United States Army Field Manuals Explained

United States Army Field Manuals are published by the United States Army's Army Publishing Directorate. They contain detailed information and how-tos for procedures important to soldiers serving in the field.

As of July 2007, some 542 field manuals were in use.^[1] Starting in 2010, the U.S. 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 Not all FMs are being rescinded; 50 select Field Manuals will continue to be published, periodically reviewed and revised.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.^[2] The Library of Congress maintains a list of every Field Manual published between the 1940s to the 1970s.^[3]

History

According to The New York Times, the Army has started to "wikify" certain field manuals, allowing any authorized user to update the manuals.^[4] This process, specifically using the MediaWiki arm of the military's professional networking application, milSuite, was recognized by the White House as an Open Government Initiative in 2010.^[5]

On 6 March 1989 General Alfred M. Gray Jr. published FMFM-1 (later, MCDP-1) Warfighting. This document would serve as a foundation to cement the Marine Corps' distinction as an independent force and demonstrate commitment to the doctrine of maneuver warfare. It was part of an increased commitment to military education as Marine Corps University was initiated to modernize the professional Marine.

List of selected field manuals

• FM 6-22 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 manuals."^[6]
• FM 3–0, Operations – The operations guide "lays out the fundamentals of war fighting for future and current generations of recruits."^[7]
• FM 21-15 Individual Clothing and Equipment - Used to instruct care for clothing and equipment.
• FM 20-3 CAMOUFLAGE, CONCEALMENT, AND DECOYS
• FM 24-1 Combat Communications
• FM5-15 Field Fortifications: 1783, 1916, 1940, 1944, 1968, 1972
• FM 3-05.70 U.S. Army Survival Manual –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.
• FM 5–31, Boobytraps – 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 Squad
• FM 3–24, Insurgencies and Countering Insurgencies

– Published May 2014.

• FM 7-0: Book: TRAINING FOR FULL SPECTRUM OPERATIONS . December 2008 . HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY .
• 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.
• FM 3-21.20 – covers the Army Physical Fitness Test (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)
• FM 3–22.5 (Drill and Ceremony)
• FM 90-10-1 (Urban warfare)
• FM 100-5
• FM 1-100: News: Army Aviation Operations . 21 February 1997 . Headquarters, Department of the Army . https://web.archive.org/web/20230130024238/https://aviation-assets.info/wp-content/uploads/fm-1-100-army-aviation-operations.pdf. January 30, 2023 .
• FM 1-112: News: Attack Helicopter Operations . 2 April 1997 . Headquarters, Department of the Army . https://web.archive.org/web/20230129191513/https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/policy/army/fm/1-112/fm1-112.pdf. January 29, 2023 .
• FM 1-113: Web site: UTILITY AND CARGO HELICOPTER OPERATIONS . 25 June 1997 . Headquarters, Department of the Army . https://web.archive.org/web/20230130021207/https://www.bits.de/NRANEU/others/amd-us-archive/FM1-113(97).pdf. January 30, 2023.
• FM 1-116: News: AIR CAVALRY / RECONNAISSANCE TROOP . HEADQUARTERS, DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY . February 1991 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230129192512/https://www.bits.de/NRANEU/others/amd-us-archive/FM1-116(91).pdf. January 29, 2023.
• FM 3-04: News: Army Aviation . HEADQUARTERS, DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY . July 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20230317152129/https://irp.fas.org/doddir/army/fm3-04.pdf. March 17, 2023.
• FM 3-04.126: News: Attack Reconnaissance Helicopter Operations . February 2007 . Headquarters, Department of the Army. https://web.archive.org/web/20230129192925/https://irp.fas.org/doddir/army/fm3-04-126.pdf. January 29, 2023.

Notes

A. Book: Headquarters, Department of the Army . United States Department of the Army#Headquarters, Department of the Army . . 14 June 2005 . Washington, DC . . 72695749. (Web site: HTML . www. Web site: PDF . https://web.archive.org/web/20050618042833/http://www.army.mil/fm1/PDF/FM%201.pdf . 18 June 2005 . Web site: PDF-in-ZIP . ZIP. Retrieved 31 August 2013.)

B. Book: Headquarters, Department of the Army . United States Department of the Army#Headquarters, Department of the Army . . 14 June 2001 . Washington, DC . . 50597897.

— Book: Part A: Begin – Chapter 4 . https://web.archive.org/web/20070714135134/http://www.dtic.mil/doctrine/jel/service_pubs/fm3_0a.pdf . 14 July 2007 . dead . 19 August 2013.

— Book: Part B: Chapter 5 – Chapter 9 . https://web.archive.org/web/20070714135134/http://www.dtic.mil/doctrine/jel/service_pubs/fm3_0b.pdf . 14 July 2007 . dead . 19 August 2013.

— Book: Part C: Chapter 10 – End . https://web.archive.org/web/20070714135134/http://www.dtic.mil/doctrine/jel/service_pubs/fm3_0c.pdf . 14 July 2007 . dead . 19 August 2013.

See also

• List of United States Army Field Manuals
• Graphic training aids
• List of numbered documents of the United States Department of War

External links

• Army Publishing Directorate homepage at army.mil -Free Field Manuals and other publications in .pdf format.
• 500 Field Manuals online at SurvivaleBooks.com
• Incomplete list of active field manuals at army.mil
• Field Manuals online at 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, and Shawn Brimley and a New Introduction by Janine Davidson. Ann Arbor, University of Michigan Press, 2009.
• Military Manuals Collections on CD or download at eMilitary Manuals.com
• Army Field Manual, Appendix M, and Torture

Notes and References

1. Web site: Gladstone. Brooke. 27 July 2007. Operation Hearts and Minds. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20140525200351/http://www.onthemedia.org/story/129556-operation-hearts-and-minds/transcript/. 2014-05-25. 2014-05-25. On The Media. Interview with Michael D. Burke.
2. Web site: U.S. Army . Active Field Manual . https://web.archive.org/web/20100805061418/http://armypubs.army.mil/doctrine/Active_FM.html . dead . 5 August 2010 . Army Publishing Directorate . 22 August 2012 . dmy-all .
3. News: United States Army Field Manuals: A Resource Guide and Inventory: Introduction . Library of Congress . 21 August 2023.
4. News: Noam Cohen . Care to Write Army Doctrine? With ID, Log On . The New York Times . 21 April 2012.
5. Web site: Open Government Initiative . https://web.archive.org/web/20170121115936/https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/open/highlights . live . 21 January 2017 . 1 October 2012 . . . dmy-all .
6. Book: Headquarters, Department of the Army . United States Department of the Army#Headquarters, Department of the Army . FM 1, The Army . 14 June 2005 . Washington, DC . . 72695749 . Preface (p.iii).
7. Web site: Gladstone. Brooke. Brooke Gladstone. 27 July 2007. Operation Hearts and Minds. On the Media. Interview with Michael D. Burke. (Web site: Sound version. sound. Web site: Transcript version. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20140525200351/http://www.onthemedia.org/story/129556-operation-hearts-and-minds/transcript/. 25 May 2014. 24 May 2014. txt. dmy-all.)