scope:

Applicability.

This regulation applies to the Active Army, the Army National Guard/Army National Guard of the United States, and the U.S. Army Reserve, unless otherwise stated. This regulation applies during partial and full mobilization.

Purpose

The purpose of Army recordkeeping is to properly manage information from its creation through final disposition, according to Federal laws and Army recordkeeping requirements. This regulation-

a. Establishes the Army Records Information Management System (ARIMS) as a portion of Army Information Management (see AR 25-1).

b. Furnishes the only legal authority for destroying nonpermanent Army information.

c. Provides life cycle management instructions for the systematic identification, maintenance, storage, retrieval, retirement, and destruction of Army information recorded on any medium (paper, microforms, electronic, or any other).

d. Ensures that mission-essential records are available when needed, that they are in usable format, and that they are created, maintained, used, and disposed of at the least possible cost.

e. Preserves those records needed to protect the rights and interests of the Army and its current and former members, and those records that are of permanent value (see AR 25-55 and AR 340-21).

f. Ensures records related to matters involved in administrative or legal proceedings are retained until the staff judge advocate or legal advisor authorizes resumption of normal disposition.