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Union Army Standing Orders
Standing Order #1 - OBD Award Guidance for the Union Army
The following is the guidance for the award of OBD points within the Union Army each month. They are broken into three sections, based on the OBD type – Administrative Points, Conduct Points, and Award Points. Administrative OBD Points – As set forth in the Club Rules, Division Commanders and above receive Administrative Points for their service, as determined by their respective Commanders. Responsibilities for awarding and entering these points are as follows: Chief of the Army – Responsible for Cabinet Secretaries, Theater Commanders, and Commandants of West Point and the War College. Theater Commander – Responsible for Army Commanders within their command. Army Commander – Corps and Division Commanders within their command. Conduct OBD Points - The Union Army has up to 500 points to award each month. These are in addition to the Administrative points above. Each Army Commander is granted 75 points to award at their discretion. The remaining 50 points are held by the Chief of the Army and available for War College, West Point, 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 Chief of the Army, so use them or lose them. Award OBD Points – The Union Army has several specific 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., Chief of the Army will enter the OBD associated with the Medal of Honor, Theater Commander will enter OBD for a Campaign Medal, etc. Additionally, Army Commanders may create an Army level award for up to 10 OBD points that can be awarded on average, one per month. These Award OBD points are in addition to any Administrative or Conduct OBD awards. All OBD awards of each type should be reported in the normal monthly reports to the respective Chain of Command. When making an OBD entry in the system, please use a description consistent for the award. Examples: “Admin for Corps Command January 2006” “Conduct Points January 2006” “Campaign Medal – Corinth”
Standing Order #2 – Promotion to the General Ranks
As per Club rules, promotion above Colonel requires approval of the Cabinet. The following is the process for acquiring that approval. Promotion Process – Once a member has achieved sufficient points for the next senior General rank (Brigadier General, Major General, Lt General or General) his immediate Army or higher level superior officer writes a brief recommendation to the Union Chief of the Army. This recommendation should include members points, current position, and past leadership positions. It should be a brief paragraph in length. Upon the receipt of the promotion recommendation, the Union Chief of the Army will 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. After the Cabinet has voted on the promotion recommendations, the Union Chief of the Army will notify the Union Command Staff (Army, Theater Commanders, and Commandants of West Point and the War College) as well as make a post at the Mason Dixon Tavern to congratulate all the promotees. The same commander who made the recommendation will notify the member of their promotion, and make appropriate posts in their respective Army Taverns. Promotion Requirements – In addition to achieving the required points, an officer must hold various leadership positions, depending on the rank he is to be promoted to, also as specified in the Club Rules. The officer being promoted must be in a leadership position commensurate with the rank he desires to be promoted to at the time of the promotion recommendation, and should continue in that position for a minimum of 3 more months after the promotion is approved. For example, Major General Guts commands the I Corps, AoP, and achieves sufficient points for Lt General. Because he holds a Corps position, he may be promoted. However, Major General Glory has achieved sufficient points as well, but only commands a Division. Major General Glory is not eligible for promotion unless or until he takes a Corps command. A third example, Major General Patriot served as Corps Commander for 12 months as a Brigadier and Major General before going back to Brigade command. While at Brigade command, he achieves enough points for Lt General, but because he does not hold the Corps (or greater) level position, he is not eligible for promotion at this time, unless or until he resumes a Corps (or greater) level position.
Standing Order #3 – Monthly Reports
Each Army Commander shall report the following information on a monthly basis, on or about the 15th of each month, but not later than the 20th. The reports should go to the respective Army’s Theater Commander, with a copy to the Union Chief of the Army. The basics of a report shall include the following at a minimum: Number of officers assigned
This information can be within a narrative format, or purely a data presentation. The Commandant of West Point shall also send a report to the Union Chief of the Army within the same time period specified above, detailing new recruits within the month, recruits graduated within the month, and recruits in the pipeline at the time of the report. The Commandant of the Union War College shall furnish a report to the Union Chief of the Army within the same time period specified above, detailing new articles, new intelligence reports, and any other pertinent information for that institution. The Union Chief of the Army will then provide an army wide summary 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.
Standing Order #4 – Assignment of new or returning members
West Point – Recruits who graduate from West Point will be assigned to a Theater of operations by the Commandant of West Point. Every consideration should be given to a recruits specific request if he volunteers one, otherwise the Commandant will endeavor to alternate equally between the Eastern and Western Theater. The Theater will assign the new officer to an Army, and the Army Commander will place him to a Brigade command. Each person in this chain is responsible for the transaction entry at the Department of Records site – (Commandant assigns to Theater, Theater to Army, and Army to Brigade). 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 assignment, and the Army Commander is responsible for acclimating the new officer into the Union Army. The Commandant of the War College, or his designee, shall provide a Welcome Letter to the new officer in a timely fashion, usually within 3 days of his graduation from West Point, but not longer than one week. When an officer makes a request to join a specific army, that should count as that theater and army’s “turn” for recruit assignments, and the Commandant of West Point should endeavor to maintain an even balance with recruit assignments. Hospital or Leave of Absence – When an officer desires to return to service after a period in the Hospital or on a Leave of Absence, a request from that officer should be made with the Union Chief of the Army, who will make one of 3 determinations – approve the request, deny the request, or approve and send back to West Point (if desired by the returning officer). Upon approval of the request, the Union Chief of the Army will assign the officer to his original organization from which he took the leave or Hospital stay at the Department of Records. That organization will assign the new officer to a Brigade command at the Department of Records, make appropriate posts at the Mason Dixon and Army taverns, and notify the Union War College Commandant of the members return The Union War College Commandant, or his designee, will send a Welcome Letter to the returning officer.
By Order of General Jeff Laub Union Chief of the Army
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