Annexes to OPORDs include those used for purposes of brevity, clarity, and simplicity (for example, maps and overlays). Annexes may also be used to amplify an order when the volume is too great to be included in the order itself.

Annexes are issued to all units whose actions or movements are affected by the information and instructions they contain.

Written annexes usually follow the form required for the complete OPORD except that information and instructions already given in the order need not be repeated in the annex. Annexes are lettered alphabetically in the order they are used in the OPORD. Maps of the following types are frequently used as annexes: situation maps, operation maps, administrative maps, and circulation maps.

Annexes dealing with embarkation, debarkation, entraining, entrucking, march tables, and other technical data are shown in tabular form.

Prepare and submit the annexes to the commander for approval and signature before issue. Another staff officer verifies the annexes.

Preparing OPORDs

Orders must be clear, concise, and direct. Those giving missions to a subordinate unit should prescribe only the details or methods of execution needed to ensure that the actions of that specific subordinate unit conforms to the plan of operations for the force as a whole.

Paragraphs 1 and 2 of an OPORD are usually written in present tense. For simplicity and clarity, the affirmative form of expression is used throughout the order.

When the date and hour are undetermined, D-day and H-hour may be substituted; when the final date and hour are selected, they are communicated later to those concerned.

When the hour is given, it is expressed in the 24-hour-clock system with no punctuation between the hours and minutes. When orders apply to units in different time zones, Greenwich mean time or the time zone specified by higher headquarters should be used. The zone suffix letter immediately follows the last digit of the group; for example, time expressed as 060225Z March 94, indicates 6 March 1994 at 2:25 a.m. Greenwich mean time.

An OPORD that specifies a night should include both dates; for example, "night 4-5 Aug 94." Boundaries are assigned that limit zones of action or movement and areas of responsibility. These are designated by easily distinguishable terrain features in the sequence in which they occur on the ground. This sequence is normally given in the direction of the enemy, but in the case of retrograde movement, in the reverse direction.

Geographical names are written or printed in capital letters. This minimizes the chance of error and makes the places mentioned stand out prominently in the order. The spelling in the order must be the same as that on the map referred to in the heading of the order. Compass points are preferable to the terms right and left. Should right or left be necessary, the user is assumed to be facing the enemy or downstream when used with reference to a river.

When places or features are difficult to find on the map or when confusion may arise with names of similar spelling, they should be identified by coordinates or by stating locations in relation to some easily recognizable feature or place on the map.

Roads are identified by name or by a sequence of points on the road; they are named in the direction of movement. When there is no movement from right to left or rear to front, it is assumed that the person naming the road is facing the enemy. All other lines are designated in the same manner.

Areas are indicated by names, counterclockwise with a suitable number of limiting points. The first point named, regardless of whether the area pertains to friendly troops or to the enemy, is one on the right front facing friendly troops.

Expressions like "attack vigorously" are avoided. They are not only meaningless and wordy, but also weaken the force of later orders in which the expression does not appear. "Holding attack" "secondary attack/' and "main attack," which qualify the vigor of the operation, and "try and hold" and "far as possible," which lessen responsibility, are further examples of undesirable phrases for use in OPORDs.

In operation orders, it is essential that there be no opportunity for misunderstanding by any subordinate of the exact intended meaning of each term used. When you are leading partially trained troops and staffs, remember that the use of technical military language may cause misunderstandings; therefore, the use of technical expressions in combat orders should be avoided when there is any danger of misunderstanding by personnel in the unit. You should substitute words that are easy to understand even at the expense of brevity. Clarity is the first essential; technique is secondary.