Sec.  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.