Subscribe
WASHINGTON NAVY YARD – Within the buildings that make up Naval History and Heritage Command (NHHC), there are corridors of archives. The long aisles of documents, hosted at the Washington Navy Yard, are home to one of the Navy’s most comprehensive documentation of naval operations, the Command Operations Report (COR).
“CORs are the only permanent record to document the activities and actions of individual commands of the U.S. Navy,” said Donna Marchessault, the COR program manager at NHHC. “If a command doesn’t submit a COR there is no permanent record of that command's activities for the year. This essentially leaves a gap, not only in the Navy’s historical record but also in the Navy’s current record that is used to make operational and tactical decisions.”
A COR is a detailed recounting of a Navy command’s operations, training, and events. Unlike a deck log, which traditionally records technical military operations, the COR gives a comprehensive narrative of the command and its events over the calendar year. Each command plays a role in the operations of the Navy, and CORs ensure that each command is given a voice in history.
Over 2,500 commands submit CORs annually to the Navy Archives at NHHC. These reports contribute to the Navy’s overall historical record and serve as an important resource to the public.
“The most personal and meaningful use of CORs for Navy personnel is that they are used extensively by VA (Veterans Affairs) staff researching claims by Navy veterans,” said Donna. “This means that everyone has a stake in creating and submitting a detailed COR. If the information isn't included by a command, it will not be available to verify claims by our current Navy Personnel in 30 years when they might need it.”
The many entities that utilize CORs include the Fleet, the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, the Joint Staff, Congress, researchers, and the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Beyond government and military organizations, CORs can also be a valuable resource for veterans in assisting VA claims. In some cases CORs from ships and aviation commands have been essential in adjudicating a claim.
CORs are broken into several sections, which at a minimum include:
· Basic command data
· The commander’s annual assessment
· A detailed chronology and narrative
· Supporting and published reports, including
· The command triad biographies and photographs
The governing instruction, OPNAVINST 5750.12 (series), outlines how to submit a COR.
Here are some tips from the researchers at NHHC to help organize, build and streamline CORs:
- Identify a person or team of people responsible for creating the report who will stay at the command for several years. The task can become more daunting when it is assigned to new staff members, unfamiliar with the process each year.
- Consider breaking the annual report into quarterly submissions. Some commands have found success with reporting events, operations, and achievements every several months that build a solid backbone for an annual report.
- The command chronology and narrative are two different tasks, but both are required. A complete command chronology should list who, where, and when. The narrative is designed to give details of what happened in the chronology with supporting documents. Without a narrative, a chronology can often lack necessary details.
- Don’t forget to submit command triad photos and biographies.
- A late report is better than no report. The official due date for echelon 4-6 commands’ CORs is March 1st and March 15th for echelon 3 commands, but you can request an extension by email at nhhc_had-cor@navy.mil.
NHHC retains these permanent records for 50 years before they are transferred to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).
Visit NHHC’s website: https://www.history.navy.mil/about-us/instructions-and-forms/submit-a-command-operations-report.html for guidance, frequently asked questions, and tips on how to submit a COR. Templates of CORs are available for use and reference on the website.
For more information or any questions, you may have please contact COR Program Archives Branch by email nhhc_had_cor@navy.mil or 202-433-9873.
| Date Taken: | 02.10.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 02.10.2025 11:29 |
| Story ID: | 490431 |
| Location: | WASHINGTON NAVY YARD, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, US |
| Web Views: | 40 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Command Operations Reports: Annual Record of Operational Naval History, by PO2 Maci Sternod, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
