On March 6, 2020, the Department of Defense Instruction
5200.48, Controlled Unclassified Information, was published. This instruction served as initial DoD guidance for the implementation of the CUI program and establishment of the DoD CUI Registry. Department of the Air Force personnel were already well versed with the necessity of protecting mission-critical unclassified information, but the release of the DoDI brought about additional responsibilities, procedures and dissemination controls, that warranted the development of new approaches to safeguard CUI.
Soon after the publication of the DoDI, work began on putting together DAF implementation policy and guidance. Coordination with key stakeholders ensued, culminating in the release of Air Force Guidance Memorandum