Department of Defense - Government Documents - Military and Veterans Agencies - Research Guides at University of Hawaii at Manoa

About DoD

The War Department was one of the first federal government agencies, dating back to 1789. Following World War II, the National Military Establishment (NME) was created in 1947. It included the Department of the Army, the Department of the Navy, and the newly-established Department of the Air Force. The Department of Defense (DoD) came into existence in 1949 and succeeded the NME.

Records of the Secretary of Defense at National Archives

Government Documents holds an extensive collection of War Department, NME, and DoD publications, including the following titles:

Annual/semiannual report of the Secretary of Defense
Call Number: GOVD M 101.1:; D 1.1:
Reports on the major activities of each branch of the military, including manpower and budget statistics.
Armed forces decorations and awards
Call Number: GOVD D 2.14:GEN-40
Publication Date: 1989
Illustrations of medals, ribbons, and order of precedence.

Most pre-1900 War Department and Navy documents, including the Annual report of the Secretary of War, are available in the U.S. Congressional Serial Set (UHM login required).

Additional documents covering 1910-1932 are available in the Executive Branch Documents microfiche set. DoD directives covering 1954 to present are available online and other publications for the years 1953-1980 are available on microcards. Please contact a government documents librarian if you have questions about our holdings.

We have thousands of Congressional hearings, prints, and documents about every aspect of the military. Search for these in ProQuest Congressional (UHM login required). We also have a variety of general publications, pamphlets, and other War Deptartment and DoD materials.

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Hawai'i War Records Depository at UH Archives
The Hawaii War Records Depository (HWRD) is an extensive collection of archival materials that document life in Hawaii during World War II. In April of 1943, during its first session after the United States' entrance into World War II, the Hawaii Territorial Legislature passed a joint resolution designating the University of Hawaii as the official depository of material related to Hawaii's part in the war. Over a five year period, individuals, organizations and agencies throughout the state donated or loaned correspondence, personal accounts, reports, photographs, scrapbooks, phonograph discs, maps, posters, artwork, pamphlets, newspapers, clippings, memorabilia and other materials.

DoD YouTube Channel
C-SPAN
C-SPAN broadcasts Congressional hearings about military programs, budget, and other topics.
National Archives YouTube Channel
NARA hosts many videos featuring various branches of the armed services.
Deep dive into Defense: Locating DoD reports
Viewers will learn how to find defense reports and documents using GPO resources, other public sites, and some creative thinking. Examples include searching for reports on a topic, searching when you have a partial citation, and searching for statistics.

Internet resources

Air Force e-publishing
Air Force publications and forms
Air University Library Index to Military Periodicals
Index to articles in periodicals published by branches of the military from 1988-present. Older issues are also available in Government Documents under call number D 301.26/2:
Army War College Library
The Military History Institute at the Army War College has an extensive collection of unit histories. The Army Military Institute also has copies of Army publications that may not be available elsewhere.
ASSIST
Quick Search ASSIST allows users to search for military specifications and standards. Most may be downloaded for free.
Center for Legislative Archives
The CLA, part of the National Archives, is the repository for copies of documents printed by the Government Printing Office. Its holdings date back to 1895. It is the collection of last resort for publications listed in the Monthly Catalog of Government Publications.
Combined Arms Research Library
CARL supports the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, and is a source for Army documents.
data.mil
The Department of Defense's open data portal.
DTIC Technical Reports Search
DTIC is the Defense Technical Information Center. You can search technical reports from many military sources, most of which are available in full text. We may have other reports in print or microform.
Duke University Libraries
Duke University Library is a Center of Excellence for Economic Analysis Bureau, International Trade Administration, International Trade Commission, Military History Center, Naval Historical Center, and Women's Bureau. It collects publications of these agencies comprehensively.
Historical Programs and Activities in the Executive Branch
Society for History in the Federal Government's guide to historical offices in federal agencies, including many military archives and museums.
How to get it : a guide to defense-related information resources
Guide to obtaining a variety of DoD publications, regulations, directives, forms, etc.
Military Service Records and Unit Histories: A Guide to Locating Sources
Congressional Research Service guide, written for members of Congress to aid in assisting constituents (PDF)
Staff College Automated Military Periodical Index (SCAMPI)
Index to articles on military and naval art and science, operational warfare, joint planning, national and international politics from military, government, and other sources.
U.S. Army Heritage Collection Online
Some online collections and catalogs of the archival holdings of the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center in Carlisle Barracks, PA.
Where to find military information
Naval Postgraduate School guide to finding military information.
Air Force History Index
Unofficial index to over 500,000 Air Force publications.
National Technical Reports Library
DoD regulations and directives are available from National Technical Information Service (NTIS).
Government Accountability Office
GAO publishes numerous reports and provides testimony to Congressional committees about procurement, budgeting, weapons programs, bases, and other aspects of the military.

Military & Government Collection
Full text content consists of peer-reviewed and other scholarly journals, with a focus on engineering. The database includes the following features: over 100 new full text titles added, bringing the total number of full text to 287 titles, full text country reports from CountryWatch, 245 full text pamphlets, and indexing and abstract coverage for dozens of newly added journals.
EBSCO has made changes to the database previously entitled Military Library FullTEXT. The database, now known as Military and Government Collection, has been enhanced with added content. EBSCO has also given the database a sharper focus to better meet the needs of its users in military and non-military government libraries.