DD Form 2977 Deliberate Risk Assessment Worksheet: Blocks and Approval

To fill out DD Form 2977, the Deliberate Risk Assessment Worksheet, you work through 15 blocks in order: identify the mission, list each hazard with its initial risk rating from the Risk Assessment Matrix, assign specific controls, reassess the residual risk, and route the form to the approval authority whose signature your unit’s risk policy requires. The form is the Department of Defense’s standard tool for documenting hazards and controls before a mission or training event, and it applies across all service branches. You can download the current version from the DoD Executive Services Directorate at esd.whs.mil under the DD 2500–2999 index, or from the Army Publishing Directorate at armypubs.army.mil. Work from the current edition, not an old copy sitting on a shared drive.

Understand the Risk Assessment Matrix Before You Write Anything

The matrix printed on the worksheet is the tool you use to rate every hazard. Probability runs across the top, severity down the left, and their intersection gives you a risk level of Extremely High, High, Medium, or Low. You will enter that level in Block 6 (initial) and Block 9 (residual).1Army Publishing Directorate. ATP 5-19 Risk Management – Table 1-1 Risk Assessment Matrix

Probability

ATP 5-19 defines five probability levels based on how often a harmful event is expected given a number of exposures:2Army Publishing Directorate. ATP 5-19 Risk Management

  • Frequent (A): the event happens continuously or inevitably with exposure, roughly once per 500 exposures without controls. A heat injury during a battalion run under a category-5 heat index with unacclimated soldiers fits here.
  • Likely (B): occurs commonly, expected several times over roughly 1,000 exposures. IED detonations and aircraft wire strikes are examples.
  • Occasional (C): neither common nor uncommon. A unit may or may not see it during a deployment. Unexploded ordnance detonation and fratricide fall here.
  • Seldom (D): infrequent and remotely possible; several things usually need to go wrong at once, like a heat-related death in a temperate environment.
  • Unlikely (E): possible but improbable. Planners assume it will not occur, though it is not impossible. Containerized ammunition detonating during transport is an example.

Severity

Severity has four categories describing the worst credible outcome:2Army Publishing Directorate. ATP 5-19 Risk Management

  • Catastrophic (I): death, unacceptable loss or damage, mission failure, or unit readiness eliminated beyond recovery.
  • Critical (II): severe injury or illness, permanent partial disability, significant equipment damage, major mission degradation, or significantly reduced readiness.
  • Moderate (III): minor injury, illness, or damage, with some mission degradation.
  • Negligible (IV): minimal injury or damage, with little to no mission impact.

Catastrophic severity combined with Likely probability produces an Extremely High initial risk. Moderate severity combined with Seldom probability comes out Low. These ratings are the hardest judgment call on the form, so lean on historical data, unit SOPs, and subject-matter experts rather than gut instinct.

Blocks 1 Through 3: Administrative Information

The top of the form identifies the mission and the person doing the assessment.3Department of Defense. DD Form 2977 Deliberate Risk Assessment Worksheet

  • Block 1, Mission/Task Description and Execution Date(s): a brief description of the mission and the dates it will occur. Be specific enough that a stranger to the operation understands its scope. “Company live-fire qualification, Range 12, 15–17 MAR 2026” beats “range training.”
  • Block 2, Date Prepared: the date you complete the form. Prepare it well before execution so there is time for review.
  • Block 3, Prepared By: your name, rank, and contact information. This block establishes accountability for the assessment.

Blocks 4 Through 9: Hazards, Ratings, and Controls

This is the core of the worksheet. Each row covers one hazard and moves left to right from identification through residual risk.3Department of Defense. DD Form 2977 Deliberate Risk Assessment Worksheet

  • Block 4, Subtask/Substep: break the mission into components. For a convoy operation, subtasks might include staging vehicles, movement along the route, and refueling at a forward point.
  • Block 5, Hazard: for each subtask, name the specific hazards. Include environmental conditions (heat, terrain, visibility), equipment failure points, and human factors. Write “rollover on steep grades along Route Lime,” not “vehicle accident.”
  • Block 6, Initial Risk Level: use the matrix to assign probability and severity, then enter the resulting level. This rating assumes no controls in place.
  • Block 7, Control: describe the specific measures you will use. ATP 5-19 groups controls into three categories: educational (training and awareness), physical (barriers, guards, signs, dedicated safety personnel), and hazard elimination (engineering solutions, administrative limits, or personal protective equipment).
  • Block 8, How to Implement / Who Will Implement: state the method of employment for each control (an OPORD paragraph, a safety briefing, a rehearsal) and name the individual, unit, or office responsible.
  • Block 9, Residual Risk Level: after accounting for the controls in Block 7, reassess probability and severity and enter the new level. It must be lower than Block 6. If it isn’t, your controls need rethinking.

The order of preference matters. Engineering solutions that physically remove or contain the hazard are preferred over administrative rules that depend on people following instructions. Personal protective equipment is the last resort, not the first answer. Reviewers notice when every control is just “brief the hazard”; educational controls alone are rarely sufficient for anything above a Low initial risk.2Army Publishing Directorate. ATP 5-19 Risk Management

Blocks 10 Through 15: Overall Risk, Approval, and Review

The lower portion moves from hazard-by-hazard analysis to the whole mission.3Department of Defense. DD Form 2977 Deliberate Risk Assessment Worksheet

  • Block 10, Overall Risk After Controls Are Implemented: the overall residual risk equals or exceeds the highest residual risk from any single row in Block 9. If one hazard still sits at High and everything else is Low, the overall mission is High.
  • Block 11, Supervision Plan and Recommended Course of Action: describe how leadership will monitor the controls during execution, identify specific supervisory tasks and who owns them, and recommend approval or disapproval based on the overall risk.
  • Block 12, Approval/Disapproval of Mission/Task: the risk acceptance authority signs here after reviewing the controls, residual risk, and supervision plan.
  • Block 13, Risk Assessment Review: used during execution. If conditions change and residual risk rises above the level already approved, operations stop until the appropriate approval authority is contacted and approves continued operations.
  • Block 14, Feedback and Lessons Learned: after the mission, record what worked, what did not, and any recommendations for new or revised controls. Brief those lessons to affected personnel.
  • Block 15, Additional Comments or Remarks: space for clarifying notes, references to related documents, or supplementary information.

Who Signs Block 12

ATP 5-19 does not tie fixed command levels to specific risk tiers. The approval authority is whoever has both the resources to implement the controls and the authority to accept the risk. If a commander determines available controls will not reduce risk to a level within the established tolerance, that person elevates the decision to the next level in the chain.4Army Publishing Directorate. ATP 5-19 Risk Management

Most units publish a command risk policy spelling out who signs at each level. A common pattern is for company-grade officers to approve Low and Medium, field-grade officers to approve High, and general officers to approve Extremely High. This varies by unit and by the specific policy the higher headquarters has published, so check your unit SOP or the battalion or brigade risk acceptance policy before you route the form. Sending it to the wrong level wastes time. Starting execution without the right signature can result in disciplinary action under Article 92 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice for dereliction of duty.5United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces. Crimes – Article 92 Failure to Obey Order or Regulation

Once Block 12 is signed, the worksheet is a binding operational document. It should be physically present at the training site or briefed to all participants so everyone understands the hazards and their role in implementing controls.

Common Mistakes That Get the Form Kicked Back

Vague hazard descriptions are the most frequent problem. “Weather” is not a hazard. “Lightning within 5 miles of an open-air range” is. The more specific the hazard, the more targeted and credible your controls will be.

Controls consisting entirely of “conduct safety briefing” for every hazard signal a check-the-box approach. Educational controls alone rarely reduce risk by a full level. Pair them with physical controls or engineering solutions where the hazard warrants it. If the initial risk is High and your only control is a briefing, expect the form back.

Residual risk that does not actually decrease from the initial risk means your controls are not effective, or you rated them wrong. Every row should show a change from Block 6 to Block 9.

Missing implementation details in Block 8 leave the form incomplete. Naming a control without assigning someone to own it is a plan that will not survive contact with reality. Include the name or position responsible and the method used to put the control into effect.

Routing to the wrong approval authority delays everything. Verify your unit’s risk acceptance policy before walking the form up.

Branch-Specific Requirements

DD Form 2977 is a joint DoD form, but each service layers its own policy on top of it. Check the guidance below against your service before you sign.

Army

Army risk management doctrine lives in ATP 5-19 and falls under the broader safety framework of Army Regulation 385-10, which governs the Army Safety and Occupational Health Program.6Department of the Army. Army Regulation 385-10 – The Army Safety and Occupational Health Program ATP 5-19 provides the detailed guidance on completing the form, including the Risk Assessment Matrix and the severity and probability definitions above.

Air Force

All Department of the Air Force personnel are required to use DD Form 2977 during annual training to build risk management skills for exercises and real-world operations. Current policy guidance is contained in DAFI 90-802, and the form is being institutionalized through the “Integrating Risk and Readiness” campaign as part of the shift toward Agile Combat Employment.7U.S. Air Force Safety Center. Integrating Risk and Readiness

Marine Corps

Marine Corps Order 3500.27C governs risk management for the Marines. For hazards rated at Risk Assessment Code 1 or 2, approval authority is restricted to lieutenant colonel or above. Unit commanders must provide risk management training to all personnel every two years and document completion in the Training Management System. Each unit must designate at least one Risk Management Instructor in writing, with qualification requirements, including completion of the USMC RM Distance Learning Course or graduation from an approved safety course, to be met within 30 days of designation.8United States Marine Corps. MCO 3500.27C Risk Management

After the Mission

Block 14 captures feedback and lessons learned. Note which controls worked as planned, which needed adjustment, and any hazards that materialized despite mitigation. Completed and signed worksheets should be filed with unit training records. Retention periods depend on branch and unit policy rather than a single DoD-wide rule, so check your unit SOP or records management guidance. In an accident or incident investigation, a properly completed and signed worksheet shows that leadership identified the risks and accepted them through the appropriate process.