US Army · TC 4-02.3 · May 2015
The Army's short manual on staying healthy without plumbing: 48 pages on personal hygiene, heat, cold, insects and disinfecting water.
The Army PDF is free and in the public domain. The field guide comes with membership, or it's $10 as a PDF. All 9 manuals
- 48pages
- 3chapters
- 1appendix
- 80%of past casualties were not combat
Searches all 48 pages of the Army PDF and opens it at the page you pick.
Two versions of this manual
The official Army PDF
TC 4-02.3 exactly as the US Army published it. It's a work of the US government, so it's in the public domain, and it's marked "Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited."
- All 48 pages: three chapters and the water appendix
- The shortest manual in this set
- The Army's file, unedited
The Buckhorn Cliffs field guide
My 6-page overview of the same manual: staying clean, heat and cold, fumes, noise, sleep and pests, disinfecting water, and running a group. It's written from the Army's text and is not an Army publication.
- 6 pages in place of 48
- The hygiene kit, the heat numbers and the leader checklist
- Boxes, charts, steps and checklists you can use at a glance
- Every section gives the page in the Army PDF
- Downloads as a PDF and saves to My Manual
Only want this one? Buy the field guide PDF for $10. This page is the free breakdown of the Army PDF. The field guide is the short version to print and keep.
- Short enough to read in one sitting.
- It treats hygiene as what keeps people working, with the history to back it.
- Chapter 3 is a ready checklist for whoever is in charge of a group.
- Dated May 2015.
- It points to other manuals for the detail on latrines and pest control.
- Water treatment stops at the five-gallon can. Bulk supply is in the longer manual.
- You are planning for a long outage and want the basics of staying healthy.
- You lead a group: a family, a camp, a crew.
- You want a quick read before the longer sanitation manual.
How the 48 pages break down
Individual measures take up the largest share. The appendix on disinfecting water is close behind. Each bar opens the PDF at that part.
Part by part
Health Threats in Military Operations
4 pages, starts on PDF page 7
Why disease and nonbattle injury have taken more people out of action than combat, and the principles of prevention.
Individual Preventive Medicine Measures
12 pages, starts on PDF page 11
What each person does: hygiene, heat and cold, insects, food and water habits, sleep, and hazards like carbon monoxide and noise.
Unit-Level Preventive Medicine Measures
10 pages, starts on PDF page 23
What a leader checks and enforces for the whole group.
Disinfecting Water
8 pages, starts on PDF page 33
Small-scale water treatment by the canteen and the can.
Numbers worth knowing
These are the manual's own figures. Each tile opens the page it comes from.
What the water appendix covers
Appendix A is for small quantities: a canteen, a hydration system, a five-gallon can. It walks through each method the Army issues. Read the doses and contact times in the manual itself, with the notes that go with them.
Edition and history
TC 4-02.3, Field Hygiene and Sanitation, is dated May 2015. It replaced FM 21-10 of June 2000. ATP 4-25.12, Unit Field Sanitation Teams, is its longer companion.
As of November 10, 2026 the Army lists it as the current edition.
TC 4-02.3 is a US Army publication, in the public domain as a work of the US government and marked "Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited." The Buckhorn Cliffs field guide is my own summary of it and is not an Army publication. BuckhornCliffs.com is not affiliated with or endorsed by the US Army or the Department of Defense.
Questions this answers
Tap a question for the short answer.
What is the army field hygiene manual
TC 4-02.3, Field Hygiene and Sanitation, dated May 2015. It is 48 pages and approved for public release.
Did tc 4-02.3 replace fm 21-10
Yes. TC 4-02.3 took the place of FM 21-10, Field Hygiene and Sanitation.
Is tc 4-02.3 free
Yes. It is a work of the US government, in the public domain and approved for public release.
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