PRECEDENCE

1. communications — A designation assigned to a message by the originator to indicate to communications personnel the relative order of handling and to the addressee the order in which the message is to be noted. Examples of communication precedence from most immediate to least are flash, immediate, priority, and routine. 2. reconnaissance — A letter designation, assigned by a unit requesting several reconnaissance missions, to indicate the relative order of importance (within an established priority) of the mission requested. 3. evacuation — The assignment of a priority for medical evacuation that is based on patient condition, advice of the senior medical person at the scene, and the tactical situation. See also flash message; immediate message; priority message; routine message.