Every entry on DA Form 7595-1-5 exists because a record system needs it in writing. The form's official title is Decompress The Chest: Needle Decompression, and it is raised whenever an office must perform a needle chest decompression in a way that survives the departure of everyone involved. Memory does not transfer between assignments; a filed document does. The edition dated March 2014, status not stated, is what stands here, spread across 1 page(s) and about 168 fields — a count that reflects how much detail the receiving system requires, not how much the drafter wishes to give.
Two offices stand behind the form, and the distinction between them explains most of what follows. TRADOC is the proponent: it decides what the form asks and revises it when the underlying process changes. TC 8-800 is the prescribing authority: it decides when the form is raised at all and where the completed document travels. Content and occasion are separated deliberately, so that a change in procedure does not require redesigning the page.
The heading blocks come first because the record is retrieved by them, not read into. Name as official records spell it, identification number, unit, date of preparation — those four are the index, and everything below them is content that only surfaces once the index has done its work. A form filed under a name written casually is not lost in principle, only in practice, which amounts to the same thing.
Tab order is not a convenience feature; it was fixed when the form was built and generally traces the page, so following it produces the sequence the designer intended and leaves fewer gaps than a mouse. Exclusive option groups clear the previous selection because the record is not permitted to hold two contradictory answers. Single-line fields do not wrap for the same reason the layout is fixed: the printed page has to fall in known positions, so text past the field width is cut at the margin even though the screen still shows it whole. Overflow belongs in remarks or on a continuation, where there is room designed for it. And an inapplicable field is marked rather than skipped, since a blank tells a later reader nothing about whether the question was considered.
The signature is the point at which entries become an assertion someone stands behind, so it follows everything else and its absence leaves a draft. Countersignatures by reviewing, approving or witnessing officials each carry their own weight and are dated at signing, which is how the file preserves the order of responsibility. Seen that way, the familiar errors are not clerical trivia: an unanswered mandatory field, digits transposed in an identification number, day and month reversed, and residue from a reused file each put something false or unresolved into a document that will be relied upon.
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
The published formats — PDF — reflect the range of places a form gets filled in. Where there is a computer, the fillable pdf supplies live fields that keep entries positioned and readable. Where there is not, the printable pdf gives the identical page as flat artwork for pen entry. The distinction is one of setting rather than of authority; the page is the same document in both.
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.
Downloads are free and unregistered. The material was published for general use, and the files are passed on unaltered.
What the form asks for
- A_1_F
- A_1_P
- A_2_F
- A_2_P
- A_3_F
- A_3_P
- B_1_F
- B_1_P
- B_2_F
- B_2_P
- B_3_F
- B_3_P
- C_1_F
- C_1_P
- C_2_F
- C_2_P
- C_3_F
- C_3_P
- ContentArea1
- DATE
- D_1_F
- D_1_P
- D_2_F
- D_2_P
The routing in TC 8-800 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.
Revision follows the process, which is why editions appear without a fixed interval, and the printed date rather than any version number identifies them. Nothing on a stored copy signals that it has aged; the check is manual. Work already completed under a superseded edition stands as filed, because the record was made under those terms and is properly interpreted under them.
A word on where this page sits. These are reproductions of published Department of the Army documents, made available by an independent site with no official role and no authority to issue forms. The structure described above — proponent, prescribing directive, records schedule — exists apart from this site entirely, which is why nothing written here is legal advice and why acceptance by any office is not something that can be promised. Put questions of entry, requirement or eligibility to TRADOC or to the administrative office servicing your unit.
Questions and answers
- What is DA Form 7595-1-5?
- Decompress The Chest: Needle Decompression
- Which edition is current?
- March 2014
- Who is responsible for this form?
- TRADOC
- In which formats can it be downloaded?