'What Is This?': Army Enlisted Leader's Long-Promised Blue Book Underwhelms Soldiers

A year ago, Sergeant Major of the Army Michael Weimer, just two months into the role, promised soldiers a new app that would allow them to carry a rundown of service regulations and policies in their pockets.

The so-called Army-wide "Blue Book" was a centerpiece of Weimer's plans for his first year in the leadership role -- and of his resolute emphasis on discipline. The book would have all of the service's regulations and be updated in real time, saving soldiers the trouble of wading through scattered and difficult-to-parse policy documents.

The final product released this week didn't quite meet expectations. A 23-page, hard-copy pocket version of the book summarizes some Army policies -- mostly uniform rules -- and includes service creeds, a brief rundown of the U.S. Constitution and the Army song (written out and performed). The digital version with all of the same information is six pages due to formatting.

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"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."

That paragraph is repeated a second time in the book. It was unclear whether that's an error. The book also includes several typos, including noting the “War with Spain” in 1989. The Spanish-American War was fought in 1898. 

In interviews with Military.com, five senior Army officials voiced concerns about why the Blue Book was so prominently featured, both during a major speech by Weimer in October 2023 effectively introducing himself to the service at the Association of the United States Army (AUSA) conference, and during its unveiling at the conference this year.

While the content of the book itself was not viewed as particularly noteworthy, the emphasis it received as a central priority of Weimer's tenure raised eyebrows.

"But seriously, what is this? A year, and this is the main thing?" one command sergeant major said on the condition of anonymity to avoid retaliation, holding up and waving the Blue Book.

Weimer's office declined to comment.

The sergeant major also made a surprise announcement on Tuesday that soldiers will be getting newly designed physical training uniforms in about a year, replacing the current uniforms that were fully rolled out to the force in 2017.

Sgt. Maj. Tyson Crosby, who heads an enlisted advisory panel, led the development of the Blue Book. A released statement by the Army said that the book was an enormous undertaking, and that Crosby and his team "put in countless hours" including temporary duty assignments, or TDYs, working on it.

The Blue Book bears a striking resemblance to the handbooks issued to basic trainees, but with interpretations -- sometimes vague -- of established policy.

In one example, the book says commanders can forbid soldiers from being on social media if there's a threat to "good order and discipline." However, that rule isn't clearly defined, and that line is one of the only parts of the book that does not appropriately cite an existing regulation.

Meanwhile, despite directives for soldiers to carry the Blue Book with them while in uniform, that guidance is not backed by any enforceable policy, which typically requires a signed memorandum from a senior officer. Presumably, because most soldiers carry cell phones and the book is posted online, they would technically have it on their person.

Some of the Army officials saw the book as an example of growing pains. Weimer spent his entire career in Special Forces, and much of that in the secretive Delta Force. Those organizations are largely separated from the conventional Army, meaning Weimer took the reins of an Army he is largely unfamiliar with.

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