To fill out DA Form 6, the Army duty roster, enter your unit and the single duty being tracked in the header, list every eligible soldier with the sequence number carried forward from the prior roster, and then post each day a detail is made using only the letters D, A, or U while incrementing sequence numbers so the soldier with the highest number stands next in line. The form is governed by AR 220-45, and a blank copy is available from the Army Publishing Directorate at armypubs.army.mil.
What To Gather Before You Start
You cannot open a new DA Form 6 cleanly without three things in front of you:
- Full names and pay grades of every soldier in the element who is subject to the duty.
- The nature of the duty being rostered. One duty per form. Charge of Quarters and Staff Duty Officer do not share a roster.
- The closing sequence numbers from the last day of the previous roster. These carry forward and become the starting point of the new one.
If there is no prior roster to reference, every soldier starts at the same sequence number and the commander or first sergeant picks the first detail to set the rotation in motion.
The Header Block
The top of the form holds the information that stays fixed for the life of that roster.
- Organization. The unit designation, for example “B Co, 2-501 IN.”
- Nature of Duty. The one duty this form tracks.
- “From” date. The day immediately following the “To” date of the previous roster. No gap between rosters is permitted.
- “To” date. Left blank when the form is opened. You enter it at close-out, and it is the date of the last detail made from the roster, not a predicted end date.
Listing Soldiers and Starting Sequence Numbers
Write each eligible soldier’s name in the left-hand column. AR 220-45 does not require a specific order, though most units go alphabetically. Record each soldier’s pay grade beside the name.
In the carry-forward column, transcribe each soldier’s final sequence number from the prior roster. That number represents how many details have been made since the soldier was last detailed for this duty, excluding any nonchargeable time. The higher the number, the closer to the top of the rotation.
If a soldier was in a nonchargeable status at the close of the old roster — on leave, TDY, or otherwise authorized absent — carry forward the last number they were charged before entering that status. Putting that number on the new roster now saves you from digging through the old form when the soldier returns to duty.
The Three Authorized Codes
You post the roster only on days a detail is actually made. On days with no detail, you make no entry. When you do post, every soldier on the roster gets one of exactly three abbreviations for that day. No other codes are permitted.
- D — Duty. The soldier was detailed for the duty, or was on a competing detail that prevented selection. The sequence number continues to increment alongside the D.
- A — Authorized absence. The soldier was unavailable for a legitimate reason not caused by misconduct: leave, pass, TDY, illness in the line of duty, or similar. The A pauses the numbering sequence. TDY travel that finishes within normal duty hours does not normally qualify.
- U — Unavailable due to misconduct. The soldier was AWOL, in confinement, sick not in line of duty, or otherwise unavailable through their own fault. The sequence keeps running alongside the U, so the soldier accumulates missed details and moves closer to the top of the rotation.
The difference between A and U is the whole point of the coding. An A freezes a soldier in place; they neither jump ahead nor fall behind while away. A U keeps them climbing, so they get detailed sooner once they return. Authorized absences carry no penalty. Misconduct absences do not let a soldier dodge the roster.
How the Numbering Runs
Every time a detail is made, each soldier who was available and not selected gets their sequence number increased by one. The soldier who actually pulled the duty resets and starts the count again. The person with the highest accumulated number is always next.
A simplified four-person CQ example:
- Day 1: SPC Adams (seq 5) pulls CQ. SPC Baker (3→4), SGT Clark (2→3), and PFC Davis (4→5) each increment. Adams resets.
- Day 2: PFC Davis, now highest at 5, pulls CQ. Baker (4→5), Clark (3→4) increment. Davis resets. Adams goes 0→1.
- Day 3: SPC Baker, now at 5, is next.
When two soldiers are tied at the same sequence number, the commander or first sergeant breaks the tie. Most units default to alphabetical order, but AR 220-45 leaves the tiebreaker method to the commander, so long as the choice serves the regulation’s intent of fair rotation.
Weekends and Holidays
Weekend and holiday shifts eat into personal time, so AR 220-45 treats them differently even on a single consolidated roster. The regulation directs units to keep a consolidated weekday-weekend-holiday roster whenever practicable, but allows separate numbering sequences within that roster so a Tuesday CQ does not push someone past a Saturday shift.
The regulation describes two ways to visually separate weekend and holiday entries on the same form: draw vertical red lines to bracket those periods, or record the weekend and holiday dates, numbers, and duty marks in red ink. Either method lets any reader tell a weekday detail from a weekend or holiday one at a glance.
Some units instead maintain entirely separate DA Form 6 rosters for weekday versus weekend and holiday duties. That is permissible under the commander’s authority to tailor procedures. Whichever method you use, keep it consistent and visible.
Adding or Removing Soldiers
Units rarely stay static for a full roster period. When a new soldier arrives, add the name and assign a starting sequence number. Common practice is to assign the current average or the lowest number on the roster, so the arrival is neither detailed immediately nor buried at the bottom. Your commander may have a standing policy.
Remove a soldier’s name whenever they are no longer subject to that particular duty. PCS, separation, and retirement are the obvious triggers. A commander can also excuse a soldier from a specific roster for operational reasons.
Closing the Roster and Handing Off
When the period ends or the form runs out of columns, close it in this order:
- Enter the “To” date, which is the date of the last detail made from the roster.
- Tally each soldier’s total details for the period and enter the totals in the designated column on the right.
- Record each soldier’s final sequence number clearly. It becomes the opening number on the next roster.
- Have the first sergeant or designated supervisor review the completed roster to verify the rotation followed AR 220-45. Correct any errors before signing and filing.
Then open the new DA Form 6. Enter the day after the old roster’s “To” date as the “From” date and transcribe the final sequence numbers into the carry-forward column. This handoff is where most errors start, so verify every number before making the first new detail. Completed rosters are official Army records and are retained according to your unit’s records management schedule under AR 25-400-2.
Posting the Roster and Privacy
AR 220-45 treats visibility as part of fairness. The current roster should be posted where soldiers can inspect their standing, typically on a bulletin board in the orderly room or a common area. Physical transparency discourages manipulation and lets soldiers plan ahead.
The roster contains personally identifiable information, so Army policy requires it to be handled as For Official Use Only. Unauthorized disclosure can carry civil and criminal penalties under the Privacy Act. In practice, posting in a controlled area accessible only to the unit’s soldiers meets both the transparency requirement and the privacy obligation.
Mistakes That Get Flagged
Roster errors tend to cluster around a few recurring problems:
- Mixing up A and U. The wrong code changes whether the sequence keeps running, which changes who gets detailed next.
- Forgetting to pause the sequence for an A. If a soldier on leave keeps incrementing, they will be unfairly pushed to the top when they return.
- Posting on days when no detail was made. The roster is updated only on detail days. Extra entries inflate everyone’s numbers and distort the rotation.
- Sloppy handoff. Transcribing the wrong closing sequence number onto the new form compounds over time.
- Using unauthorized codes. Only D, A, and U are permitted. Shorthand like L for leave or H for hospital will be flagged during inspections.
Accuracy on the roster carries legal weight. DA Form 6 is an official document, and deliberately entering false information falls under Article 107 of the UCMJ, which covers false official statements. A soldier or administrator who knowingly signs a false record or makes a false entry with the intent to deceive can be punished by court-martial.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 10 USC 907 – Art. 107. False Official Statements; False Swearing Fudging a roster to skip a turn or hide an absence is a criminal offense under military law, not just an administrative one.