DA Form 3294 Ration Slip: Filling Out, Pickup, and Turn-In

To fill out DA Form 3294, the Ration Request, Issue, and Turn-In Slip, enter the supply activity in the TO field and your unit in the FROM field, mark either the Request or Turn-In block with the date, list each ration item with its menu number, unit of issue, and quantities for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, then sign the appropriate certification block. The form is governed by AR 30-22, with completion instructions in DA PAM 30-22, and the current version is available through the Army Publishing Directorate at armypubs.army.mil.

What to Gather Before You Start

You need three things in hand before you touch the form.

First, an accurate headcount for every meal the request covers, broken out by breakfast, lunch, and dinner for each day. The commander provides present-for-duty numbers to the culinary management NCO in time to build the request.¹ Undercounting leaves soldiers unfed; overcounting creates waste your unit still has to account for.

Second, the right ration type. MREs suit mobile operations without cooking capability. UGR-A modules contain perishable and frozen items and require organized food service facilities and cold storage, while UGR-H&S modules need only a heat source.²

Third, the designation of the supply activity you are drawing from — a Troop Issue Subsistence Activity (TISA), Food Service Company, Main Support Battalion, or Direct Support element. Have your own unit designation and the consumption dates ready too.

Filling Out the Request

The form uses named fields rather than a numbered-block sequence. Start at the top:

TO: the designation of the supply activity receiving the request. If your field kitchen draws from a TISA, put the TISA there.
FROM: your unit’s designation.
Request block: mark an X and enter the submission date.
Consumption Date(s): the dates the rations will actually be eaten. Match these to the schedule of issues published by the supporting Class I activity or TISA.

Then move to the item lines in the body. Pre-printed versions of DA Form 3294 list common ration items. For anything not pre-printed, use a blank form and enter the National Stock Number, nomenclature, and can size where applicable.³

Items: the menu number of the ration module when one applies, taken from the schedule of issues.
U/I (Unit of Issue): containers (CO) for milk, servings (SV) for bread and fruit, boxes (BX) for MREs, each (EA) for cereal, meals (ME) for nonunitized A or B rations.
B/L/D columns: quantities for breakfast, lunch, and dinner separately. Base enhancement items like bread and milk on the actual personnel count.
Total: the sum of B/L/D entries on that line.

The food service sergeant signs the Requested By block at the bottom to certify the request.⁴ Use Remarks for anything that needs explanation, and write “see reverse” if you run out of space.

Picking Up the Rations

Bring the completed form, a DD Form 577 (Signature Card), and a valid military ID. The TISA will not release rations to anyone who cannot present both cards.⁵ Supply point personnel review the slip and check it against the published issue schedule.

Count every item during the hand-off. Actual weights are rounded to the nearest whole pound, and the actual quantities issued (by weight or count) are written on the document. When the count matches, the issuer signs the Issued By block and you sign the Received By block. That signature moves accountability from the supply point to your unit. Leaving without signing means rations with no paper trail, which is how FLIPL investigations start.

Turning In Unused Rations

When the exercise or meal period ends, unopened items in their original packaging go back to the supply point. Prepare three copies of DA Form 3294 for the turn-in.³

TO: the supply activity receiving the turn-in.
FROM: your field kitchen’s designation.
Turn-In block: mark an X and enter the date.
Items: pre-printed forms for standard items; NSN, nomenclature, and can size on a blank form for non-standard items.
U/I: box, pan, pound, or whatever unit applies.
Total: total quantity of each line item being returned.
Supply Action: left for the supply point to fill in with the quantity actually received.

The person making the turn-in signs the Issued By block, and supply point personnel sign the Received By block. The turn-in reduces the unit’s total financial obligation for the rations originally drawn.

Lateral Transfers Between Units

DA Form 3294 also documents lateral transfers when a field kitchen sends rations to another unit or back to a garrison dining facility. The food service sergeant prepares two copies. List items by category: all entrees on one line, vegetables on another, starches on another, desserts on another, and other items on separate lines. Both the transferring and receiving parties sign.¹ For airdropped operational rations that cannot be consumed in the field, mark the form “Air Dropped” so the receiving activity knows the source.

Timing and Submission

The TISA publishes a schedule of issues for each accounting period, and requests must follow that cycle. Active Army units submit headcount and ration request data at least once per week.⁵ If a request spans two accounting periods, submit separate forms for each. Coordinate early on multi-day issues if your cold-chain capability is limited, since the TISA considers unit storage capacity when scheduling.

Mistakes That Get Slips Rejected

The form looks simple, and supply point personnel still reject slips regularly. The most common problems:

Wrong unit of issue. Requesting MREs by “each” instead of “box” is a routine rejection.
Blank consumption dates, or dates that do not match the published issue schedule.
Illegible entries or unmarked alterations. Correct an error by drawing a single line through it, initialing, and writing the correction nearby.
A single form covering two accounting periods. Split it. The TISA tracks costs by period.

Why the Paperwork Matters

Completed DA Form 3294 slips become part of the unit’s permanent records under the Army Records Information Management System (ARIMS) and the Records Retention Schedule – Army (RRS-A).⁶ During financial audits, inspectors compare what was requested and issued against what was consumed or turned in. Gaps without supporting documentation draw scrutiny.

Unaccounted-for rations can trigger a Financial Liability Investigation of Property Loss under AR 735-5. In serious cases involving willful loss or wrongful disposal, prosecution under UCMJ Article 108 is possible; the statute reaches anyone who “without proper authority” loses, damages, destroys, or disposes of U.S. military property through willfulness or neglect.⁷ That risk sounds abstract until a pallet of UGR-A modules disappears without a signed turn-in slip. The three copies of DA Form 3294 you prepare for every transaction are your unit’s proof the food went where it was supposed to go.

1
Army Publishing Directorate. ATP 4-41 Army Field Feeding and Class I Operations
2
Defense Logistics Agency. Operational Rations – Unitized Group Ration, A
3
New York Division of Military and Naval Affairs. STP 10-92G25 MOS 92G Soldier’s Manual
4
Department of the Army. Army Regulation 30-21 – The Army Field Feeding System
5
Department of the Army. Army Troop Issue Subsistence Activity Operating Policies
6
Army Publishing Directorate. Army Regulation 25-400-2 – Army Records Management Program
7
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 10 USC 908 – Military Property of United States-Loss, Damage, Destruction, or Wrongful Disposition