There were a few times I had to give orders in writing. It was ALWAYS on official letterhead, and in the presence of the 1st Sgt. The person receiving the order signed an acknowledgement that they had received and understood the order and the 1st Sgt signed as a witness.
Well, I was just a lowly OS3 on a teensy-weensy ship, so no one would waste time doing that for lil ol' me...
Oh well ;0)
But, as an aside, I forged an email from the head of CBS to Dan Rather, ordering him to come clean this morning. If he doesn't, I'll just forge another one telling him to clean out his desk, and wait for security to escort him off the premises ;)
Question. Suppose an order had been given to take a physical, could the order have been countermanded verbally over the phone? For example, suppose Lt. Bush phoned the Colonel and said that they didn't have enough planes in the Alabama Guard for their OWN pilots, and were not going to let him fly, and suggested that the physical be postponed until he returned to Texas.