How Army doctrine is numbered

Army doctrine is the body of fundamental principles, with supporting tactics, techniques, procedures, terms and symbols, that guides how Army forces conduct operations. ADP 1-01, the Doctrine Primer dated July 31, 2019, says all current Army doctrine fits into three types: Army doctrine publications (ADPs), field manuals (FMs), and Army techniques publications (ATPs). DA Pamphlet (DA Pam) 25-40, the Army publishing procedures dated February 1, 2024, sets the numbers. The first digit names a functional category, such as 3 for operations or 4 for sustainment, and the next digits name a field, such as 04 for aviation.

Three types and one hierarchy

ADP 1-01 traces the forms. From 1939 to 1999, all Army doctrine was in field manuals. In the 2000s the Army also used field manuals interim and Army tactics, techniques, and procedures publications for a short time. In the revisions that followed the 2017 FM 3-0, the Army combined its ADPs with their Army doctrine reference publications (ADRPs) to reduce redundancy. The primer gives each current type a job:

• ADPs contain the fundamental principles.
• FMs contain principles, tactics, procedures, and other doctrinal information, and describe how the Army executes the operations in the ADPs.
• ATPs contain techniques, ways to complete a task without prescribing what must be done.

Two capstone publications, ADP 1, The Army, and ADP 3-0, Operations, sit at the top. The other ADPs come next, then FMs, then ATPs. When publications in different categories conflict, ADPs take precedence over FMs, and FMs over ATPs. The primer adds two limits. The hierarchy gives doctrine no precedence over Army regulations or operator's manuals. And the top tiers should change less often than ATPs, which change as techniques evolve. The primer also separates techniques, which allow deviation, from procedures, which are followed exactly.

How a number is built

Paragraph 8-12 of DA Pam 25-40 aligns Army doctrine numbers with the joint numbering protocols in CJCSM 5120.01 where possible. Table 8-3 sets seven categories: 1 Personnel, 2 Intelligence, 3 Operations, 4 Sustainment, 5 Operations Process, 6 Mission Command, and 7 Warfighter Support. Category 7 is not part of the joint system and holds doctrine such as training the force.

Figure 8-1 puts three groups after the prefix: a one-digit series, a subseries of one or two digits that places the publication in a functional field, and an extension after a period. The extension marks supporting manuals, is normally used only with ATPs, and never exceeds three digits. The Army Publishing Directorate indexes for ADPs, FMs, and ATPs show the scheme on current titles:

Publication	Index date	Series	Subseries	Extension
ADP 4-0, Sustainment	August 18, 2026	4 Sustainment	0 Sustainment	None
FM 3-04, Army Aviation	March 27, 2025	3 Operations	04 Aviation	None
ATP 3-04.7, Army Aviation Maintenance	October 20, 2020	3 Operations	04 Aviation	.7
ATP 4-33, Maintenance Operations	January 9, 2024	4 Sustainment	33	None

Table 8-3 does not list subseries 33. A note in the table says the series numbers are permanent but subseries numbers may expand as new publications evolve.

Training circulars borrow the numbers

DA Pam 25-40 treats training circulars (TCs) as training publications, alongside Soldier training publications, not as doctrine. AR 25-30 describes a TC as a permanent publication for unit or individual Soldier training information that does not fit the standard types of training publication. Paragraph 8-21 numbers TCs by subject series, but lets proponents use the doctrinal scheme to show a direct link to a doctrinal publication. The Directorate's TC index shows the result in the aviation field: TC 3-04.11, Commander's Aviation Training and Standardization Program, dated April 14, 2022, and TC 3-04.71, Commander's Aviation Maintenance Training Program, dated April 3, 2024. Both carry the same 3-04 root as FM 3-04 and ATP 3-04.7. A 3-04 number alone does not make a publication doctrine. The prefix does.

Doctrine, regulations, and technical manuals

ADP 1-01 places doctrine inside a larger body of Army knowledge. Army regulations and pamphlets address the administration of the Army, doctrine addresses the conduct of operations, training publications address training tasks, and technical manuals (TMs) address specific equipment. Doctrine does not cover the workings of the institutional force, which regulations and other policy govern.

AR 25-30, the Army Publishing Program regulation dated June 14, 2021, draws the line in Table 2-1. An Army regulation (AR) is "a permanent directive" that sets missions, responsibilities, and policies, and the table marks it as establishing policy. ADPs, FMs, ATPs, and TCs are marked as not establishing policy. Technical, equipment, doctrinal, and training publications are not policy publications and need no legal review by The Judge Advocate General or the Office of the General Counsel. Equipment TMs also use a different number, built under paragraph 8-26 of DA Pam 25-40 from a series, a supply class, a sequence number, and a maintenance level.

Who assigns the numbers

DA Pam 25-40 delegates the authority to assign all Army doctrinal publication numbers to the commanding general of the Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC), with requests sent to the Combined Arms Doctrine Directorate. Publications are renumbered only in their normal revision cycle. A new number appears on the cover with the old number in parentheses through one revision cycle.

The current indexes list the proponent of every ADP as T2COM. A November 14, 2025 Army story reports that the U.S. Army Transformation and Training Command (T2COM) was activated in a ceremony on October 2. The 2024 table also trails current titles: category 6 is Mission Command there, while ADP 6-0, dated July 7, 2026, is titled Command and Control.

What to check

• Is the publication an ADP, FM, or ATP, or a TC that borrows a doctrinal number?
• When two publications conflict, which ranks higher, and is one of them a regulation or operator's manual that sits outside the doctrine hierarchy?
• Has the publication been renumbered in its last revision, with the old number shown in parentheses on the cover?
• Does a "must" come from a procedure or regulation, or from a technique that allows deviation?
• Does a citation give the current edition, such as ADP 1-01 of July 31, 2019, which superseded the edition of September 2, 2014?

Azcuna's TRACE is one offline viewer for S1000D, MIL-STD-3001 XML, and PDF technical manuals. It keeps the source location and the markings of everything it shows and never modifies the source. It was proposed to NAVAIR under Navy SBIR Phase I topic DON26BZ05-NV078, and the proposal was submitted on September 23, 2026.

Sources

1. 1ADP 1-01, Doctrine Primer · Headquarters, Department of the Army, July 31, 2019
2. 2DA Pam 25-40, Army Publishing Program Procedures · Headquarters, Department of the Army, February 1, 2024
3. 3AR 25-30, Army Publishing Program · Headquarters, Department of the Army, June 14, 2021
4. 4Army Doctrine Publications · Army Publishing Directorate
5. 5Field Manuals · Army Publishing Directorate
6. 6Army Techniques Publications · Army Publishing Directorate
7. 7Training Circulars · Army Publishing Directorate
8. 8Transformation and Training Command activated · U.S. Army Transformation and Training Command, via DVIDS, November 14, 2025

Where this shows up in our work

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