Personal documentation is an essential ingredient of management. It encompasses recording each and every occurrence in the career of an officer. Though the onus of maintaining personal documents rests on individual officers, it is an important function of the concerned branches/directorates in Army Headquarters, formations in the chain and the unit of the officer, to ensure that an officers personal documents are updated from time to time and are complete in all respects. Effective documentation contributes towards better career management of officers and safeguards the interests of their dependents. It also saves the Next of Kin from avoidable inconvenience in the event of the unfortunate death of an officer.

Orders on documentation exist in the form of Army Orders, Army Instructions, Special Army Orders, Special Army Instructions, various Regulations and Policy letters issued by Army Headquarters and Ministry of Defence from to time to time. Non-availability and non-adherence to such orders, at any level, leads to gaps in information and incomplete documentation. This leads to infructuous correspondence and inefficiency and may cause undue delay in grant of pay and allowances, postings, promotions, various benefits available in the Army, and finally the due pensionary award on superannuation/premature release from Service.

To ensure that correct and complete Record of Service of officers is maintained at all levels, it was considered necessary to produce an exhaustive Manual of Documentation for Officers. Efforts have been made to compile the latest information on all matters in one document, which it is felt, would be useful to officers and their Next of Kin. Needless to state, that the onus to update information contained in this Manual rests with units/individual officers, as and when fresh orders/instructions are issued by various agencies.

Topics Covered.

• Documentation. 
• Types of Orders. 
• Personal Estate. 
• Pay and Allowances. 
• Army Group Insurance Fund. 
• Leave. 
• Medical. 
• Classification of Causalities. 
• Discipline. 
• Honours and Awards. 
• Confidential Reports. 
• Miscellaneous. 
• Non Effective Officers. 
• Pension. 
• Ex-Servicemen Status. 
• Entitlement of Retire Officers. 
• Warrant of Precedence.