DA 638 PDF Template

[toc] In the United States Army, the official form for the recommendation of a reward is called DA 638. The form is used for most types of awards, although it doesn’t cover wartime, valor, or heroism awards. These types of awards are recommended through a different bureaucratic process. This document is an application form for an Army Achievement medal. You can edit this service medal application with PDFSimpli’s user-friendly software and download it as a PDF file or other formats such as Microsoft Word.

If a person wishes to recommend another soldier for an award, they’ll use this form in the majority of cases. Wartime, valor, and heroism awards are higher-ranked and therefore use a different process. But most basic awards should use this form for their recommendation filing.

The person making the recommendation is the one responsible for filling out the form. They’ll need to give information about the soldier, themselves, and the relationship they have to the soldier. They’ll also have to note what award they’re recommending. There are several long comment boxes that allow the soldier’s achievements and the justification for the award to be listed.

After the recommendation form is complete, it will be passed along a chain of intermediate authorities. If anyone of them decides to disapprove of the recommendation, that will generally be where the process ends. However, approvals will send the recommendation further up the chain of command, until it finally reaches whatever party has the power to grant the award.

In the majority of circumstances, recommendations for awards are filed by the commander of a particular soldier. This person is in a position of authority over the soldier, and they are uniquely stationed to witness the soldier’s achievements and improvements. Commanders are encouraged to recommend their soldiers for awards as a means of positive reinforcement.

After the commander fills out the main part of the form, including the award recommendation and reasoning behind it, they will pass it on to the office directly above them. If that office approves, they will pass the form on to the office directly above them, and so on and so forth. Eventually, the form will reach the level at which the party has the power to give the award.

If a commander believes that a soldier should receive an award, and the award is not related to valor, wartime, or heroism, this is the correct form to use. Wartime and heroism awards use different forms because they are a much higher-level award.

This form is the main way in which a commander can award their soldiers for exceptional work. A recommendation must be detailed on the form and sent to the appropriate authority, passed along the correct channels until it lands in the award-issuing office. Recommendations cannot be done through spoken words or informal letters. The goal of this form is to streamline the award recommendation process so that approval and denial are easier, and awards are updated faster.

In the first block, you’ll need to note what office the recommendation is being forwarded to. This will be the office directly above the recommender’s rank. In the “From” box, the recommender will print their name. They will date the form with the date they made the recommendation.

Part I of the form gathers data about the soldier. You’ll need to write their full name, rank, and Social Security number. Provide the soldier’s organization and the current branch of service. In Box 8, you’ll need to write any previous awards the soldier has received.

Box 10 is the place to write the award you’re recommending the soldier for. In Box 11, you’ll note the period that you believe the award should cover. Box 12 provides your reasoning for the award; indicates your reason in 12a, and gives details about interim awards in 12b. If the award is being posthumously given, check “Yes” in 12c.

You should know what date you want the award to be presented to the soldier. Write this in Box 13 in YYYY-MM-DD format.

Part II will take down data about the recommender. You’ll need to provide your full name, physical address, title, and rank. In Box 18, explain the relationship you have to the awardee. Box 19 is where you’ll give your signature.

Part III is used for justifying the award recommendation with citation data. You need to have specific instances of the soldier’s achievements. These should be condensed into bullet points summarizing meritorious service or acts. You have the ability to note up to four achievements in detail. In Box 21, you’ll write your proposed citation. For an MSM, ARCOM, or AAM, you’ll merely enter the citation.

At this point, you’ve completed all the necessary information as the recommending commander. Part IV will be filled out by the intermediate authorities. When your recommendation is forwarded to the next office, the intermediate authority will note their name, recommendation, and the office that the recommendation will move to. They’ll also provide their rank, title, signature, and any additional comments they deem applicable.

Every office that handles the paperwork as it makes its way up the chain of command should use the Intermediate Authority boxes to give their information.[pdf-embedder url=”https://cdn-prod-pdfsimpli-wpcontent.azureedge.net/pdfseoforms/pdf-20180219t134432z-001/pdf/fillable-da-form-638.pdf?sv=2018-03-28&si=readpolicy&sr=c&sig=MXHnWmn0sXNXztiU%2Bugk2d7DV7KBCOuXF3oBMx0EeEw%3D”]