A familygram is a personal message sent by their families to sailors of the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

or the Royal Navy serving in

submarines A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely o ...

. Because submarines normally maintain

radio silence In telecommunications, radio silence or Emissions Control (EMCON) is a status in which all fixed or mobile radio stations in an area are asked to stop transmitting for safety or security reasons. The term "radio station" may include anything cap ...

to avoid detection, personal messages from the 'outside world' are severely restricted. Familygrams were originally limited to 15 words, though later as many as 50 words were permitted. Content was also severely restricted. Familygrams were not private communications. Familygrams were scanned for content before being transmitted, and scanned again before delivery to the intended recipients. There are many examples of such familygrams on the Internet, dating from the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

and earlier. Currently the Royal Navy permits twice weekly messages of 60 words or a weekly message of 120 to submariners serving in Trident submarines (SSBNs). The content of the messages is vetted before being sent and by the Commanding Officer of the submarine. Coded messages are not permitted, and bad news will not be passed to crew without approval from Navy personnel.FAMILYGRAMS advice to nominees
British Royal Navy The term is also used colloquially by families wishing to communicate news to friends and extended family via printed or email newsletters.

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External links

Telegrams United States Navy {{USN-stub