| { General Orders. | |
| { Special Orders. | |
| They consist of | { Circulars. |
| { Bulletins. | |
| { Memoranda. |
General Orders “include generally, (1) all detailed instructions necessary in carrying out certain general regulations or orders issued from superior headquarters; (2) all standing instructions, to the end that frequent repetitions may be avoided; and (3) proceedings of general and special courts-martial.”
General Orders are issued by commanders of armies, field armies, corps, divisions, brigades, regiments, separate battalions, posts, departments, and districts.
“When necessary, orders are used by commanders of battalions forming parts of regiments, and for smaller units and detachments, for the same class of instructions as are promulgated by higher commanders in general orders.” In other words orders is a term used to designate those instructions issued by commanders of divisions and of separate brigades in regard to trains, and also a term used by battalions and smaller units to designate those instructions corresponding to general orders for higher units.
Here is an example of a General Order from the War Department.
GENERAL ORDERS, WAR DEPARTMENT,
No. 2 Washington, January 4, 1917.
1. An examination of majors, captains, and first lieutenants of the Regular Army, with a view to their selection for appointment to fill vacancies in the grade of major in the Judge Advocate General’s Department, will be held at the headquarters of the Eastern, Central, Western, Southern, Hawaiian Departments, the headquarters of the United States troops in the Panama Canal Zone, the headquarters of the Philippine Department, and the headquarters of the 15th infantry, Tientsin, China, beginning at 8 a. m., on May 10, 1917, or as soon thereafter as practicable. No officer who has not served as a commissioned officer of the Regular Army for at least eight years will be regarded as eligible to take the examination.
2. Eligible officers who desire to take the examination will make application to the commanding officer of that one of the commands mentioned in the preceding paragraph in which they are stationed, and each of such commanding officers is authorized to issue the necessary orders to assemble applicants at his headquarters on the date set for the examination. * * * *
3. The examination will be supervised at each headquarters by the judge advocate or the officer acting as such. If the acting judge advocate shall apply to take the examination and is the only judge advocate present at such headquarters, the commanding officer of the command will detail some other suitable officer to supervise the examination.
4. On the day and hour set for the beginning of the examination, each candidate will deliver to the officer supervising the examination a signed statement including: