General Order

In militaries, a general order is a published directive, originated by a commander, and binding upon all personnel under his command, the purpose of which is to enforce a policy or procedure unique to his unit's situation which is not otherwise addressed in applicable service regulations, military law, or public law. A general order has the force of law; it is an offense punishable by court martial or lesser military court to disobey one. What makes it a general order (as opposed to a direct order), is that the actor is not explicitly named, nor precisely that (or whom) which 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 officers. The officers are required by the same law to return the salute to the enlisted person; however, the name of each enlisted man is not explicitly named in the order, nor is the name of each officer, nor is the exact time which the salute should occur

Famous quotes containing the words general and/or order:

    The general tendency of things throughout the world is to render mediocrity the ascendant power among mankind.
    John Stuart Mill (1806–1873)

    I suppose that one of the psychological principles of advertising is to so hammer the name of your product into the mind of the timid buyer that when he is confronted with a brusk demand for an order he can’t think of anything else to say, whether he wants it or not.
    Robert Benchley (1889–1945)