What is DA Form 1618? It is the Department of the Army form titled APPLICATION FOR DETAIL AS STUDENT OFFICER AT A CIVILIAN EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION OR AT TRAINING WITH INDUSTRY, and it exists so that you can application for detail as student officer at a civilian educational institution or at training with industry. That single line covers most of what people arrive looking for. The rest of this page fills in the details.
Which edition is on this page? The one dated 12/01/2019, status ACTIVE. On army forms the edition date is the version, printed on the page itself so any copy can be checked. Be aware that a more recent edition has since been issued. This version is superseded and stays here for reference and for records already filled out on it.
Who fills it out, and how long does it take? The individual named in the entries fills it, or a records clerk fills it on that person's behalf. Length is 2 page(s) with about 198 entry fields, which is the honest measure of the work involved. Who owns the form and when it is raised comes from G-1 and AR 621-1 respectively.
What the form asks for
- ADDRESS
- ADDRESS_2
- APPLICANT
- ContentArea1
- ContentArea2
- DATE
- DESIRE
- EXCEPT
- FAX
- FROM_B
- GRADE
- GRE
- LEG_RES
- NAME
- NOT_DSR
- OPINION
- ORGAN
- P_AVG
- P_AVG_1
- P_COURSE
- P_COURSE_1
- P_DEGREE
- P_DEGREE_1
Download the form
What file types are offered? PDF, XFDL. The page image is the same in every one of them; only the way you complete it changes from format to format.
Fillable or printable — which do I want? Fillable, if there is a keyboard involved: the boxes are interactive objects that store text. Printable, if there is a pen involved: the boxes are just lines on paper. Nothing else distinguishes them.
What do I open a pdf with? Any current browser will display one, and any dedicated reader will do better. For fillable use the reader is the safer choice, because some browser viewers accept typing and then discard it when the tab closes. Test one field and one save before committing. What opens an xfdl file? Only the IBM Lotus Forms Viewer. The format is IBM Lotus Forms, carried by several Army systems, and no pdf reader or word processor will touch it.
Do I have to sign up? No. Every format is free, no account is involved, and the file is distributed unmodified.
What goes in first? The heading block — your name exactly as official records show it, then identification number, then organisation, then the date you prepared the form. Is the order important? It is, because those four entries become the index for the finished record, and an error there is the one mistake that hides the document from everyone looking for it.
How do you move through the fields? By tab, not by mouse. The tab order was fixed when the form was built and generally follows the reading order of the page, so following it is the simplest way to avoid skipping a box. What about check boxes? Click them. If a group is exclusive, your new selection clears the old one — that is the design, not a malfunction.
What happens if your answer is too long for the field? It prints cut off. A single-line field does not wrap, so text running past the edge stays readable on screen and then disappears at the margin on paper. What do you do instead? Move it to the remarks area or onto a continuation sheet. And a field that does not apply to you? Mark it as not applicable rather than leaving it blank — an empty box tells the reviewer nothing about whether you read the question.
When do you sign? Last, after every other entry is settled. Until the signature is applied the document is a draft, however complete it looks. What if more than one signature is required? Reviewing official, approving authority and witness sign in the order the blocks print, and each dates the form on the day of signing rather than the day it was prepared. What goes wrong most often? Mandatory fields left empty, transposed digits in identification numbers, dates with day and month reversed, and old entries surviving in a working copy that was reused instead of a fresh blank form.
Why does the form carry a Privacy Act statement? Because personal information is being collected, and the statement declares the authority, the purpose, who else routinely sees the data, and whether answering is required or optional. Is it worth reading? Read it before you fill the fields it governs, not after. Does it change how you keep the file? It should — a filled copy is a personal record and gets the handling such records receive.
What happens after signing? The form is routed as the prescribing directive requires: to a named office, through the unit administrative channel, or into the personal file. Do you get the original back? No, so make a copy first. Who sets the retention period? The applicable records schedule, not the office holding the document.
How do you find related forms? By series and number. Documents in the DA series sharing a proponent or a prescribing directive are commonly used together, and a form cited on the face of another usually goes forward with it. When should you gather them? Before submission — continuation sheets, cover sheets and transmittal documents belong in the package from the start.
What causes a form to be superseded? A revision issued by the proponent, after which the previous edition date no longer matches the one in force. How do you check a copy you saved? Read the edition date on the page and hold it against the current edition. Must earlier submissions be redone? They must not — a completed record executed on a prior edition is unaffected.
What exactly is this site? A place to download reproductions of published Department of the Army documents. Is it part of the Department of the Army? No — it is independent, issues no forms of its own, and has no authority over any of them. Can it tell you whether your completed form will be accepted? It cannot, and nothing written here is legal advice. Who answers the real questions? G-1 or the administrative office servicing your unit, on any question of entry, requirement or eligibility.
Questions and answers
- What is DA Form 1618?
- APPLICATION FOR DETAIL AS STUDENT OFFICER AT A CIVILIAN EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION OR AT TRAINING WITH INDUSTRY
- Which edition is current?
- 12/01/2019
- Who is responsible for this form?
- G-1
- In which formats can it be downloaded?
- PDF, XFDL, PDF