page_title: Vehicle markings of the United States military
section_title: Applicable Army Regulations
hierarchical_section_title: Vehicle markings of the United States military / Applicable Army Regulations
caption_attribution_description: English: Photographed at the Marshallmuseum - Liberty Park - Oorlogsmuseum Overloon, The Netherlands.
context_page_description: United States Army vehicles must be marked with a unit designation to foster accountability and promote attention to detail during maintenance operations. The term "bumper number" refers the combination of numbers and letters on the front and rear of a vehicle that uniquely identify that vehicle.
  There are many regulations that govern the use of bumper numbers. These regulations serve to standardize markings across the Army in order to improve efficiency and ensure markings add to combat readiness.
  The appearance of bumper numbers is a quick and representative sampling of the maintenance status of a unit. Proficiency in marking vehicles is an excellent indicator of deeper and more substantial efficacy of a unit. Bumper numbers also serve to provide a quick reference for identification and minimize confusion in the fog of war.
context_section_description: Army Technical Bulletin 43-0209, Color, Marking, and Camouflage Painting of Military Vehicles, Construction Equipment and Materials Handling Equipment, standardizes how vehicle bumper numbers are applied. The markings are divided into four positions. Positions 1 and 2 are applied on the left, while positions 3 and 4 are applied on the right. The positions identify
  The major command, organization or activity the equipment is associated with;
  The intermediate organization or activity;
  The unit that operates and maintains the vehicle; and
  The specific vehicle number (often associated with the order of march).
  Anything beyond this policy such as assigning a specific number against a specific unit position is a matter of unit standard operating procedure. However, the number six has traditionally been associated with the commander of the element. For example, a Humvee assigned to the commander of Charlie Company would be designated "C06," while the 1st Platoon, Charlie Company's command vehicle would be "C16," 2nd Platoon would be "C26," etc.
  Army Technical Bulletin 43-0139, Painting and Instructions for Army Materiel, gives information about applying ID markings over camouflage colors. Black lettering must be used over brown or green paint, green lettering over black paint, and brown lettering over white or tan paint. There are only two authorized methods of making bumper numbers: using adhesive vinyl (stickers) and paint.
  Army Regulation 750-1, Army Materiel Maintenance Policy, allows MACOM commanders to conceal bumper numbers in tactical conditions. Overseas commanders may comply with international agreements regarding vehicle bumper numbers.  That's why some overseas commands paint solid light color rectangular boxes as the background for vehicle bumper numbers.
caption: US Army CCKW-353 truck displaying bumper markings. These indicate 3rd Army, 565th Anti-Aircraft Automatic Weapons Battalion, B Battery, 12th vehicle.
exif: {"Image ImageDescription": "OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA", "Image Make": "OLYMPUS IMAGING CORP.", "Image Model": "E-520", "Image Orientation": "0", "Image XResolution": "314", "Image YResolution": "314", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Picasa 3.0", "Image DateTime": "2010:04:30 16:27:46", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image ExifOffset": "808", "Image PrintIM": "[80, 114, 105, 110, 116, 73, 77, 0, 48, 51, 48, 48, 0, 0, 37, 0, 1, 0, 20, 0, ... ]", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "11498", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "6974", "EXIF ExposureTime": "16/5", "EXIF FNumber": "20", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Aperture Priority", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "100", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0221", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2010:04:30 16:27:46", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2010:04:30 16:27:46", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "4", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Spot", "EXIF LightSource": "Unknown", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, auto mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "13", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "Uncalibrated", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "3412", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "2559", "Interoperability InteroperabilityIndex": "R98", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "11374", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF DigitalZoomRatio": "1", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF GainControl": "None", "EXIF Contrast": "Normal", "EXIF Saturation": "Normal", "EXIF Sharpness": "Normal", "EXIF ImageUniqueID": "736a52090a7a979ae3ef3e0386d532ec"}