A general order, in military and paramilitary organizations, is a published directive, originated by a commander and binding upon all personnel under his or her command. Its purpose is to enforce a

policy Policy is a deliberate system of guidelines to guide decisions and achieve rational outcomes. A policy is a statement of intent and is implemented as a procedure or protocol. Policies are generally adopted by a governance body within an orga ...

or procedure unique to the unit's situation that is not otherwise addressed in applicable service regulations,

military law Military justice (also military law) is the legal system (bodies of law and procedure) that governs the conduct of the active-duty personnel of the armed forces of a country. In some nation-states, civil law and military law are distinct bodie ...

, or public law. A general order has the force of law; it is an offense punishable by

court martial A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of memb ...

or lesser

military court A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of memb ...

to disobey one. What makes it a general order (as opposed to a

direct order Direct may refer to: Mathematics * Directed set, in order theory * Direct limit of (pre), sheaves * Direct sum of modules, a construction in abstract algebra which combines several vector spaces Computing * Direct access (disambiguation), a ...

) is that the actor is not explicitly named, nor precisely what (or who) is to be acted upon. A general order of indefinite duration may be referred to as a standing order. Standing orders are necessarily general and vague since the exact circumstances for execution occur in the future, under unknown conditions. For example, in most military agencies, there is a standing order for enlisted men to

salute A salute is usually a formal hand gesture or other action used to display respect in military situations. Salutes are primarily associated with the military and law enforcement, but many civilian organizations, such as Girl Guides, Boy Sco ...

officers. The officers are required to return the salute to the enlisted person, but the name of each enlisted man, the name of each officer, and the exact time for the salute are not mentioned in the order.

Examples

* General Order No. 11, December 1862 –

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

expulsion of the

Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""Th ...

s of Tennessee, Mississippi, and Kentucky * General Order No. 100, April 1863 – Union instructions on the treatment of prisoners; not giving quarter becomes punishable offense * General Order No. 11, August 1863 – Union expulsion of residents of four

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

counties which were to be burned *

General Order No. 9 Confederate General Robert E. Lee issued his Farewell Address, also known as General Order No. 9 (sometimes Orders) to his Army of Northern Virginia on April 10, 1865, the day after he surrendered the army to Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant. Lee's ...

, April 1865 –

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...

General Robert E. Lee's surrender that ended the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

General Order No. 3 General Order No. 3 was an American legal decree issued in 1865 enforcing the Emancipation Proclamation to the residents of the U.S. state of Texas and freed all remaining slaves in the state. The general order was issued by Union General Go ...

, June 19th, 1865 -- Abolition of slavery in Texas after the American Civil War. *

General Order No. 1 General Order No. 1 ( Japanese:一般命令第一号) for the surrender of Japan was prepared by the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff and approved by President Harry Truman on August 17, 1945. It was issued by General Douglas MacArthur to the ...

, August 1945 – U.S. General

Douglas MacArthur Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American military leader who served as General of the Army for the United States, as well as a field marshal to the Philippine Army. He had served with distinction in World War I, was C ...

's first order following the Japanese surrender in World War II

References

{{reflist * Military law

Examples

See also

References