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DA Form 78 belongs to the DA series of Department of the Army publications. Its official title is RECOMMENDATION FOR PROMOTION TO 1LT/CW2, and its stated purpose is recommendation for promotion to 1lt/cw2. Edition in force: 11/01/2016. Publication status: ACTIVE. Length is 1 page(s), with roughly 150 fields available for entry.
The office of primary responsibility is G-1. Use is prescribed by AR 600-8-29, which defines when the form is raised and where it goes afterward. The form is normally completed by the subject of the entries or by administrative personnel maintaining the record, then reviewed and signed as the governing authority directs.
Formats offered: PDF, XFDL. All are the same published layout in different containers, and the choice between them is a matter of how the entries will be made rather than what appears on the page. The pdf serves as the authoritative rendering. A fillable pdf exposes editable fields on screen; a printable pdf is the blank form as a flat page for handwriting.
A pdf opens in any current browser or in a dedicated reader. Fillable behaviour is more reliable in a full reader than in a browser viewer, where some field types render but do not save. An xfdl file is also published. This is the IBM Lotus Forms format used within Army systems; it requires the Lotus Forms Viewer and will not open in a pdf reader or a word processor.
Every format is available at no charge and without sign-up. Files are distributed exactly as published, with no changes to the page.
What the form asks for
- ADOR
- ADOR_OF
- A_DATE
- A_IS
- A_IS_NOT
- A_NAME
- A_REMARKS
- A_SIGN
- B_DATE
- B_GRADE
- B_NAME
- B_REMARKS
- B_SIGN
- CONSTRUC
- C_DATE
- C_SIGN
- ContentArea1
- DATE_OF
- DODID
- DUTY
- EADC
- FORWARD
- GRADE
- IS_NOT
Completion follows the printed sequence of blocks from the top of the page downward. The heading area takes the identifying particulars — name, identification number, organisation, date of preparation. Retrieval of the record from a file depends on these entries, and they are therefore filled first.
Fillable fields accept typing directly. Tab advances from one field to the next in the order the form was built, which is normally the reading order of the page. Check boxes and option buttons are clicked; where a set of options is exclusive, selecting one clears the rest. Fields sized for a single line will not wrap, and text exceeding the width is truncated in print even where it remains visible on screen. Long entries belong in the remarks area or on a continuation, not compressed into a narrow field.
The signature block is completed last and by hand or by an accepted electronic means. An unsigned form is a draft. Where a second signature is called for — reviewing official, approving authority, witness — each is applied in the order the blocks appear and dated as of application, not as of preparation. Blank mandatory fields are the most frequent defect; a nil entry is marked as such rather than left empty. Other recurring faults: transposed digits in identification numbers, dates in the wrong order of day and month, and stale copies retaining prior data because a working file was reused instead of a fresh blank form.
A Privacy Act statement appears on the form where personal information is collected. It sets out the authority for collection, the purpose, the routine uses, and whether disclosure is mandatory or voluntary. The statement is read before entry, not after. Completed copies carry personal data and are handled and stored under the safeguards applicable to that data.
The completed form is routed as the governing authority prescribes: to the office named in the directive, through the unit administrative channel, or into the individual's file, depending on the case. A copy is retained by the preparer. Filing and retention follow the records schedule applicable to the series rather than local practice.
Associated documents are located through the series and number scheme. Forms in the DA series with the same proponent or the same prescribing directive tend to be used as a set, and any form named on the face of another normally accompanies it. Continuations, cover sheets, and transmittals fall into this category and are gathered before the package is sent.
Revision by the proponent supersedes an edition. Version is read from the edition date printed on the form itself, and a stored copy is compared against the current edition before it is used again. Documents already executed under an earlier edition are not redone because of the change.
What is offered here are copies of published Department of the Army documents, made available for download. The site is independent of the Department of the Army and publishes no forms of its own. The material is informational and not legal advice, and no statement is made about whether any office will accept a given document. Questions of entry, requirement, or eligibility go to the proponent or the servicing administrative office.
Questions and answers
- What is DA Form 78?
- RECOMMENDATION FOR PROMOTION TO 1LT/CW2
- Which edition is current?
- 11/01/2016
- Who is responsible for this form?
- G-1
- In which formats can it be downloaded?
- PDF, XFDL, PDF