Which form is this? DA Form 5690, official title RESERVE COMPONENTS CAREER COUNSELOR INTERVIEW RECORD, used to reserve components career counselor interview record. That is the whole answer in one sentence. What follows explains the version, the file and the entries.
Am I looking at the right edition? The copy here carries the date 10/01/2019 and the status ACTIVE. Forms in the DA series are identified by edition date rather than by revision number, so that date is what you compare against.
Who is responsible for this document? G-1 maintains it, and AR 601-280 prescribes when it is used and where it goes. Completion falls to the person the entries describe or to the administrative staff holding the file. As for effort: 1 page(s), roughly 200 fields.
What the form asks for
- ADDRESS
- ADD_LOC
- AFQT
- APP_DATE
- ARNG
- ASGT_DMO
- BIR_DAY
- BONUS
- BONUS_NO
- CAR_COUN
- COL_DRG
- CONTROL
- CURRENT
- ContentArea1
- DATE_1
- DATE_2
- DATE_ETS
- DATE_PHY
- DEPENDEN
- DISCHARG
- DLAB
- DUTY_NO
- FEMALE
- GED
Download the form
What can I download here? The formats available are PDF, XFDL. Each one reproduces the identical official layout. What separates them is the method of entry, nothing on the page itself.
Should I take the fillable pdf or the printable one? Take the fillable version if you will type, since its entry areas respond to the keyboard and hold what you enter. Take the printable version if you will write by hand — it is the same blank form as a flat page image. The finished result looks the same either way.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Is a signature really the last step? Yes, and without it you have a draft, not a form. Who else signs? Whoever the form calls for — reviewer, approver, witness — in printed block order, each dated as of the day they sign. Which errors cause the most returns? Blank mandatory fields lead, followed by identification numbers with two digits swapped, dates written day-for-month, and leftover data in a reused file that goes forward as though it were meant.
What does the Privacy Act notice tell you? The legal authority behind the collection, what the information is for, the routine uses it may be put to, and whether disclosure is compulsory. When is the right moment to read it? Before completing the personal entries, at the point the statement appears. What follows from it? Your finished copy contains personal data, so store and send it the way your office handles that category.
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.
Which other forms travel with this one? Those found by series and number: DA series documents sharing a proponent or a governing directive are frequently needed in combination, and a form referenced on the face of another generally accompanies it. Do you assemble them before or after sending? Before. Continuation sheets, cover sheets and transmittals are part of the same package.
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.
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-1 or your servicing administrative office, whenever an entry, a requirement or your eligibility is in doubt.
Questions and answers
- What is DA Form 5690?
- RESERVE COMPONENTS CAREER COUNSELOR INTERVIEW RECORD
- Which edition is current?
- 10/01/2019
- Who is responsible for this form?
- G-1
- In which formats can it be downloaded?
- PDF, XFDL, PDF