§  213.6   Criteria.

   (a) Flash, Flash Emergency. (1) This is the highest order of precedence
   and shall be strictly limited to Federal and Foreign Government
   agencies.

   (2) Flash, or Flash Emergency telephone calls or messages shall be
   handled in the order received and ahead of all calls or messages except
   as indicated for international messages in ITU Regulations. When
   necessary to obtain a circuit for a Flash, or Flash Emergency call any
   call in progress of a lesser precedence will be interrupted, if
   feasible. Any message of a lesser precedence in the process of
   transmission will be halted, if feasible, to clear the channel for the
   Flash or Flash Emergency transmission. Flash or Flash Emergency
   precedence shall be reserved for calls and messages having an immediate
   bearing on:

   (i) Command and control of military forces essential to defense and
   retaliation.

   (ii) Critical intelligence essential to national survival.

   (iii) Conduct of diplomatic negotiations critical to the arresting or
   limiting of hostilities.

   (iv) Dissemination of critical civil alert information essential to
   national survival.

   (v) Continuity of Federal governmental functions essential to national
   survival.

   (vi) Fulfillment of critical U.S. internal security functions essential
   to national survival.

   (vii) Catastrophic events of national or international significance,
   such as Presidential Action Notices essential to national survival
   during attack or preattack conditions.

   (b) Immediate, Immediate Emergency, Urgent. Immediate, Immediate
   Emergency, or Urgent telephone calls or messages shall be handled as
   fast as possible and ahead of all other calls or messages except those
   having a higher precedence. Any message or call of a lower precedence
   in the process of transmission will be halted, if feasible, to clear
   the channel for this transmission. It will be reserved generally for
   calls or messages pertaining to:

   (1) Situations which gravely affect the security of national and allied
   forces.

   (2) Reconstitution of forces in a postattack period.

   (3) Intelligence essential to national security.

   (4) Conduct of diplomatic negotiations to reduce or limit the threat of
   war.

   (5) Implementation of Federal Government actions essential to national
   survival.

   (6) Situations which gravely affect the internal security of the United
   States.

   (7) Civil defense actions concerning direction of our population and
   its survival.

   (8) Disasters or events of extensive seriousness having an immediate
   and detrimental effect on the welfare of the population.

   (9) Vital information having an immediate effect on aircraft,
   spacecraft, or missile operations.

   (c) Priority, Priority Emergency, Urgent. Priority, Priority Emergency,
   or Urgent messages and calls shall take precedence over messages or
   calls designated Routine, or in the case of common carriers, over all
   nonprecedence traffic. Priority, Priority Emergency, or Urgent
   precedence is generally reserved for calls or messages which require
   expeditious action. Examples are calls or messages pertaining to:

   (1) Information on locations where attack is impending or where fire or
   air support will soon be placed.

   (2) Air-ground integrated operations.

   (3) Important intelligence.

   (4) Important diplomatic information.

   (5) Important information concerning the launch, operation, or recovery
   of spacecraft or missiles.

   (6) Movement of naval, air, and ground forces.

   (7) Coordination between governmental agencies concerning the
   performance of emergency preparedness functions.

   (8) Major civil aircraft accidents.

   (9) Maintaining the public health, safety, and the welfare of our
   population.

   (10) Critical logistic functions, provisions of critical public utility
   services, and administrative military support functions.

   (11) Distributing essential food and supplies critical to health.

   (12) Accomplishing tasks necessary to insure critical damage control
   functions.

   (13) Preparations for adequate hospitalization.

   (14) Continuity of critical Government functions.

   (15) Arranging minimum transportation for accomplishing the aforesaid
   functions.

   (16) Continuing or reestablishing our more important financial,
   economic, health, and safety activities. Producing, procuring, and
   distributing food materials and supplies which are considered necessary
   to the immediate support of a war effort, the national defense, or for
   expediting the means of meeting the effects of natural disasters.

   (17) Prompt delivery of information by press representatives to news
   media organizations and newspapers covering news of national or
   widespread disasters.

   (d) Routine; no domestic equivalent. Routine precedence designation
   applies to those normal day-to-day communications which require rapid
   transmission by telephone or message, but do not require urgent or
   preferential handling.