Air Force Official Memorandum Generator

Air Force and Space Force official memorandum format: what the generator sets

The official memorandum of AFH 33-337 and AFMAN 33-326. Each rule is followed by where it is written.

Page setup

Paper and ink

Printed letterhead, computer-generated letterhead or plain bond paper, 8½ by 11 inches; black ink for the text. Continuation pages are plain bond. (AFH 33-337 p. 163; AFMAN 33-326 par. 3.1)

Margins

One inch left, right and bottom. Shorter memorandums may use wider margins (10–19 lines: 1 to 1½ inches; 1–9 lines: 1½ to 2 inches). The generator uses one inch. (AFH 33-337 p. 163)

Font

12-point Times New Roman; a smaller size, not below 10 point, may be used to control page breaks. The signature block is never on a page by itself. (AFH 33-337 p. 164)

Letterhead

The seal is one inch in diameter, ½ inch from the top and left edges. The first line is centered with its top ⅝ inch from the top of the sheet, 12 point; the organization and location lines are 10.5 point; the bottom of the third line is 1 1/16 inches from the top. Uppercase Copperplate Gothic Bold "or equivalent"; no more than four lines. (AFMAN 33-326 pars. 3.3.2–3.3.3, 3.4.2, Figure 3.1)

Air Force and Space Force

Heading

Date

One inch from the right edge, 1.75 inches from the top of the page. "15 October 2014" or "15 Oct 14" for military addressees; "October 15, 2014" for civilian addressees. (AFH 33-337 p. 164)

MEMORANDUM FOR

On the second line below the date; two spaces, then the organization and office symbol in capitals. More addressees are aligned under the first. IN TURN goes one line below the last address, aligned with the addresses. A long list becomes MEMORANDUM FOR DISTRIBUTION. (AFH 33-337 pp. 164–165)

ATTENTION

"ATTENTION:", "ATTN:" or "THROUGH:" with the rank and last name, on the line immediately below, aligned under the address. (AFH 33-337 p. 166)

FROM

Flush left on the second line below MEMORANDUM FOR (or ATTENTION); two spaces, then the office symbol. The mailing address follows on the next lines when it is not on the letterhead: street, then city, state and ZIP+4 with two spaces before the ZIP code and no comma. (AFH 33-337 p. 166)

SUBJECT

On the second line below FROM; two spaces, then the title with the first letter of each word capitalized except articles, prepositions and conjunctions. A second line starts under the first word of the title. (AFH 33-337 p. 167)

References

One reference goes in parentheses after the subject title. Two or more go under "References:" on the second line below SUBJECT, lettered (a), (b), (c). (AFH 33-337 pp. 167–168)

Air Force and Space Force

Text

Text

Starts on the second line below the subject or references. Single-spaced, with one blank line between paragraphs and subparagraphs. Paragraphs are numbered; a single paragraph is not. (AFH 33-337 p. 169)

Subparagraphs

The first line is indented so that the number or letter sits under the first character of the parent paragraph's text; every later line returns to the left margin. Levels: 1., a., (1), (a), underlined 1, underlined a, [1]. (AFH 33-337 pp. 169, 180)

Continuation pages

At least two lines of text on each page; a paragraph of fewer than four lines is not divided. The first page is never numbered. Numbers are optional on a one- or two-page memorandum and required on a longer one: ½ inch from the top, flush right, starting with page 2, with the text four lines below the number. (AFH 33-337 p. 169)

Air Force and Space Force

Closing

Authority line

"FOR THE COMMANDER" in capitals on the second line below the text, 4.5 inches from the left edge of the page. (AFH 33-337 p. 170)

Signature block

On the fifth line below the text (or below the authority line), 4.5 inches from the left edge. Name in capitals, grade and service; duty title; organization if it is not on the letterhead. A line that is too long continues under the third character of the line above. In a dual signature the junior official is at the left margin. (AFH 33-337 pp. 170–171)

Attachments

"Attachment:" or "2 Attachments:" at the left margin on the third line below the signature block; two or more are numbered. The listing is not divided between pages. (AFH 33-337 pp. 171–172)

cc and DISTRIBUTION

"cc:" on the second line below the attachments, or the third line below the signature block. "DISTRIBUTION:" on the second line below the attachments or cc, or the third line below the signature block. (AFH 33-337 pp. 172–173)

Air Force and Space Force

Indorsements and the memorandum for record

Indorsements

Numbered 1st Ind, 2d Ind, 3d Ind. On the same page: "1st Ind, office symbol" at the left with the date flush right, on the second line below the last element of what it indorses; then MEMORANDUM FOR, the text and the signature block. On a separate page: the first line cites the indorsement number with the originator's office, the date and the subject of the original; the second line carries the indorsing office and the date. (AFH 33-337 pp. 182–183)

Memorandum for record

The separate-page MR reads MEMORANDUM FOR RECORD, has no FROM element, and is signed with the name and the organization and office symbol in place of the duty title. The explanatory note goes on the record copy under "MEMO FOR RECORD" and the date, on the second line below the signature block. (AFH 33-337 p. 188)