The Center of Military History (CMH), Records Management and Declassification Agency (RMDA), and Center for Army Lessons Learned (CALL) are all repositories for a unit's operational records and data. They have jointly prepared this handbook to provide the commander clear guidance pertaining to the preservation and disposition of his unit's important operational records and data. The commander's role is simple to comprehend but difficult to achieve. Primarily, it is a matter of personal interest. The commander's priorities become the unit's priorities, and the unit does only those things the commander inspects and believes are important. If the commander insists that the records and operational data sources are maintained, preserved, and retired appropriately, they probably will be. After establishing the need to keep operational records, the commander must set the procedure in place to do it regularly (and inspect to ensure that it is done regularly). This handbook is designed to give the commander some handy checklist of exactly what types of records CMH, RMDA, and ALL need; how to preserve records; and what to expect when collectors show up at the tactical operations center. The purpose of this publication is to assist the commander in understanding the importance of operational data and records; the critical need to preserve records to protect Soldiers, improve doctrine, and capture unit history.