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DA Form 1156 Casualty Feeder Card
What Is DA Form 1156?
DA Form 1156, Casualty Feeder Card , is a document used to report a casualty and provide all the details necessary for an adequate understanding of the situation. This form - sometimes incorrectly referred to as DD Form 1156 - was released by the U.S. Department of the Army (DA). The latest version of the document was issued on June 1, 2015 . The most recent DA Form 1156 fillable version is available for download through the link.
Alternate Name:
- Army Casualty Feeder Card.
The timely casualty reporting is the main source of the information provided to the soldier's next of kin regarding the incident and as such must be accurate, prompt, and as detailed as possible. It is one of the key elements of the Army Casualty Program. The administrative function of the casualty operations, including accounting for, reporting, and documenting all peacetime and wartime casualties is performed by Casualty Assistance Centers (CACs). All the CACs are supervised by Casualty and Memorial Affairs Operations Center (CMAOC).
The Army Casualty Feeder Card is used to report service members who have been wounded, killed in action, missing, captured, or not recovered. It often serves as the witness statement card. The information documented on this form helps to prepare field casualty reports, letters of sympathy, and award documents.
DA Form 1156 Instructions
General DA 1156 instructions are as follows:
- DA Form 1156 should be prepared right after a casualty occurs. If the battlefield situation does not allow you to fill out the form immediately, complete it as soon as you can. The responsibility to prepare the Casualty Feeder Card lies with the soldier's squad leader. In case when the squad leader does not have personal knowledge of the situation, the document is filled out by the person who does have firsthand knowledge;
- The completed forms should be submitted to the battalion level as soon as the battleground situation permits. A battalion commander ensures the correctness of the information provided, presence of all the required details, approves all missing, deceased, and Duty Status-Whereabouts Unknown (DUSTWUN) casualty reports, paying attention to a detailed description of the situation, timeliness, and accuracy if the reported inflicting force (in case of hostile casualties).
- Each Casualty Feeder Card must be forwarded to the appropriate adjutant (S-1) as soon as possible. The adjutant must check the received forms to ensure their completeness and accuracy and forward the casualty report to the appropriate level headquarters.
It is a matter of utmost importance that the initial report should be received by CMAOC within 12 hours after the incident took place. Casualties that occurred during field exercises are reported by a central casualty reporting agency established by the exercise director or designated representative . The agency prepares the DA 1156 and forwards them to the nearest CAC.
Detailed instructions and procedure descriptions are provided in Army Regulation 600-8-1, Army Casualty Program.
How to Fill Out DA Form 1156?
It is a general requirement that each submitted DA 1156 Form includes as much information about the incident as possible. At the minimum, each Casualty Feeder Card must include:
- The identification information about the service member involved (name, rank, SSN, service, and unit);
- Personnel type;
- Time and place of the incident described;
- Inflicting force;
- Type and status of casualty;
- Brief description of the situation.
All the required fields on the form are marked with asterisks. When reporting a DUSTWUN, missing, or captured personnel, include the date, time, and place where the service member was last seen. The card must include a description of the missing person: height, weight, age, eye color, scars, tattoos, and other identification marks. If the missing service member is reported deceased, the card indicates the person who identified the remains, the means of identification, the time and place of death, and the medical official who pronounced the service member dead. In case the form reports a missing, DUSTWUN, or deceased service member, it must be approved by the commander.
