MM4617
Standards for Inspecting Publication Changes
Because there are different changes that have to be made in publications, inspectors have several things to
look for. First, however, it should be determined that personnel preparing DA Form 12-series are familiar with
DA Circular 310-86-2. Soldiers maintaining publications should have had at least on-the-job training for that
task. Next, how changes have been made should be inspected. Included are: future effective date, superseded
change, written change, changed pages, and front cover posting.
Future Effective Date. If a new publication with a future effective date supersedes a publication, this should
be noted by hand at the top of the superseded publication, together with the following information: "supersession
by (new publication), (date of new publication), and effective (date)." The new publication should be placed
behind the superseded publication if the numbers are the same; otherwise, the new publication should be shelved
in its proper numerical sequence. The old publication should still be on the shelf if the effective date of the new
publication has not passed. If it has passed, the superseded document should have been removed. If it hasn't been
removed, the inspector notes this on the list and removes the publication. If part of a publication is changed and
will be effective on a future date, the change is made and the effective date noted in the margin. The change sheet
is noted and checked. See Figure 11.
Superseded Change. A change to a publication may supersede a previous change to another publication.
The bottom of the first page of the change should always be checked for any supersession notice because the
notice lists any superseded publications (Figure 12). Any prior changes or other publications that are totally
superseded should be removed or destroyed. If they haven't, the inspector so notes and removes or destroys as
necessary.
Written Change. If changes had to be written into a publication, as with bound publications, the posted
change should be correct and legible. It can be checked against the change sheet, which should be inserted before
the latest table of contents or change sheet. Changes should be legible and accurate because incorrect or illegible
changes are as worthless as ones that have not been posted. Posting should be done with a sharp, black lead
pencil. Changes can then be erased easily in the future if corrections or other changes are necessary.
Authority for changing a basic publication should be posted in the outside margin of the changed page. The
authority is usually given as a numbered change, for example C2, and includes the kind of change (Figures 13 and
14).
If fewer than three lines were affected, a single line should be drawn through the changed or deleted material.
When three or more lines are affected, the old material should be lined out with straight lines through first and last
lines with a connecting line from top right to bottom left, or top left to bottom right, forming a Z. On the change
sheet, each posting should be checked off after completion, and a note put next to the change in the publication
showing the kind of change and its number. (Figures 13 and 14).
Changed Pages. If changed pages have been inserted, they should be in numerical order and all replaced
pages discarded. Each new page has the change number on it. As with written changes, the change sheet should
be inserted before the latest table of contents or change sheet.
Front Cover Posting. As each change to a publication was received, the change number and date should
have been posted to the front cover of the basic publication or the first page, if there is no cover. If a change
superseded a previous change, a line should be drawn through the superseded change number and date, and the
supersession authority should be shown (Figure 15).
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