I need some Military Help

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I am looking for someone with experience writing orders for the military. Preferably c. 1975 and O-4 or above, but I'll take any help I can get.

It's for a story I'm working on:

"Honor First, Honor Last, Always Honor"

Thanks,
Beth

(and yes, I believe in that title, Always Honor)

Comments

Veteran here

I am a former Army Drill Sgt and the oldest child of a LtC in the Army Corps of Engineers. I would be happy to provide any help you might need as I still have pretty much all of my military manuals available. Not able to call my father for info though as he died of Bone Cancer (actually the cure to B.C.) back in 2003 possibly due to contact with dioxin in Vietnam. In 1975 I was an Army Brat attending H.S. but I still remember basic Officer jargon of the time.

Edit: If you are looking to write a believable Administrative Order you can actually download AR 25-30 and AR 600-8-105 from the internet. Both of these Army Regulations are unclassified. I have a copy of FM 101-5 which pertains to combat orders.

Administrative Orders cover normal administrative operations in garrison or in the field. They include general, specific, and memorandum orders; courts-martial orders; and bulletins, circulars and other memoranda.

Examples of admin orders are orders for a permanent change of station, orders to attend a military school, promotions etc.

Writing orders

I would imagine that anyone helping would need to know: branch of service, type of orders written (personnel transfer, unit movement,etc), all in accordance with the SSIC (Standard Subject Identification Code) Manual SECNAV M-5210.2 (http://doni.daps.dla.mil/SECNAV%20Manuals1/5210.2%20(2012).pdf).
If there is a lost dog on a military installation there is a code for that at least in general and any subsequent message related or similar will be filed with the same SSIC

1300 - 1399 ASSIGNMENT AND DISTRIBUTION
1300 General
1301 Officer
1306 Enlisted
1320 Orders to Personnel
1321 Officer*
1326 Enlisted*
1330 Personnel Requests
1331 Officer
1336 Enlisted

Are you sure you want to go here?

ComDex Hmmm

Huggles
Chelle_MM

Canadian Military Form

Good form of course, and all that, what? As a former subaltern, or junior commissioned officer, I learned that class, rank and status all had their proper places.

When giving orders to officers of lower rank, recognition of their worth as gentlemen and ladies is necessary. "I say, Shirley! That was a bit of a googly bowl! You must be knackered! Do you think you might want a spot of tea? Oh, spiffing! Well, bring in the wickets and I'll be mother."

When giving orders to other ranks familiarity is discouraged, so orders might be phrased thusly: "You there! Bunny! Yes you! How many other Corporal Bunnies are in the unit? Please fetch us the Wedgewood tea set, whot? There's a good man."

When giving orders to senior NCOs, the relationships between ranks are most pronounced. For instance, a 2nd Lt. (pronounced 'second lef-tennant') might say to an NCO three or so ranks below an officer's: "Sargent Major? May I bring you tea? It's fresh made..? Or biscuits? Yes Sargent Major! Right away Sargent Major!"

All as it should be, whot?

Butterbars

Yes, Butterbars really should be deferential to the Senior NCO's who REALLY run the militaries of the world :)

My favorite order as a Drill Sgt starts off nice and calm and goes as follows to a bus load of new recruits being dropped off at their Basic Training unit from the Reception Station.

"You have 10 seconds to get off of my bus...AND NINE OF THEM ARE GONE!!!!!!!!!!"

Military Orders

jacquimac's picture

Depends on which countries armed forces you need them for, British Army, Canadian, US, etc all do their Orders in a different format + there are differnt types of Orders in the Britsh Military.

If you require them for the British Military I can help you out there, I was in the Army from !970 to 1993 and reached SNCO rank before I finally retired.

Jacqui

I can do...

I can probably help, if you don't mind '80-'86 timeframe USN (O-3)...

That said - it depends a lot on what kind of "orders" you're talking about. Verbal orders or written. The language for WRITTEN orders (at least in the navy) was fairly standard back then (at least in the USN/USMC). Verbal orders were rarely necessary, to be quite honest. Biggest difference between an O-3 and an O-4 (in my squadron or the shore duty station I was assigned) was level of experience, not what they ordered... A big difference from an O-1/O-2! (I was only a Midshipmen in '76-'80 - so only on the receiving end of orders.)

Good luck though,
Annette