The Army promised soldiers a phone app with real-time updates on Army regulations but what they ended up with fell short of that by miles.
The argument could be made that soldiers need this resource now more than any other time in modern history due to the prevalence of social media and the Army’s vague guidance governing its use.
Last year, Sergeant Major of the Army Michael Weimer promised soldiers an app version of a “Blue Book” so they could have access to service regulations and policies at all times.
During the Revolutionary War, the Continental Army was made up of state-run militias operating independently of each other and each operated by its own rules and regulations.
In 1777, a Prussian officer named Friedrich Von Steuben offered his experience in training soldiers to the U.S. Army.
After being asked by George Washington, Steuben created a manual of drill instruction for the Continental Army, and in 1779, Congress adopted the Regulations for the Order and Discipline of the Troops of the United States.
It was commonly referred to as the “Blue Book” because its first prints were printed on blue paper due to a scarcity of paper during the war.
245 years later, the Army has artificial intelligence and millions of hours of combined college education but still couldn’t deliver on their promise of a new “Blue Book” app.
During the Army’s Leading Change Brief at the Association of the U.S. Army’s 2024 Annual Meeting and Exposition, Sgt. Maj. of the Army Weimer unveiled the Army’s new “Blue Book.”
Weimer stated he was going to focus on discipline within the Army a year ago, so it was a surprise when he stood on stage and presented a 23-page paper handbook with typos.
One of the most notable typos within the book states a “War with Spain” occurred in 1989.
After spending at least $39 million, according to a report last year, on renaming Army installations with names associated with the Confederacy, you would think the Army would know the “Spanish-American War” took place in the same century as the Civil War, in 1898.
So who is responsible for creating this “Blue Book?”
The Army released a statement stating Sgt. Maj. Tyson Crosby led the development of the Blue Book and he and his team “put in countless hours” including temporary duty assignments to work on it.
“The Blue Book mission was not a singular effort. We received great input and feedback from across the Army, making it a collaborative work. The Blue Book is for the entire Army and our overall plan reflects that,” Crosby said.
What was their excuse for not creating an app?
The “Blue Book” contains a QR code, allowing soldiers to download a six-page version of the Blue Book.
“Once a user opens the Army Blue Book through the QR code, they can download the Blue Book PWA using the phones settings, which will create an app on the phone’s screen. In terms of useability, this will act no differently than app from an application store,” the Army stated.
The book states soldiers are required to have a copy of it on them at all times but does not specify if the digital version is sufficient.
“All soldiers will use this Blue Book and its associated regulations to strengthen, enable, and demonstrate the Army profession through enforced standards and discipline,” the book states. “It is expected that all Soldiers will have a copy of this document on their person when in the duty uniform.”
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