US Army · ATP 3-21.18 · July 2025
The Army's manual on moving people and loads on foot, updated July 2025: 168 pages on pace, rest, load, posture, foot care and injuries.
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
- 168pages
- 3chapters
- 6appendixes
- 4 kphon roads by day
- 2025edition
Searches all 168 pages of the Army PDF and opens it at the page you pick.
Two versions of this manual
The official Army PDF
ATP 3-21.18 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 168 pages: three chapters and six appendixes
- The appendixes on posture, foot care and injuries are the most useful part for a civilian
- The Army's file, unedited
The Buckhorn Cliffs field guide
My 7-page overview of the same manual: pace and rest, water, how much to carry, packing, foot care, and injuries. It's written from the Army's text and is not an Army publication.
- 7 pages in place of 168
- Rates of march and the halt schedule
- Blister prevention and care
- 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.
- Real planning numbers for pace and rest.
- The foot care appendix is thorough and practical.
- It explains why where the weight sits matters.
- The first two chapters are about moving military units.
- Its load figures are for conditioned soldiers.
- Distances are in kilometers.
- Your plan includes walking home or walking out.
- You carry a heavy pack to hunt or hike.
- You want to stop getting blisters.
How the 168 pages break down
March execution is the longest chapter. The six appendixes together make up over a third of the book. Each bar opens the PDF at that part.
Part by part
Movement Fundamentals
24 pages, starts on PDF page 11
Types of march, rates, halts and water discipline.
March Execution
40 pages, starts on PDF page 35
How a unit is organized, controlled and supported on the march, and who is responsible for what.
Soldier Load
18 pages, starts on PDF page 75
How much a person should carry and how load is managed.
Posture and Body Mechanics
10 pages, starts on PDF page 105
How weight changes the way you walk, and how to pack and wear a load.
Training for the March
12 pages, starts on PDF page 115
Physical and mental conditioning for distance and load.
Foot Care
12 pages, starts on PDF page 127
Socks, boots, blisters, and care before, during and after.
Related Injury and Illness Awareness
14 pages, starts on PDF page 139
The overuse injuries of carrying a load, with what prevents each.
Numbers worth knowing
These are the manual's own figures. Each tile opens the page it comes from.
The parts worth reading first
For anyone outside the Army, start with the appendixes.
| Appendix | What it gives you | PDF page |
|---|---|---|
| C | Posture, and how to pack and fit a load | 105 |
| D | How to train up to distance | 115 |
| E | Foot care and blisters | 127 |
| F | Injuries and how to prevent them | 139 |
Edition and history
ATP 3-21.18, Foot Marches, is dated July 2025. It replaced the edition of 13 April 2022.
As of November 10, 2026 the Army lists it as the current edition.
ATP 3-21.18 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 ruck march manual
ATP 3-21.18, Foot Marches, dated July 2025. It is 168 pages and approved for public release.
How fast does the army march
The manual gives 4 kilometers an hour as the average sustainable rate on roads by day, and 2.4 cross-country.
Keep going
Related to this
Membership · $49.95 per year
Everything on this site, open, printable, and yours on paper
When the grid goes down, this site goes with it. Paper does not. Membership opens every member page and every recipe from the book, hands over all thirteen field guides as PDFs, and builds a binder from the pages your household uses.
- 158member pagesopen in full, every amount and every step
- 138compound recipesfrom the hardcover book, exact amounts. Pick any and add them to your manual
- 13field guides304 pages of PDFs, $130 bought one at a time
- 9military field guidesUS Army manuals cut to 66 pages and laid out to use
- 1manual of your ownbuilt from any page here, printed with your cover
- Every member page in full. the exact amounts, every step, every parts list
- Every recipe and resource from the book. all 138 from the Prepper's Chemical Survival Guide, searchable here
- All 13 field guides. read them here or download the PDFs, 304 pages
- A field guide for each of 9 Army manuals. the survival, first aid and other US Army manuals, each cut to 10 pages or fewer
- My Manual. save any page, recipe or whole guide, order it, print one binder with your own cover
- The audit and the logbook, saved. your scores and checklists on every device
- Print and Save as PDF on every page. and no ads
- One payment, $49.95 per year. Cancel any time and keep access to the end of the year you paid for.
- Sign in by email. No password, and the sign-in renews itself on every visit.
- Most of the site stays free. Membership is for the depth, the PDFs and the paper.
Stay Ready
New entries, updates, and useful instruction.
Stay one step ahead on your preparedness journey.
