Maintenance window scheduled to begin at February 14th 2200 est. until 0400 est. February 15th

(e.g. yourname@email.com)

Forgot Password?

    Defense Visual Information Distribution Service Logo

    Doc Jargon: Cutting red tape makes tasks easier

    Doc Jargon: Cutting through the jargon that is the U.S. Army.

    Photo By Collen McGee | Doc Jargon, cutting through the jargon that is the U.S. Army.... read more read more

    FORT RILEY, KANSAS, UNITED STATES

    08.16.2023

    Story by Collen McGee 

    Fort Riley Public Affairs Office

    Dear Doc Jargon,

    My command has been helping me with an application to become an officer. The other day my commander said that the process is so full of red tape that just getting the thing done should earn the applicant extra college credits.

    I know she means bureaucratic administrative process when she says “red tape” and I’m curious as to how red tape came to be associated with paperwork and the administrative details of government work.

    Can you cut through and explain it?

    Sincerely,
    Taped out

    Dear Taped Out,

    I totally agree with your commander. Getting through all that process should net the applicant a couple of college credits each time. The process of some applications is definitely a learning opportunity.
    I did a little research and like most idioms, the term started out with one meaning and has morphed through time and use to take on more than originally intended. Government documents and records were once stored in folders that were secured with red twill tape. To gain access to the document, workers had to “cut through the red tape.”

    Getting permission to do that was another process.

    Eventually, dealing with any government task that had a long or difficult to follow process became “bureaucratic red tape.” Getting straight to the heart of the task became the “cutting through” part of the saying.

    So, the phrase, cutting through the red tape, has morphed to mean getting to the heart of the issue.

    I hope that cut through the red tape on the topic for you. Good luck on your application process.

    Sincerely,
    Doc Jargon

    NEWS INFO

    Date Taken: 08.16.2023
    Date Posted: 08.16.2023 09:49
    Story ID: 451448
    Location: FORT RILEY, KANSAS, US

    Web Views: 107
    Downloads: 0

    PUBLIC DOMAIN