DA Form 1156, the Casualty Feeder Card, is the first written record of an Army casualty and the document that drives every notification, benefit, and remains action that follows. Fill it out in permanent ink at the point of the incident, complete every mandatory (asterisked) field, get a field-grade officer’s signature when the casualty is a death or a missing-person case, and hand it to the battalion S-1 without delay so the initial casualty report reaches the Casualty and Mortuary Affairs Operations Center (CMAOC) within 12 hours of the incident.1Department of the Army. Army Regulation 600-8-1 – Army Casualty Program
Who You Report on the Card
Any Active Army, Army National Guard, or U.S. Army Reserve casualty gets a 1156. The personnel-type block also covers Department of the Army civilians on temporary duty or assigned overseas and contract employees working in a deployed theater. Mark military, civilian, contractor, or other in that field so the report routes correctly.1Department of the Army. Army Regulation 600-8-1 – Army Casualty Program
Filling Out the Card Block by Block
The current version is dated MAR 2007. Handwriting has to be legible, ink has to be permanent, and dates use YYYYMMDD.2Asktop.net. DA Form 1156 Casualty Feeder Card
Personal Data
Enter the casualty’s Social Security Number, rank, full name, branch of service, and unit. Add home of record if you know it; that field is optional. Note tattoos, scars, or other identifying marks. Select the personnel type and indicate whether the incident was training or duty related.
Casualty Type and Status
Casualty type is hostile, non-hostile, or pending. Hostile means killed, wounded, missing, or captured as a direct result of enemy action. Non-hostile covers everything else. If you don’t yet know, mark pending and correct it in a follow-up.
Status is a separate decision and drives the reporting tempo after the initial card:
- Deceased: death confirmed.
- VSI (Very Seriously Ill or Injured): life imminently endangered.
- SI (Seriously Ill or Injured): immediate concern, life not imminently endangered.
- NSI (Not Seriously Ill or Injured): may or may not be hospitalized, can still communicate with next of kin.
- DUSTWUN (Duty Status Whereabouts Unknown): location unknown, circumstances undetermined.
- Pending: not yet classified.
VSI and SI casualties require progress reports every 24 hours until the person upgrades to NSI. Hospitalized NSI casualties get updates at least every five days.1Department of the Army. Army Regulation 600-8-1 – Army Casualty Program
Incident Date, Time, and Location
Record the incident date and time, the place of incident by name, and the grid coordinates. For a DUSTWUN or missing person, use the date, time, and place last seen. Mark whether an investigation has been initiated. Use the military grid reference system your unit operates with, and be as precise as the situation allows; the coordinates anchor the report for every follow-up action.
Equipment and Vehicle
Check the protective equipment the casualty was wearing. The form lists SAPI plates, throat protector, groin protector, OTV, ACH helmet, and other options, along with eye protection brands. For the vehicle block, check the type (HMMWV, Stryker, APC, tracked vehicle, helicopter, or other), whether it was up-armored, and the casualty’s position aboard. This data feeds survivability analysis, so complete it even when it feels secondary.
Weapon and Attack Type
Identify the weapon source as enemy, U.S./friendly, allied, or unknown. Check the weapon or attack type from the options provided: IED, VBIED, SVBIED, mortar, RPG, small-arms fire, grenade, or other. Check all that apply when more than one weapon was involved.
Death and Remains
If the casualty is deceased, enter the place and date/time of death and the name of the person who pronounced death. Note whether the death occurred inside or outside a medical facility. In the remains block, record whether a visual identification was made, who performed it, and by what means. Getting these fields right the first time keeps the family from being re-contacted later over a records mismatch.
Certification and Signatures
Enter the unit identification code (UIC). The preparer signs and dates the card. For all deaths and for DUSTWUN or missing reports, a field-grade officer must approve and sign as well.2Asktop.net. DA Form 1156 Casualty Feeder Card The signature has to be wet ink even if the rest of the form was completed electronically.
Submitting the Card and the Clock That Starts
Forward each completed 1156 to the battalion S-1 without delay, or as the battlefield situation permits.1Department of the Army. Army Regulation 600-8-1 – Army Casualty Program The S-1 checks the card for accuracy and completeness, then sends it up to the appropriate level headquarters. The Casualty Area Command verifies the facts, pulls additional personnel data from records, and dispatches the initial casualty report to CMAOC.
Two timelines govern what happens next. The initial report has to reach CMAOC within 12 hours of the incident. The Casualty Notification Officer then has four hours from receipt of the initial report to notify the next of kin in person.1Department of the Army. Army Regulation 600-8-1 – Army Casualty Program Every hour a card sits at the unit level is an hour a family is closer to hearing something unofficial first.
An incomplete card gets kicked back for correction, which is the most common way units blow through the 12-hour window. Read the card back before you release it, and confirm the mandatory fields are all filled.
What Errors and Falsification Cost You
Mistakes delay notification, misdirect benefits, and in the worst cases route remains incorrectly. Intentional falsification is a criminal matter. Under Article 107 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (10 U.S.C. ยง 907), a person subject to the UCMJ who signs a false official document or makes a false official statement knowing it to be false, with intent to deceive, may be punished as a court-martial directs.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 10 USC 907 – Art. 107. False Official Statements; False Swearing A 1156 is exactly the kind of official record Article 107 reaches. Punishments can include confinement, forfeiture of pay, reduction in grade, and a dishonorable discharge.
Where to Get Blank Forms
Blank copies are available through the Army Publishing Directorate at armypubs.army.mil, the official repository for Army forms and publications. Units deploying to a combat zone normally draw pre-printed cards through supply channels before departure so cards are on hand in the field. The form can also be completed electronically and printed, but the certification block still requires wet-ink signatures from the preparer and, for deaths and DUSTWUN cases, the approving field-grade officer.