Privacy Policy

1. Department of the Navy (DON) Credentialing Opportunities On-Line (COOL) is provided as a public service by the U.S. Department of the Navy.
2. Information presented on this service not identified as protected by copyright is considered public information and may be distributed or copied. Use of appropriate byline, photo, and image credits is requested.
3. For site management, information is collected for statistical purposes. Please refer to the section below for a description of the information collected and for opt-out instructions. This U.S. Government computer system uses software programs to create summary statistics, which are used for such purposes as assessing what information is of most and least interest, determining technical design specifications, and identifying system performance or problem areas.
4. For site security purposes and to ensure that this service remains available to all users, software programs are employed to monitor network traffic to identify unauthorized attempts to upload or change information, or otherwise cause damage.
5. Except for authorized law enforcement investigations and national security purposes, no other attempts are made to identify individual users or their usage habits beyond DoD websites. Raw data logs are used for no other purposes and are scheduled for regular destruction in accordance with National Archives and Records Administration Guidelines. All data collection activities are in strict accordance with DoD Directive 5240.01.
6. Web measurement and customization technologies (WMCT) may be used on this site to remember your online interactions, to conduct measurement and analysis of usage, or to customize your experience. The Department of Defense does not use the information associated with WMCT to track individual user activity on the Internet outside of Defense Department websites, nor does it share the data obtained through such technologies, without your explicit consent, with other departments or agencies. The Department of Defense does not keep a database of information obtained from the use of WMCT.
7. Unauthorized attempts to upload information or change information on this site are strictly prohibited and may be punishable under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1987 and the National Information Infrastructure Protection Act (18 U.S.C. § 1030).

Information Collected by DON COOL

DON COOL uses Google Analytics, provided by Google, Inc., to collect information about website usage. No information is collected that could be used to personally identify you or any individual site user. The use of services like Google Analytics is specifically authorized by the Department of Defense within the parameters of its usage guidelines, updated in 2012.

Google Analytics uses “cookies”—text files placed on your computer—to help analyze how users use this site. The information generated by the cookie about use of the website will be transmitted to and stored by Google on servers in the United States. Google compiles this data on site usage and uses it to create summary reports of website activity. Among the items that Google Analytics tracks, Navy COOL looks at:

• Number of visitors to the site
• Types of browsers, operating systems and devices used to access the site
• Most popular pages
• Click trails through the site at large (the path a user took through the site)
• Search terms that lead users to DON COOL

DON COOL site administrators and managers access these data and reports, which they use it to make decisions on existing site functionality, to assess popular pages and features, to inform future design enhancements, and to make the site more user-friendly for the long term.

Opt-Out Instructions

No information is collected that could be used to personally identify any individual website visitors. However, if at any time you would like to opt-out of Google Analytics tracking, you can do so by clicking the link below and following the instructions for your browser:

Google Analytics Opt-Out Instructions and Browser Add-On

Be aware that opting out in this manner will remove you from being tracked by Google Analytics anywhere you go on the web.

Thank you for using COOL!