Every entry on DA Form 2408-4-3 exists because a record system needs it in writing. The form's official title is WEAPON SIGHTING DATA (AH-64A), and it is raised whenever an office must weapon sighting data (ah-64a) in a way that survives the departure of everyone involved. Memory does not transfer between assignments; a filed document does. The edition dated 10/01/1997, status ACTIVE, is what stands here, spread across 1 page(s) and about 172 fields — a count that reflects how much detail the receiving system requires, not how much the drafter wishes to give.
Behind any Army form sit two separate decisions. What the document asks is settled by G-4, which maintains and revises it. Whether you raise it, and where it goes once signed, is settled by PAM 738-751. That division is the reason a form can outlive several changes in the process it serves.
Identification precedes substance for a structural reason. Name, identification number, organisation and date of preparation are how the finished document is located in a file or a database; the body of the form is what someone reads after the search has succeeded. Spell the name as official records spell it, since the search runs against those records and not against habit.
The rules of entry all trace back to the page being fixed in advance. Tabbing follows the order built into the form, which usually matches how the page reads and misses less than clicking. An exclusive group discards the earlier selection because contradictory entries would make the record unusable. One-line fields have no wrap because print positions are predetermined, so an overlong entry displays fully and prints truncated. Longer text goes to the remarks area or a continuation, both provided for exactly that. Where nothing applies, the nil mark is entered — a blank leaves the reader unable to tell a considered answer from a skipped one.
A signature is what converts entries into a record, which is why it comes last and why an unsigned form remains a draft however complete it looks. Where a reviewing official, an approving authority or a witness also signs, each adds a distinct attestation, and each dates the day of signing rather than the day of preparation — the dates trace the sequence of responsibility. The recurring defects are worth knowing precisely because they defeat that purpose: an empty mandatory field leaves an obligation unmet, transposed identification digits attach the record to nobody, a date with day and month reversed puts events in the wrong order, and entries left in a reused working copy assert facts nobody intended.
Personal information may not be gathered silently, and the Privacy Act statement is how that obligation is met on paper: it names the collection authority, the purpose, the routine uses and whether disclosure is mandatory. Because it exists to inform a decision, it belongs before the fields it covers rather than after them. A filled copy then holds personal data and is stored and transmitted under the corresponding safeguards.
Download the form
Why several files for one page? Because the form has to be completed in a headquarters and in places without a workstation, and PDF covers both. The fillable pdf holds interactive fields that fix each entry in place and remove handwriting from the equation. The printable pdf is the same layout without those fields, meant for a printer and a pen. Neither is a lesser copy of the other; each answers a condition the other cannot.
Software determines whether an entry lasts. A browser viewer is designed for reading, and several will take typed input into fields without any means of writing it back — the text is simply absent when you reopen. A standalone reader handles the form structure properly.
There is no charge and no sign-up. Published documents are distributed as published, without modification.
What the form asks for
- AZ_A
- AZ_B
- AZ_C
- AZ_D
- AZ_E
- AZ_F
- AZ_G
- AZ_H
- AZ_I
- AZ_J
- AirData
- ContentArea1
- Date
- DateA
- DateB
- DateC
- DateD
- DateF
- DateG
- DateH
- DateI
- DateJ
- EL_F
- EL_G
The routing in PAM 738-751 decides where the document goes — a named office, the administrative channel, or the individual's file — and the records schedule for the series decides how long it stays. Neither is a local judgement, because a record system loses its meaning if each office keeps things for its own preferred interval. Copy the form before submitting it.
Series and number are how the DA series signals which documents belong together, and the grouping follows real process boundaries: a shared proponent or directive usually means a shared purpose. A form cited on the face of another is part of that same transaction, and continuation sheets, covers and transmittals complete it.
Editions change because the process changes, and the printed edition date is the only marker of which version a page belongs to. A copy saved locally cannot know it has been superseded, so the date on it is compared against the edition in force before reuse. Records already executed under an earlier edition are left alone — a document is read under the terms it was made, and reopening completed files to match a later form would falsify the account.
One boundary should be stated clearly. What is distributed here are copies of published Department of the Army forms; the site is independent, issues nothing of its own, and holds no position in the system it describes. Proponency, prescribing directives and retention schedules operate without reference to it. Consequently nothing here is legal advice and no assurance about acceptance is possible. Questions about a particular entry, a requirement or eligibility belong with G-4 or your servicing administrative office.
Questions and answers
- What is DA Form 2408-4-3?
- WEAPON SIGHTING DATA (AH-64A)
- Which edition is current?
- 10/01/1997
- Who is responsible for this form?
- G-4
- In which formats can it be downloaded?
- PDF, PDF
Publisher notes
- 42-ITEM ONLY PRODUCED IN ELECTRONIC MEDIA