The Soldier's Guide: The Complete Guide to US Army Traditions, Training, Duties, and Responsibilities

by U.S. Department of the Army

A comprehensive guide for the ultimate guardians of American freedom—the U.S. soldier.

The Soldier’s Guide applies to every soldier in the Army—active, reserve, and National Guard—in every rank and specialty. It condenses important information from a number of U.S. Army regulations, field manuals, and other publications into one crucial volume. This manual describes the soldier’s role in the Army and the soldier’s obligations. Other subject areas are Army history, training, and professional development. This manual also describes standards in appearance and conduct and selected individual combat tasks that are important for every soldier to master.

Written to answer the many questions asked by soldiers of all ranks in the Army, it covers everything from the history and traditions of the American military to training and service benefits. Find out about such ideals as The Warrior Ethos that drive soldiers during a mission and the Army’s values of loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity, personal courage, and discipline. In addition, sections cover ethical reasoning, the basic principles of war, military courtesies, individual combat skills, and more. This guide will clarify and reinforce standards and help prepare any soldier to assume a leadership position.

Skyhorse Publishing is proud to publish a range of books for readers interested in military tactics and skills. We publish content provided by or of interest to the U.S. Army, Army Rangers, the U.S. Navy, Navy SEALs, the U.S. Air Force, the U.S. Marine Corps, and the Department of Defense. Our books cover topics such as survival, emergency medicine, weapons, guns, weapons systems, hand-to-hand combat, and more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to publishing books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked by other publishers and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

434 pages, Paperback

First published February 2, 2016

About the author

The Department of the Army (DA) is one of the three military departments within the Department of Defense of the United States of America. The Department of the Army is the Federal Government agency within which the United States Army is organized, and it is led by the Secretary of the Army who has statutory authority 10 U.S.C. § 3013 to conduct its affairs and to prescribe regulations for its government, subject to the limits of the law, and the directions of the Secretary of Defense and the President.

The Secretary of the Army is a civilian official appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate. The highest-ranking military officer in the department is the Chief of Staff of the Army, who is also a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Other senior officials of the Department are the Under Secretary of the Army (principal deputy to the Secretary) and the Vice Chief of Staff of the Army (principal deputy to the Chief of Staff.)

The Department of War was originally formed in 1789 as an Executive Department of the United States, and was renamed by the National Security Act of 1947 to the Department of the Army on September 18, 1947. By amendments to the National Security Act of 1947 in 1949, the Department of the Army was transformed to its present-day status.