DA Form 3078, the Personal Clothing Request, is the Army’s requisition document for issuing or selling clothing items to a soldier, and in most cases your unit supply sergeant prepares it, the commander approves it, and you sign it only after the items are in your hands. The current edition is dated May 1993, and AR 700-84 sets the rules for how it’s completed, approved, and distributed. Get the transaction type and signatures in the right order and the form moves; miss either and supply will send it back.
Pick the Right Transaction Type First
Block 12 asks which type of transaction you’re requesting, and the rest of the form’s routing depends on your answer. Seven options exist, each with its own eligibility rules:
- Initial. The full clothing bag issued on first enlistment, induction, or reenlistment after a break in service of more than 90 days. Also covers soldiers enlisting from another branch, regardless of how recently they separated.
- Replacement. Clothing that has reached the end of its useful life or no longer fits because of a profile change.
- Exchange. Swapping a misfit or defective item for the correct one. Footwear exchanges are authorized within 90 days of initial issue.
- Individual Charge Sale. A purchase deducted from the soldier’s pay through a DD Form 139. Not available to soldiers in a nonpay status or those within 60 days of separation.
- Supplemental. Additional items tied to a specific MOS, authorized once per continuous period of service.
- Gratuitous. Items issued at no cost under specific regulatory authority.
- Temporary. Clothing issued for a limited period and returned afterward.
Picking the wrong box stalls the request because each type follows a different approval and funding path.1AskTOP.net. AR 700-84 Issue and Sale of Personal Clothing
Filling In the Blocks
The form is a single page with a Privacy Act statement on the reverse, organized into numbered blocks. Supply usually prepares it electronically through the Army Publishing Directorate at armypubs.army.mil and forwards it to the commander for approval; you typically don’t need to hunt down a blank copy yourself.2Army Publishing Directorate. Army Publishing Directorate Hard copies are authorized when electronic systems are down. Even when supply drafts the form, verify the entries before you sign.
Administrative Data (Blocks 1–14)
Blocks 1 (document number) and 2 (voucher number) are filled in by supply, not the soldier. Block 3 is the date. Blocks 4 through 6 collect your name (last, first, middle initial), Social Security Number, and grade. The SSN serves as an alternate identifier for filing the request in the correct Military Personnel Record Jacket, so an error here can send the form into the wrong file.3Army.com. DA Form 3078 Block 7 is your organization, Block 8 is the unit DODAAC, and Block 9 is the priority designation. Block 11 identifies your component: Active Army, USAR, IMA, IRR, AGR, or NG. Block 12 is the transaction type. Block 14 is your phone number.
Item Description Columns
The center of the form lists the items requested. Separate columns exist for common items (issued to everyone), male-specific items, and female-specific items. For each article, enter the description in “Articles,” the size in “Size,” and the quantity in “Qty Req.” Unit price and total cost are entered by supply or sales-store personnel. The “ISS” (issued) column stays blank until items are actually handed to you; staff mark it at the point of issue.3Army.com. DA Form 3078
Sizes are not a formality. AR 700-84 requires that outer garments and footwear be tried on over the proper subgarments and that trained fitters inspect the fit, and soldiers are not permitted to accept poorly fitted clothing or footwear. If outer clothing from an initial issue needs alteration, the government covers the cost during the first 180 days of active duty or through completion of Initial Entry Training, whichever is later.1AskTOP.net. AR 700-84 Issue and Sale of Personal Clothing
Remarks (Block 30)
Block 30 is used for notes such as fund certification data on ROTC transactions or a commander’s certification when a soldier refuses to sign after issue.
Approvals and Signatures in the Right Order
DA Form 3078 requires signatures at two stages, and the sequence is not flexible. Approval comes first; the soldier’s signature comes last.
The unit commander reviews the request and signs Block 17 (“Approved By”), with the date in Block 18. This approval certifies that the soldier is eligible and that the request fits the authorized clothing allowance. Under the standard electronic workflow, the commander approves the form and forwards it to the Clothing Sales Office, and the system auto-generates an email telling the supply sergeant to pick up the items at the nearest Army Military Clothing Sales Store.1AskTOP.net. AR 700-84 Issue and Sale of Personal Clothing
Individual charge sales add a finance step. The soldier presents the original and two copies of DA Form 3078 with a DD Form 139 to the local finance office or servicing DFAS office. Finance verifies pay status and enters the disbursing station symbol number on both forms. The AMCS sales associate will check that this verification is complete before proceeding.
Block 31 is the soldier’s signature. AR 700-84 is explicit: do not sign until the items marked in the “ISS” column have actually been handed to you. After supply completes the issue, verify every item recorded as issued, then sign all copies. Signing early can leave you responsible for items you never received.
Submitting the Form and Receiving the Items
For most requests, the electronic workflow routes the form automatically: supply prepares it, the commander approves, CSO receives it, and supply is notified when items are ready for pickup at the AMCS. For hard-copy submissions, the standard procedure is an original and three copies; the original and two copies go to the AMCS, and the unit keeps one copy in suspense.
At a Central Issue Facility, what you bring depends on the transaction. For an initial issue, bring your military ID, orders, and in-processing papers (DA Form 5123-1). Supplemental MOS-specific issues require your ID and a memorandum from your commander stating your duty MOS, along with the commander’s assumption-of-command orders.4Fort Stewart-Hunter Army Airfield. Central Issue Facility
Once supply pulls the items, inspect everything before signing Block 31. Check sizes, look for defects, and count items against the form. The signed form becomes the permanent record of the transaction for both you and the issuing facility.
Copy Distribution
The number of copies and where they go depend on who’s requesting clothing.
- Active-duty enlisted, standard requests. Prepare an original and three copies. The original and two copies go to the AMCS; the unit retains one.
- Individual charge sales. The original and two copies accompany a DD Form 139 to the finance office for pay-status verification before going to the AMCS.
- ROTC emergency issues. Prepare seven copies. The unit keeps one in its suspense file; the remaining six go to the support installation budget analyst, who certifies fund availability in Block 30, keeps one, and forwards five to the AMCS. After the transaction, the AMCS returns one copy to the individual or unit, retains two, and sends the remaining two, batched under ROTC, to the servicing installation.1AskTOP.net. AR 700-84 Issue and Sale of Personal Clothing
If a Soldier Refuses To Sign
When a soldier refuses to sign Block 31 after clothing has been issued, AR 700-84 lets the unit commander certify in Block 30 that the individual received the clothing, that the issuance was necessary, and that the soldier refused to sign. That certification substitutes for the soldier’s signature and completes the record. The soldier remains responsible for the items.