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3 US Army General Orders 2024

The Army General Orders are a set of three orders that serve as the foundation of military discipline in the United States Army.

What are the 3 Army General Orders?

  1. Army General Order 1

    I will guard everything within the limits of my post and quit my post only when properly relieved.

  2. Army General Order 2

    I will obey my special orders and perform all my duties in a military manner.

  3. Army General Order 3

    I will report violations of my special orders, emergencies, and anything not covered in my instructions to the commander of the relief.

The purpose of these orders is to make sure that soldiers know it is their job to keep security, follow orders, and report anything that could affect the safety and security of their post or unit.

They are an essential part of military training, and soldiers often learn them by heart to show how much they care about the Army and its goals.

Why you must know the Three Army General Orders before Army Basic Training 

Today, we will discuss the Army’s general orders and why you should know them before you go to basic training. It’s going to save you a whole lot of trouble.

But before we jump into the topic, my name is George Allan, and I did four years of active duty as a 68 Whiskey. I got out as a sergeant and became a civilian for about a couple of months in 2019. And then, I joined the Army Reserves for about a year and a half. I just got out on August 24, 2021. So I have active duty and reserve army knowledge. 

Importance of US Army General Orders

So why is it essential for you to know your general orders? You need to know many things while at basic training, but it’ll set you up for success if you learn them before you go to basic training. 

So this comes full circle with the general orders, the army songs, and the soldiers’ creed. And I say that because if your basic training is anything like mine was, you will be given a cheat sheet or “blue book,” and you are required to know everything in this book, front and back; it’s like the back of your hand. 

So we had a drill sergeant in the bay who would line up the whole platoon and ask, “What is the second army general order?” 

Sometimes they would ask, “What’s your first general order?” “What’s the Army Song?” “What’s the soldiers’ creed?” And if you got it wrong, you would do 10 pushups. So we did 500-plus pushups almost daily; that’s just during drill sergeant time alone and not even throughout the day. 

I can only imagine how many pushups we were doing in total. So if you want to save yourself some pushups and heartache and not get smoked at army basic training, you must learn these things before basic training. 

3 Army General Orders Meaning

There are three general orders in the Army:

  1. The first of the three you’ll be asked for at basic training is your first army general order: “I will guard everything within the limits of my post and quit my post only when properly relieved.”
  2. The second army general order: “I will obey my special orders and perform all my duties in a military manner.”
  3. The third general order: “I will report violations of my special orders, emergencies, and anything not covered in my instructions to the commander of the relief.” 

First Army General Order

Army General Order Number 1: I will guard everything within the limits of my post and quit my post only when properly relievedTypically, in basic training, you will be doing fire guard, and there will be shift guards. You may have the one o’clock morning shift; somebody will have to get you at two o’clock because they’re typically hour-long shifts, and you cannot leave that post; it’ll be two of you guys. 

You can go to the bathroom and stuff like that. But you guys cannot leave that post unmanned until your relief comes and relieves you. So you sign it in the book and are relieved at two o’clock. If they’re late, you can wake them up, but you can’t just leave; you can’t leave a post unmanned.

Second Army General Order

Army General Order Number 2: I will obey my special orders and perform all my duties in a military manner. This order requires you to maintain a military bearing at all times, meaning you’re doing everything by the book; you’re doing it right, and you’re doing it the way you were taught. 

Doing everything by the book is prevalent in basic training because you will get smoked if they catch you slipping. And if you mess up badly, you could get kicked out of the military. But, of course, it depends on what it is, so you want to maintain that military bearing. 

Third Army General Order

Army General Order Number 3: I will report violations of my special orders, emergencies, and anything not covered in my instructions to the commander of the relief. So if anything goes wrong during your shift, write it down and make sure it’s documented, so you can report it to whoever’s in charge of the overall guard system for whatever it is you’re guarding. Be accountable.

US 3 Army General Orders Conclusion

In conclusion, you must understand these general army orders through and through and know them by memory. Of course, you don’t have to know them by memory immediately, but it’s good to start learning them now. 

So once you go to basic training and they quiz you on these, you’re good to go and have a better understanding of them. Your drill sergeants will be impressed or say, “Good job, and congratulations; you know your job.”

I’ve also done a deep dive on the soldier’s creed, the army values, the non-commissioned officer creed, the Rangers creed, the army song, and many other things you should know before basic training. But let me know in the comments below what you guys want me to write about in terms of things you should know before going to basic training. I hope this post helped you out. 

The 3 Gerenal Orders in the Army Questions?

What do the General orders in the Army mean?

The Army General Orders are a set of three orders that serve as the foundation of military discipline in the United States Army.

How many General Orders are in the Army?

There are three general orders in the Army

What is General Order #1 in the Army?

I will guard everything within the limits of my post and quit my post only when properly relieved.

What is General Order #2 in the Army?

I will obey my special orders and perform all my duties in a military manner

What is General Order #3 in the Army?

I will report violations of my special orders, emergencies, and anything not covered in my instructions to the commander of the relief.

Are you required to know or recite the 3 Army General Orders?

Yes, you should know the army orders at all times.

George N.