general order

{{Short description|Top level military order to all subordinates}}

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A general order, in military and paramilitary organizations, is a published directive, originated by a commander and binding upon all personnel under his or her command.{{cite web |url=https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/context/usarmytrain/article/1007/viewcontent/orders.pdf |title=Orders: General Orders, Special Orders, Bulletins, and Circulars, 6th Edition |date=March 26, 1943 |publisher=United States Army Adjutant General School |page=7(13) |via=University of Nebraska–Lincoln |access-date=April 27, 2025 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20250427054844/https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/context/usarmytrain/article/1007/viewcontent/orders.pdf |archive-date=April 27, 2025 |url-status=live}}{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/abbottabad-compound/B9/B9875E9C2553D81D1D6E0523563F8D72_DoD_Dictionary_of_Military_Terms.pdf |title=Department of Defense Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms |publisher=US Department of Defense |date=June 9, 2004 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200116163845/https://www.cia.gov/library/abbottabad-compound/B9/B9875E9C2553D81D1D6E0523563F8D72_DoD_Dictionary_of_Military_Terms.pdf |page=218(255) |archive-date=January 16, 2020 |url-status=live}} Its purpose is to enforce a policy or procedure that is not otherwise addressed in applicable service regulations, military law, or public law.{{needcite|date=April 2025}}