A. General 6-1 B. Types of Personal, External Communication 6-1 C. Publishing 6-1 D. Social Media 6-3 E. Online Engagement 6-4 F. Off-Duty, Personnel Participation in Entertainment Programs 6-6 G. Communication with Elected Officials 6-7 H. Political Activities and Military Members 6-7 I. Prohibited Political Activities and Military Members 6-7 J. Campaign Activities for Civilian Employees 6-9 K. Prohibited Political Activities of Federal Civilian Employees 6-10 L. Hatch Act 6-10 CHAPTER 7 MAJOR CONTINGENCIES A. Major Contingencies 7-1 B. Concept of Operations 7-1 C. Surge Support 7-1 D. National Level Incidents 7-1 E. Response and Investigation 7-2 F. Responsibility 7-2 G. Area Crisis Communication Teams (CCT) 7-3 H. CCT Role and Objectives 7-4 I. Public Information Assist Team (PIAT) 7-6 CHAPTER 8 WORKFORCE MANAGEMENT AND CAREER DEVELOPMENT A. External Affairs Officer Workforce Management 8-1 B. Public Affairs Officers (SEI-13) 8-2 C. Public Information (INF) Chief Warrant Officers 8-3 D. Enlisted Workforce Management 8-3 E. Civilian Workforce Management 8-6 F. Reserve Workforce Management 8-6 COMDTINST M5700.13A CHAPTER 9 STANDARDIZATION A. Functional Statement 9-1 B. Responsibilities 9-1 C. Staffing 9-1 D. Area External Affairs Offices 9-1 E.