Union Army Standing Orders

Non-engagement OBD points shall be awarded each month in the following manner for each of the following categories: Administrative, Conduct and Commendation Awards. The responsibility for determining eligibility and entering the OBD points is as follows:

General-in-Chief - Responsible for U.S.A. Cabinet Secretaries, Theater Commanders, Superintendent of West Point, and Commandant of the Union War College.

Theater Commanders - Responsible for Army Commanders within their command.

Army Commanders - Responsible for Corps and Division Commanders within their command.

Administrative OBD Points - As set forth in the Club Rule 4.2.2, all commanders of Union Army divisions and above may receive discretionary Administrative Points up to the maximums listed for their service, the number of such points deemed subjective in worth for the service rendered.

Conduct OBD Points - Under the auspices of Club Rule 4.2.3, the Union Army shall have 500 available conduct points to be awarded each month, in addition to the Administrative points mentioned above. AC's are each granted 100 points to award within their commands at their discretion. The remaining 100 points are held by the General-in-Chief and available for the Headquarters Staff and Union Military Academy, or for other use by request from any commander. Unused Conduct points can not be carried forward, except in special circumstances as determined by the General-in-Chief.

Award OBD Points - The Union Army has several specific commendation awards that have OBD amounts tied to them. The approval level of these awards also constitutes the responsibility for entering the OBD associated with the award - i.e., the General-in-Chief will enter the OBD associated with the Medal of Honor, the Theater Commander will enter OBD for a Campaign Medal, etc. These points are assigned from the available, discretionary Conduct Points.

OBD points of each type should be reported in the normal Monthly Reports to the respective Chain of Command and properly entered within the Department of Records. The OBD point DoR system entry should utilize a brief description, consistent with the award.

Examples:

• "Admin for Corps Command January 2006"
• "Conduct Points January 2006"
• "Campaign Medal - Corinth"

As per Club Rule 4.1, promotion into the general officer ranks requires the approval of the Cabinet.

Promotion Requirements - In addition to achieving the required points, an officer must hold, or have held in the past, the command commensurate with that general officer rank.

Promotion Process - When a Union officer has achieved sufficient points for advancement to the next senior general officer rank, his immediate commander shall write a brief recommendation to the General-in-Chief. This recommendation should include the officer's OBD points, current position, and past leadership history. It should be a brief paragraph in length.

Upon the receipt of the recommendation, the Union General-in-Chief shall forward his final recommendations to the Cabinet for their voting. This will happen on a monthly basis, on or about the 15th of each month. If the Cabinet has voted approval on the recommendations, the Union General-in-Chief will notify the Union Command Staff (Army, Theater Commanders, Superintendent of West Point and Commandant of the War College) and make a post at the Mason Dixon Tavern to congratulate all newly promoted officers. The commander who originated the recommendation will notify that officer of his promotion, and make appropriate posts in their respective Army Taverns.

Academy Graduation - Graduates from the Union Military Academy will be assigned to a Theater of Operations by the UMA Superintendent. Every consideration should be given to a graduate's specific request for assignment, if he volunteers one; otherwise the Superintendent will endeavor to equally alternate between the Eastern and Western Theaters. Compliance with a graduate's request shall not be deemed as disruptive to the normal assignment sequences, and the Superintendent shall make suitable adjustment to maintain equal Theater assignments.

The Theater Commander will assign the new officer to a Field Army, and the Army Commander will place him to a Brigade Command. Each commander in this chain is responsible for the proper transaction entry at the Department of Records. These transactions should happen in a timely fashion, within a few days of the new officer being assigned, and not to exceed one week.

The new officer should be copied on the correspondence associated with his assignments, and the Army Commander is responsible for accommodating the new officer into the Union Army (see AC Field Order No. 1). The Commandant of the War College, or his designee, shall provide a Welcome Letter to the new officer in a timely fashion, usually within three days of his graduation from the UMA, but not longer than one week

Re-instatement from Retirement or after a Discharge - When a retired or discharged officer desires to return to active service, that officer should make a request to the General-in-Chief as provided for in Club Rule 2.6.4. Depending on the circumstances of the case, the General-in-Chief shall either re-instate the officer with his rank and points as of the time of his retirement or discharge, or require him to start over.

If the officer is re-instated, the General-in-Chief, if possible, will assign him to his original field army, noting such at the Department of Records. The Army Commander will then assign the returning officer to a Brigade command, noting such in turn at the Department of Records, make appropriate posts at the Mason Dixon and Army taverns, and notify the Union War College Commandant of the member's return. The Union War College Commandant, or his designee, will send a Welcome Letter to the returning officer.

If the officer has to start over, he may elect to go through the UMA again or to be assigned to a field army with the rank of Second Lieutenant.

Returning from Hospital or Leave of Absence - Officers in the Hospital or on authorized Leave of Absence (LoA) as per Club Rule 2.6.1 and General Order No. 5 remain assigned to their respective field armies. If they desire to return to active service, they should make a request to their respective Army Commander. The Army Commander will re-assign them to a Brigade command, noting such at the Department of Records, or refer them up the chain-of-command for re-assignment elsewhere.

Appointment to Command and Staff Positions - As per Club Rule 3.1.2.7.d, all appointments to command and staff positions in the Union Army are made by the General-in-Chief. The General-in-Chief shall duly consider the recommendation of the respective Army Commander or of the Commandant of the Union Military Academy or the War College, wherever the position shall be created or the vacancy to be filled shall occur. To solicit the General-in-Chief's approval, the respective commanders or commandants should discuss their candidates for command and staff positions with him informally prior to submitting a formal recommendation.

The Union Command Staff shall provide monthly reports each month on the viability, status and activities of their individual commands, making note of all personnel changes and/or organizational changes. The Union Command Staff as defined in these orders consists of the General-in-Chief, the Theater Commanders, the Union Military Academy Superintendent, the Commandant of the War College, and the Field Army Commanders.

The reports can be within a narrative format, or purely a data presentation.

The Army Commander's report (see AC Field Order No. 3) should be completed within the first fifteen days of the month and sent to the respective Theater Commander.

The Theater Commander shall then forward the reports of the AC's to the General-in-Chief in a timely manner with any comments and endorsements he feels necessary.

The Superintendent of the Union Military Academy shall also send a report to the Union General-in-Chief within the same time period specified above, detailing the number of recruits entering the academy for the month, the number graduated and the number currently in training.

The Commandant of the Union War College shall furnish a report to the Union General-in-Chief within the same time period specified above, detailing new articles, new intelligence reports, and any other pertinent information for that institution.

The Union General-in-Chief will then provide an army wide summary based upon the reports received for the Cabinet and the Union Command Staff, on or about the 20th of the month, but not later than the end of the month.

Officer Status - An officer is considered to be in "good standing" if he is in contact with his chain-of-command. If an officer is not heard from for three months, he is moved to the Hospital for three months before being discharged. Every effort should be made to contact the officer in question, including emails, posts at Army and Club taverns, and soliciting opponents (use the game log to find them) for recent activity/contact, prior to moving an officer to the Hospital and particularly before discharging him.

There are several categories of officer status (other than active and assigned to a command), as listed at the Department of Records site and within Club Rule 2.6 inclusive. The following are the guidelines for use in the Union Army for those categories:

Hospital - This is intended as a temporary holding area of up to three months for officers who go out of contact unexpectedly. Officers in the Hospital maintain their rank and points. They remain assigned to their respective field army.

Leave of Absence (LoA) - This is intended for officers who request a leave of absence for whatever reason. It may be granted for any period, but typically for no longer than six months. Officers on LoA maintain their rank and points. They remain assigned to their respective field army.

Retired with Honors - This is intended for officers who wish to retire from the Club.

Discharged - This is intended for officers who go out of contact or have exceeded their stay in the Hospital, or are discharged from the Club by the Cabinet for any reason as per Club Rules, Section 2.0.

For the procedure of returning to an active command, see General Order No. 3.

Union Army Awards - The Union Army shall maintain a register of commonly approved commendation and battle awards based upon specific qualification criteria. The awards register shall be composed of a central web site which graphically displays all of the specific Union Army medals, ribbons and other such devices as may be approved and added. The battle ribbon awards shall be properly identified and cross-referenced with the game scenario lists maintained by the ACWGC Department of Records. The register shall not oversee or administer any field army-specific service/longevity awards, nor those devised for various tournaments; but may display such for historical information purposes.

The Army Commander (AC), either directly or through the efforts of his appointed staff, will be responsible for the continued implementation of the following Field Orders for the duration of his assignment. These orders are in respect to, and in some cases in addition to, the duties outlined in the ACWGC Club Rule 3.1.2.4. Subordinate and senior commanders are expected and directed to support field Army Commanders in the implementation of these Field Orders.

Recruit Patronage - The Army Commander shall provide for the proper assignment, orientation and continued training of all new recruits entering his command.

Leadership Patronage - The AC shall make strong commitment to encourage, nurture and promote talents from the ranks by finding employment for them or recommending them for employment external to the army. Simultaneously, the AC shall be responsible for the continued good leadership and performance of those officers assigned to both his staff and the command positions within the army, making provision to relieve those officers should that be required.

The Army Commander shall be responsible for the establishment and/or maintenance of an Army Website and an Army Forum.

Army Website - The website shall display at a minimum an accurate OOB, complete with current ranks, e-mail addresses, insignia, decorations, standing orders, and links, all to be updated as required at least once each month. These standards are considered inherent to Club Rule 3.1.2.4.d, the maintenance of a web site for the army.

Army Forum - The army communication forum will consist of a suitable host site wherein may be posted notices of promotion, awards, Army Reports on a monthly basis and information relating to the good order and camaraderie of the organization.

The AC and his staff shall exert a personal effort to maintain an active, regular presence within the Army Forum and the Mason Dixon Tavern.

Each Army Commander shall report the following information on a monthly basis, on or about the 15th of each month or sooner, but not later than the 20th. The reports should go to the respective Army's Theater Commander, with a copy to the Union General-in-Chief.

The basics of the AC's report shall include the following at a minimum:

• Number of officers assigned
• Number of officers present or active
• Number of games started
• Number of games ended
• Win/Loss results for the games ended
• Promotions
• Awards

This information can be within a narrative format, or purely a data presentation.

Muster - Muster of all assigned, field army personnel is a requirement of the Army Commander. Each AC is directed at minimum to conduct a monthly poll of their assigned officers to ensure they remain active and in contact within the Club. This muster can be delegated to corps and division commanders, with results being collated at the army level if it is desired. The muster may be undertaken via any of the following methods:

• Email from the Army, Corps or Division Commander.
• Reply to a Muster post at the Army tavern.
• Automated web forms.