What does this form do? DA Form 3645 is titled ORGANIZATIONAL CLOTHING AND INDIVIDUAL EQUIPMENT RECORD, and its job is to organizational clothing and individual equipment record. Anyone sent to find "the 3645" is being sent here. Everything below expands on that one function.
Is this the current version? The edition offered here is dated 12/01/2023, published with the status ACTIVE. That date is the version number of a military form; there is no other. And no, this is not the newest one. A later edition has been published, and this copy is kept only for reference and for records already completed 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 1 page(s) with about 200 entry fields, which is the honest measure of the work involved. Who owns the form and when it is raised comes from G-4 and AR 710-4 respectively.
What the form asks for
- AUTH_A
- AUTH_A_1
- AUTH_A_10
- AUTH_A_11
- AUTH_A_12
- AUTH_A_13
- AUTH_A_14
- AUTH_A_15
- AUTH_A_16
- AUTH_A_17
- AUTH_A_19
- AUTH_A_2
- AUTH_A_20
- AUTH_A_21
- AUTH_A_22
- AUTH_A_23
- AUTH_A_24
- AUTH_A_25
- AUTH_A_26
- AUTH_A_27
- AUTH_A_28
- AUTH_A_29
- AUTH_A_3
- AUTH_A_30
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.
Do I need special software? Not for reading — a pdf opens in the browser you already have. For filling, install a full pdf reader rather than trusting the in-browser viewer, which sometimes displays fields it cannot save. Type into one field, save, reopen and confirm the text survived. Why will my xfdl file not open? Because it is IBM Lotus Forms, not pdf. The Lotus Forms Viewer is the only application that reads it.
Is it free? Yes, entirely. No registration stands between you and the file, and what arrives is exactly what the publisher released.
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.
What is the fastest way to fill the body? Tab from field to field. The order was set at build time and normally matches how the page reads, which is why tabbing catches boxes that clicking past would leave empty. And the boxes and buttons? Those take a click. Where only one option in a set can apply, choosing one deselects the other.
Why does my text vanish when I print? Because one-line fields have no wrap, and anything past the field width is truncated on paper even though the screen shows all of it. Where should the overflow go? Into remarks, or onto a continuation. What about entries that do not apply? Enter the mark meaning "none". Blank space is ambiguous; a reviewer cannot tell an omission from a considered nil.
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.
When is an edition replaced? When the proponent revises the form and publishes a new edition date. What should you do with a copy kept on your own machine? Check its date against the edition in force before reusing it. Does the change reach backwards? It does not; work already completed on an earlier edition remains valid as filed.
Is this an official Department of the Army site? No. It is an independent site distributing reproductions of published Department of the Army documents for download, with no authority to issue forms. Does it guarantee acceptance of anything you submit? It does not, and nothing on the page is legal advice. Who should you ask instead? G-4 or your servicing administrative office, whenever an entry, a requirement or your eligibility is in doubt.
Questions and answers
- What is DA Form 3645?
- ORGANIZATIONAL CLOTHING AND INDIVIDUAL EQUIPMENT RECORD
- Which edition is current?
- 12/01/2023
- Who is responsible for this form?
- G-4
- In which formats can it be downloaded?
- PDF, XFDL, PDF
Publisher notes
- DATA REQUIRED BY THE PRIVACY ACT OF 1974