To fill out DA Form 5914, the Army Ration Control Sheet, open a separate sheet for each type of ration your kitchen is handling, complete the header block, and then post every ration movement as its own row in the ten-column transaction log, recalculating the cumulative balance after each entry. The Food Service Sergeant is normally the person maintaining the form, and the same method applies whether the kitchen is operating in the field or inside a garrison dining facility.1Defense Technical Information Center. Army Regulation 30-21 – The Army Field Feeding System
When to Open a Sheet and When to Add a Row
Start a new DA Form 5914 for each ration type you draw. T-Rations, B-Rations, A-Rations, and MREs each get their own sheet, and for T-Rations you also separate breakfast entrees from lunch and dinner entrees. If a single ration type runs past one page, number the pages sequentially in the Page field.
Once a sheet is open, add a row every time rations move. That includes the initial receipt from the Class I supply activity, each issue for preparation, entrees returned uneaten, items discarded as unfit, and transfers back to a supply point or over to another dining facility. In garrison, the same sheet runs through the reporting period with daily draws and issues posted as they happen.1Defense Technical Information Center. Army Regulation 30-21 – The Army Field Feeding System
Filling In the Header
The header runs across the top of the page. Enter the sequential page number, the unit name, and the inclusive dates of the exercise or reporting period. Check the appropriate box for Type of Ration — UGR-H&S, UGR-A, MRE, or Other — and if you check Other, write in the ration nomenclature. Use the Remarks block to explain anything unusual, and leave the Reviewed By and Date lines for the reviewing official’s signature.2RATION CONTROL SHEET. DA Form 5914
Filling In the Transaction Log, Column by Column
The log has ten columns, labeled a through j. Each row is one event.1Defense Technical Information Center. Army Regulation 30-21 – The Army Field Feeding System
Column a — Date
Enter the transaction date in YYYYMMDD format.
Column b — Modules Drawn
Enter the number of modules (for T-Rations or B-Rations) or boxes (for MREs) received. The count must match the quantity on the DA Form 3294-R issue document. Leave this column blank for A-Rations or non-unitized B-Rations.
Column c — Meals Drawn
Convert modules or boxes into individual entree servings. Multiply column b by meals per module: 36 for T-Rations, 25, 50, or 100 for B-Rations depending on configuration, and 12 for each MRE box. For A-Rations or non-unitized B-Rations, write the number of main entrees received directly. If previously issued entrees are being returned, slash the block and write the returned quantity below the line.
Column d — Meals Returned
Record any main entrees coming back from the serving line or a subordinate unit that were not consumed.
Column e — Meals Issued
Enter the number of main entree servings issued from stock for preparation, sent forward to a remote site, or handed to an individual.
Column f — Cumulative Balance Meals on Hand
Keep a running total. After each transaction, recalculate the entree servings still in the kitchen’s possession. For MREs, this is the total count of individual meals on hand.
Column g — Number of Persons Supported
Enter the headcount anticipated for the meal. This figure drives the quantity of supplementary items like milk, bread, cereal, and fruit.
Column h — Unit, Individual Activity Issued To
Identify who received the rations: a specific squad, platoon, or company. If the row is a discard, transfer, or return to a supply point, note that here instead.
Column i — Signature of Individual Receiving Meal
The person picking up the rations signs and prints their grade. For airlifted rations, enter the aircraft tail number in place of a signature. For a discard or destruction, the food service officer or commander signs this column, not the cook.
Column j — Issued By
The initials of the person who physically issued the rations and completed the row.
How the Common Situations Look on the Form
Initial receipt. When the supply point delivers rations, complete columns a, b, c, and f at a minimum. If this is the first receipt on a fresh sheet, the cumulative balance in column f equals the meals drawn in column c.
Issue for preparation. When the cook pulls entrees from stock to start cooking, put the quantity in column e, reduce the running total in column f, and identify the meal period or receiving unit in column h. The cook or shift leader signs column i.
Returns. Entrees coming back uneaten from a platoon or serving line go in column d and are added back to the cumulative balance in column f.
Discards. T-Ration entrees heated twice, or any item the Food Service Sergeant determines is unfit, get their own row, with the reason noted in column h. The food service officer or commander signs column i for a discard.1Defense Technical Information Center. Army Regulation 30-21 – The Army Field Feeding System
Transfers. When leftover rations move from a field kitchen back to a supply activity or over to a garrison dining facility, both the sending and receiving units post the transaction to their own DA Form 5914. That keeps a complete paper trail so no entrees fall through the gap between locations.
Habits That Keep the Form Accurate
Most errors on DA Form 5914 trace back to math mistakes in the cumulative balance or a missed transaction. A few practices prevent the majority of those problems.
Recalculate column f after every single entry. During a busy field exercise with several meal periods, it is tempting to batch entries at the end of the day, and that is where the count goes wrong. Post each transaction as it happens, or at the latest after each meal service.
Keep ration types on separate sheets, even if you only drew a few MRE boxes alongside a main T-Ration draw. Mixing them makes column c unreliable, because the module-to-meal multipliers differ (36 per T-Ration module versus 12 per MRE box).
When a day includes both a draw and a return, use separate rows rather than netting them together. The slash notation in column c is specifically for returned entrees; do not combine a receipt and a return into one number.
The person who physically receives or issues the rations is the person who signs. Columns i and j exist to tie each transaction to a specific individual, and a single blanket signature covering an entire day of activity defeats the audit trail the form is built to create.
Where to Get a Blank Form
Blank copies of DA Form 5914 (dated July 2002) are available through the Army Publishing Directorate at armypubs.army.mil, the official repository for DA forms.3Army Publishing Directorate. Army Publishing Directorate Search the forms catalog by number. Unit supply sergeants normally keep printed copies for food service personnel in the field where internet access may not be available. The form prints on standard letter-size paper.
Not to Be Confused With Ration Control in Korea
The phrase “ration control” also refers to a separate program in South Korea governed by USFK Instruction 1501.01, which controls duty-free purchases of items like alcohol, fuel, and commissary goods by personnel stationed there.4United States Forces Korea. USFKI 1501.01 – Exchange and Commissary Privileges Access to Duty-Free Goods That system runs on point-of-sale scans of DoD ID cards and does not use DA Form 5914. If your question is about monthly liquor limits or commissary spending caps in Korea, USFKI 1501.01 is the governing document, not this form.