When typewritten, the body of the letter will be single-spaced. Double spaces will be used between paragraphs. The body should begin on the second fold of the paper.
The paragraphs will be numbered, will each contain one topic, and will be arranged in a logical sequence of topics.
Thus if we were to write out the Body of the letter for the last illustration of the Brief, we should have it appear about as follows:
1.—I request a leave of absence for five months to take effect on or about February 1, 1940.
2.—My reasons for this request are very urgent at this time. I have had ten years of continuous service without a leave of any kind, and I feel the need of more than an ordinary rest. Besides, my private affairs are in such shape that the matter of straightening them out will require at least all of the period requested.
3.—My address while on leave will be care of Astor Hotel, New York City.
The Ending
{ The Signature.
consists of { The Rank.
{ The Regiment, Corps, or Department.
“Official communications will be signed or authenticated with the pen and not by facsimiles, and if written by order, it will be stated by whose order. Signatures will be plainly and legibly written. By virtue of the commission and assignment to duty, the adjutant of any command transacts the business or correspondence of that command over his signature; but when orders or instructions of any kind are given, the authority by which he gives the order must be stated.”[20]