DA 1594: Daily Staff Journal or Duty Officer's Log
The DEC 2019 staff duty and CQ log: organization, location, period covered, numbered time-in/time-out entries with action taken, and the duty officer's name and signature.
Every block on the DA Form 1594
Laid out block for block like the official DAILY STAFF JOURNAL OR DUTY OFFICER'S LOG (DEC 2019 edition), with the instruction for each block. Name, rank, and unit prefill from your service profile.
Form details
- Page No.
- No. of Pages
- Organization or Installation
- Location
- Journal Entries
Number the entries in order. TIME IN is when the event or message was received; TIME OUT is when it was acted on or passed. Say what you did about it in ACTION TAKEN, and initial the INL column.
- Type Name and Grade of Officer or Official on Duty
- Signature
Period covered
- From: Hour
- From: Date
- To: Hour
- To: Date
How to fill out the DA Form 1594
The official chronological record of everything that happens during a staff duty or CQ shift: reports, calls, checks, incidents, and what the duty officer or NCO did about each. When: Open a new page at the start of every staff duty, CQ, or TOC shift and keep it running until relief.
Step by step
- Fill the header: page number and number of pages, organization or installation, location, and the period covered (from and to hour and date).
- Make the first entry when you assume duty: who you relieved, keys, weapons, and property inventoried.
- Log every event on its own numbered line with the time in (received) and time out (acted on or passed), what happened, and the action taken.
- Record required checks (barracks, arms room, motor pool) at the times your SOP sets, even when nothing is wrong.
- Close with the relief entry, then type your name and grade and sign.
What a strong one looks like
- Write facts, not opinions: who, what, where, when, and who you notified.
- Use 24-hour time and log the exact time you notified the chain of command about any serious incident.
- Initial the INL column for entries you personally handled so the next shift knows who to ask.
Common mistakes
- Backfilling entries at the end of the shift from memory.
- Erasing or blacking out entries. Line through mistakes, initial them, and keep writing.
- Skipping the assumption and relief entries, which leaves a gap in accountability.