Download the form
DA Form 7281 exists to command oriented arms, ammunition, and explosives (aa&e) security screening and evaluation record — that is the short version. Title of record: COMMAND ORIENTED ARMS, AMMUNITION, AND EXPLOSIVES (AA&E) SECURITY SCREENING AND EVALUATION RECORD. The page covers the download, the entries and the disposition, nothing else. Current here: edition 09/01/2009, status ACTIVE, 1 page(s), near 80 fields.
Authority sits in two places. PMG owns the form, AR 190-11 says when it is raised and where it goes. Routine cases need neither read in full — the page itself carries the sequence. The entries are completed by their subject or by unit administrative staff working from what that person supplies.
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.
No charge, no account, no email address. The file is the published document, distributed unaltered.
What the form asks for
- CDR_DATE
- CDR_GRADE
- CDR_NAME
- CIV_IS
- CIV_NOT
- CommandOrient
- CommanderDate
- CommanderEval
- CommanderGrade
- CommanderSign
- CommanderText
- CommnderLock
- ContentArea1
- FormNumber
- GRADE
- GradeText
- ImmediateCommander
- Info
- InterviewRequired
- LAW_IS
- LAW_NOT
- Line1
- Line2
- LocalLaw
Header first, always. Name as your official records spell it, identification number, unit, date of preparation — these four index the finished record, and an error in them hides the document from anyone searching for it later. The substantive blocks can wait thirty seconds.
Tabbing beats clicking for coverage. The order was set at build time and tracks the page layout, so following it leaves no gaps. Boxes and buttons are clicked; where options are exclusive, one selection cancels another by design. Watch field width on long entries: one-line fields have no wrap, and what runs past the edge disappears in print though the screen still shows it. Move that text to remarks or a continuation. Never leave an inapplicable field empty — enter the nil mark, because a reviewer cannot distinguish a skipped question from a considered answer.
Sign last. An unsigned form is a draft whatever else is on it, and additional signatures — reviewer, approver, witness — follow printed block order with each signer dating the day they sign, not the day of preparation. Four faults account for most returns: a blank mandatory field, transposed digits in an identification number, day and month reversed in a date, and leftover entries in a working copy reused instead of a fresh blank. Read the form once from the top before releasing it.
Read the Privacy Act statement at the point it appears. Authority, purpose, routine uses, mandatory or voluntary — four facts, and they govern what you are about to enter. A completed copy holds personal data and takes the handling rules that attach to it.
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.
Look for associated forms by series and number. In the DA series, documents sharing a proponent or a governing directive tend to travel together, and anything referenced on the page normally submits alongside. Collect continuations, covers and transmittals in advance of sending.
Check the edition date before reusing a saved copy. Revisions come from the proponent without notice to you, and the printed date is the only version marker on the page. Already-submitted records under a superseded edition stand as filed; the change does not run backwards.
The files are copies of published Department of the Army forms. This site has no official connection, no authority to issue anything, and no basis for saying whether an office will accept a given submission. None of the text is legal advice. Real questions — entry, requirement, eligibility — belong with PMG or the administrative office servicing your unit.
Questions and answers
- What is DA Form 7281?
- COMMAND ORIENTED ARMS, AMMUNITION, AND EXPLOSIVES (AA&E) SECURITY SCREENING AND EVALUATION RECORD
- Which edition is current?
- 09/01/2009
- Who is responsible for this form?
- PMG
- In which formats can it be downloaded?
- PDF, XFDL, PDF
Publisher notes
- 42-ITEM ONLY PRODUCED IN ELECTRONIC MEDIA,