United States Army Field Manuals are published by the
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...
's Army Publishing Directorate. As of 27 July 2007, some 542 field manuals were in use. They contain detailed information and how-tos for procedures important to soldiers serving in the field. Starting in 2010, the US Army began review and revision of all of its doctrinal publications, under the initiative "Doctrine 2015". Since then, the most important doctrine have been published in Army Doctrine Publications (ADP) and Army Doctrine Reference Publications (ADRP), replacing the former key Field Manuals. Army Techniques Publications (ATP), Army Training Circulars (TC), and Army Technical Manuals (TM) round out the new suite of doctrinal publications. Not all FMs are being rescinded; 50 select Field Manuals will continue to be published, periodically reviewed and revised. They are usually available to the public at low cost or free electronically. Many websites have begun collecting PDF versions of Army Field Manuals, Technical Manuals and Weapon Manuals.
Wikifying the field manuals
According to ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' (14 August 2009), the Army has started to "wikify" certain field manuals – allowing any authorized user to update the manuals. This process, specifically using the MediaWiki arm of the military's professional networking application,
milSuite
milSuite is a collection of online applications focused on improving the methods of secure collaboration for the United States Department of Defense. The effort is produced by the U.S. Army PEO EIS MilTech Solutions office with the online suite c ...
, was recognized by the White House as an Open Government Initiative in 2010.
List of selected field manuals
*FM 6-2
Leader Development"The tenets of Army leader development provide the essential principles that have made the Army successful at developing its leaders."
*''
FM 1, The Army'' – "establishes the fundamental principles for employing landpower." Together, it and
FM 3–0 are considered by the U.S. Army to be the "two capstone
doctrinal
Doctrine (from la, doctrina, meaning "teaching, instruction") is a codification of beliefs or a body of teachings or instructions, taught principles or positions, as the essence of teachings in a given branch of knowledge or in a belief system ...
manuals."
*''
FM 3–0, Operations'' – The operations guide "lays out the fundamentals of war fighting for future and current generations of recruits."
[ ( )]FM 3-05.70 U.S. Army Survival Manualnbsp;–Used to train survival techniques (formerly the FM 21-76).
* FM 3–0.5.130, Army Special Operations Forces Unconventional Warfare. Establishes keystone doctrine for Army special operations forces (
ARSOF) operations in
unconventional warfare
Unconventional warfare (UW) is broadly defined as "military and quasi-military operations other than conventional warfare" and may use covert forces, subversion, or guerrilla warfare. This is typically done to avoid escalation into conventional ...
.
FM 5–31, Boobytrapsnbsp;– Describes how regular demolition charges and materials can be used for
victim-initiated explosive devices. This manual is no longer active, but is still frequently referenced.
FM 3–21.8, The Infantry Rifle Platoon and SquadFM 3–24, Insurgencies and Countering Insurgencies– Published May 2014.
*
FM 34-52, Intelligence Interrogation – Used to train CIA interrogators in conducting effective interrogations while conforming with US and international law. Updated in December 2005 to include a 10-page
classified section as a result of the
Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse scandal. Replaced in September 2006 by
FM 2-22.3, Human Intelligence Collector Operations
Army Field Manual 2 22.3, or FM 2-22.3, Human Intelligence Collector Operations, was issued by the Department of the Army on September 6, 2006. The manual gives instructions on a range of issues, such as the structure, planning and management of ...
.
FM 3-21.20nbsp;– covers the
Army Physical Fitness Test
The Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT) was designed to test the muscular strength, endurance, and cardiovascular respiratory fitness of soldiers in the United States Army. Soldiers were scored based on their performance in three events consistin ...
(APFT)
FM 27-10(1956) – Cornerstone of rules of war for the US Military. This manual was last modified in 1976 and is still used by the US military today.
* FM 3–25.150 (
Combatives
Combatives is the term for hand-to-hand combat training and techniques within the Army branch of the United States military.
History
Sometimes called Close-Quarters Combat (CQC or close combat), World War II-era American combatives were large ...
)
* FM 3–22.5 (
Drill and Ceremony
Drill commands are generally used with a group that is marching, most often in military foot drills or in a marching band. Drill commands are usually heard in major events involving service personnel, reservists and veterans of a country's arm ...
)
: Notes about Further Reading
: A. ( Retrieved 31 August 2013.)
: B.
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See also
*
List of United States Army Field Manuals This list of United States Army Field Manuals contains information about a variety of Field Manuals.
Abbreviations and Keys
* ADP # means Army Doctrine Publication No. #;
* FM # means Field Manual No. #;
* DA means Department ...
*
Graphic training aids Graphic training aids (GTAs) are publications that assist during the conduct of training and the process of learning.
Current Training Aids come in different forms, including models, displays, slides, books, pictures and media presentations.
Dur ...
*
References
External links
{{Commons category, United States Army Field Manuals, U.S. Army Field Manuals
Army Publishing Directorate homepageat army.mil -Free Field Manuals and other publications in .pdf format.
at SurvivaleBooks.com
at army.mil
Field Manuals onlineat globalsecurity.org
What's an Army field manual?by
Slate
*
The U.S. Army Stability Operations Field Manual' The U.S. Army, with forewords by Lieutenant General
William B. Caldwell, IV,
Michèle Flournoy
Michèle Angélique Flournoy (, born December 14, 1960) is an American defense policy advisor and former government official. She was Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategy under President Bill Clinton and Under Secretary of Defens ...
, and Shawn Brimley and a New Introduction by Janine Davidson. Ann Arbor,
University of Michigan Press
The University of Michigan Press is part of Michigan Publishing at the University of Michigan Library. It publishes 170 new titles each year in the humanities and social sciences. Titles from the press have earned numerous awards, including ...
, 2009.
Military Manuals Collections on CD or downloadat eMilitary Manuals.com
Army Field Manual, Appendix M, and Torture
Field Manuals