Download the form
DA Form 285-O exists to technical report of u.s. army ground accident statement of reviewing officials — that is the short version. Title of record: TECHNICAL REPORT OF U.S. ARMY GROUND ACCIDENT - STATEMENT OF REVIEWING OFFICIALS. The page covers the download, the entries and the disposition, nothing else. Current here: edition February 2009, status not stated, 1 page(s), near 36 fields.
OSCA is the proponent, PAM 385-40 the prescribing authority. Read the directive only if something about your situation departs from the standard case. Otherwise the form is filled by the individual it describes, or by the records clerk keeping the file, and reviewed through the printed signature blocks.
The formats are PDF, XFDL, and the choice comes down to keyboard or pen. Fillable pdf for typing — live fields, tab order, saved entries. Printable pdf for handwriting — same page, no interactive objects, print it blank. Content is identical; only entry method differs.
A standalone reader is the safe choice for fillable work. Browser viewers vary in whether entered data survives the session, and there is no warning when it does not; a one-field save test settles it in seconds. Xfdl means IBM Lotus Forms. The Lotus Forms Viewer opens it; pdf readers and word processors do not.
Nothing is charged and no sign-up applies. Files are served as published, without changes to the page image.
What the form asks for
- Army_Review
- Authority_Comments
- ContentArea1
- Date_of_Accident_Date
- Initial_Review
- Initial_Review_Signature
- Page1
- R22
- R23
- R24
- R25
- R26
- R27
- R28
- R33
- R36
- R37
- Rectangle1
- Signature_Army_Review
- Signature_Reviewing_Authority
- T11
- T12
- T14
- T15
The heading entries carry more weight than the body. Name spelled as in official records, identification number, organisation, date prepared. Retrieval runs on those values, so a transposed digit or a casual spelling costs someone a file search. Fill them before anything else.
Tab through the fields rather than clicking. The tab order was fixed when the form was built and generally follows the page, which catches boxes a mouse skips past. Check boxes and option buttons take a click, and an exclusive group clears the previous selection when you make a new one. Single-line fields do not wrap — text past the field width prints truncated while still showing in full on screen, which is why the loss is discovered after printing. Overflow goes to remarks or a continuation sheet. A field that does not apply gets the mark meaning none; blank space reads as an omission.
Signature comes after every other entry — ink or an approved electronic means, and without it the document is a draft. Where reviewing, approving or witnessing signatures are called for, take them in printed block order, each dated on the day applied. Before release, one pass from the top. The defects worth hunting are always the same four: mandatory fields left empty, identification digits transposed, dates with day and month reversed, and stale data surviving in a copy reused in place of a blank form.
Privacy Act statement first, personal entries second. The notice covers who is authorised to collect, why, who else routinely sees it, and whether you must answer. After completion the file carries personal data and is stored and sent under the corresponding safeguards.
The prescribing directive names the destination; office custom does not. Depending on the case that means a specific office, the unit administrative channel, or the personal record. Keep a copy first, because the original does not come back. Retention runs on the applicable records schedule.
Companion documents come from the same series and number scheme. Within the DA series, a shared proponent or a shared directive usually means shared use, and a form cited on the face of another accompanies it. Gather the whole package first — continuation sheets, cover sheets, transmittals.
Edition date is the version number, printed on the page. Hold a locally saved copy against the current edition before reuse, since nothing on your machine signals a revision. Work already executed under a superseded edition remains as filed.
These are reproductions of published Department of the Army documents, offered for download. The site is independent, connected to nothing official, and issues no forms of its own. Nothing here is legal advice and no statement is made about acceptance by any office. Questions about an entry, a requirement or eligibility go to OSCA or your servicing administrative office.
Questions and answers
- What is DA Form 285-O?
- TECHNICAL REPORT OF U.S. ARMY GROUND ACCIDENT - STATEMENT OF REVIEWING OFFICIALS
- Which edition is current?
- February 2009
- Who is responsible for this form?
- OSCA
- In which formats can it be downloaded?
- PDF, XFDL