AR 25-50 is the Army Regulation covering information on how to prepare and manage official correspondence. In the paragraphs below I will provide a summary of what information is offered in the regulation and what you need to know about AR 25-50.
Contents of AR 25-50
Chapter 1: Preparing Correspondence
This chapter provides an overview such as the correspondence chain, correspondence guidance, and the Army Writing Style.
Chapter 2:Memorandums
This chapter covers everything you need to know about memorandums including formatting and types of Army Memorandums.
Chapter 3: Letters
In this chapter you will learn how to write official letters, how to reply to official letters and how they should be formatted.
Chapter 4 Enclosures, Tabs and Attachments
This chapter covers the ins and outs of tabs: how they work, how they are organized, etc.
Chapter 5: Preparing Official Mail
In chapter five you will learn how to address mail, the required sizes, how to reduce mail costs, how to handle mail, etc.
Chapter 6: Authority Lines, Signatures and Signature Blocks
This chapter explains how to use signatures for Active Duty Personnel, Reserve Soldiers, Retired Personnel, Doctors and other personnel.
Chapter 7: Prescribed Forms and Labels
This chapter covers routing slips, transmittal slips, call slips and more.
Chapter 8: Preparing Classified Correspondence
This chapter teaches you how to mark classified documents.
Appendixes
AR 25-50 also has a bunch of appendixes such as title and protocol sequence, dealing with NATO Personnel, authority lines, signature blocks and much more.
Final Thoughts
I believe that every leader (E-5 and above) should keep a copy of AR 25-50 in their leader’s book or leader’s library. Trust me this resource is not just for the S1 folks. Whenever you need to prepare official Army Correspondence you should refer to AR 25-50 to make sure your documents are formatted properly.
Do you have any added tips? Do you have any questions? Post them below, and I will respond as quick as possible. Thanks.
Chuck Holmes
Former Army Major (resigned)
Publisher, Part-Time-Commander.com
Email: mrchuckholmes@gmail.com
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I’d like to see more of government manuals covering the concept of how to reduce cost such as that in Army regulation for writing correspondence. Private industry does this all the time. It is commonplace.
Proper formatting of correspondence and reports is essential to making sure orders and requests are conveyed accurately and in a timely manner. Failure to comply with established formats could lead to a loss of critical data, which in turn could leave the success of a mission in doubt. Consequently, it sounds like the AR 25-50 should definitely be a book that commanders study and pay heed to.
AR 25-50 is an important regulation for everyone serving in the Army. Everyone should know how to draft correspondence so it is accurate and formatted properly. This gives you extra credibility.