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Like everything else in the US military, there is a written standard to support this style. See Army Regulation 25-50, Section IV "The Army Writing Style" https

• herdrick 7y ago
  That's the passive voice! The explanation for why their example of the active voice is in fact the passive voice is right below, in section "e". That's pretty funny.
  • alexjm 7y ago
    Trying to make it active requires moving the key information to the end of the sentence: "The time you spent in training last year entitles you to jump pay [for that time]." Although style guides like this one usually advise against using passive voice because it makes things harder to read, clarity should be the goal, not just active voice. This is a good example of a reason you might prefer passive voice: because the verb's subject isn't the focus. Passive voice can also be clearer than active voice when there's no relevant or meaningful actor to use as the subject.
    • jejones3141 7y ago
      Perhaps "You deserve jump pay for time spent in training last year"?
      • herdrick 7y ago
        Or "The Army will pay you for ..."
      • dragonwriter 7y ago
        That is active voice, but subtly changes the meaning. “Deserve” suggests non-binding moral qualification, “are entitled to” suggests binding legal qualification. “You earned jump pay for...” is closer. Honestly, though, this is a case where the usual purpose of active voice rules (to avoid deenohasizing or obscuring responsibility) is not actually frustrated even though the sample is in passive voice so while I wouldn't use it as an example of active voice I wouldn't necessarily avoid it even given an avoid-passive-voice guideline. (And I've reviewed documents under publication manuals with such guidelines.)
        • dllthomas 7y ago
          In another thread, I got to: "Applicable regulations entitle you to jump pay for the time you spent in training last year." For the passive reading I think that's the correct active version.
      • e12e 7y ago
        You qualify for..?
  • jameshart 7y ago
    It's not really a passive sentence, even though it has all the attributes the Army apparently deems necessary and sufficient to declare it as such in section e. But a passive sentence is one where the subject is absent - but in this sentence, the subject is 'you'. 'Entitled to jump pay for the time you spent in training last year' is an adjectival phrase. The sentence makes an active statement about the recipient: You are entitled to jump pay for the time you spent in training last year. is no more passive than You are a fine soldier. A passive version of this sentence would be more like You are being granted jump pay for the time you spent in training last year.
    • dllthomas 7y ago
      The subject of the verb "to entitle" is that which grants entitlement. The recipient is the object. I think we can legitimately read the sentence as passive. Active; "applicable regulations" are doing something: "Applicable regulations entitle you to jump pay for the time you spent in training last year." Passive; "applicable regulations" are still doing something: "You are entitled by applicable regulations to jump pay for the time you spent in training last year." Still passive; vague about what's doing something: "You are entitled to jump pay for the time you spent in training last year." As you point out, "entitled" is often used as an adjective. I think you're right that the sentence can be read that way, and in that case it is indeed active. After consideration, I think the passive read is more correct, but I can't yet put my finger on why.
      • SomeOldThrow 7y ago
        https://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=3096 https://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=3096
        • dllthomas 7y ago
          Was that the wrong link? I was excited that someone had done the digging in language log to find a post that clarifies (I'd bet there's a few), but that one doesn't seem relevant.
  • rikroots 7y ago
    I'd argue it's active. But the choice of verb - "to be entitled to" - is poor. A conditional "claim" would make for a better active sentence: "You can claim jump pay for the time..."
    • gbacon 7y ago
      Argue all you want, but it’s still passive voice. The sentence does not tell the reader who or what is the source of entitlement. Even if it did, it may still be passive voice (You are entitled … by AR XX-X …). The same sentence in active voice is “Army Regulation XX-X entitles you to jump pay for …” Your suggested improvement is in the active voice, but it’s still wordy. Using can weakens a statement, so look to eliminate this worthless verb. Prefer will or in this case get to the point with “Claim jump pay on Form DDXXXX for the time …”
• jcurbo 7y ago
  The Air Force has a similar guide that has been around for decades, the "Tongue and Quill." We were introduced to it starting in officer training. https://static.e-publishing.af.mil/production/1/saf_cio_a6/publication/afh33-337/afh33-337.pdf https://static.e-publishing.af.mil/production/1/saf_cio_a6/p...
  • Godel_unicode 7y ago
    Of course the Army name is practical and descriptive, and the Air Force name is whimsical.
    • warent 7y ago
      Come to think of it that is a strangely poetic name for a military standard
  • feedbeef 7y ago
    As does CIA https://fas.org/irp/cia/product/style.pdf https://fas.org/irp/cia/product/style.pdf
    • insulanus 7y ago
      On the one hand - I really want to read that. On the other hand, should I download this PDF from the CIA?
      • SkyMarshal 7y ago
        That link isn’t the CIA.