DA Form 2028: what it is and how it works

DA Form 2028, Recommended Changes to Publications and Blank Forms, is the Army form for telling the office that owns a publication about an error, a gap, or a better procedure. AR 25-30, the Army Publishing Program regulation dated June 14, 2021, prescribes it. The Army Publishing Directorate record for the form shows the current edition dated June 1, 2018, with changes dated September 21, 2022 and June 14, 2023, and names the Chief Information Officer as proponent. Each publication names, normally on its first page, the office that receives its 2028s.

What the form asks for

The June 2018 form has two pages and three parts.

• Part I, all publications except repair parts and special tools lists (RPSTLs), and blank forms. The sender gives the publication or form number, change number, date, and title. For each comment the form asks, as applicable, for a comment number, work package number or data module code, page, paragraph, figure, table, the recommended change, and the reason for it.
• Part II, RPSTLs. The same heading, plus column, item, and reference numbers, the national stock number, and the total number of major items.
• Part III, remarks. General remarks or suggestions, with extra sheets if needed.

Both pages end with the sender's name, grade or title, email, telephone, and signature. The form's instructions say it may be submitted by mail or electronically. A change to a blank form goes electronically to the publications control officer and forms management officer of the organization that oversees the form. For a publication, the sender follows the proponent's preferred method, which appears in the suggested improvements paragraph on the title page.

Who sends one and where it goes

DA Pam 25-40, Army Publishing Program Procedures, dated February 1, 2024, encourages users to submit recommended changes, suggested improvements, and reports of errors once a publication is issued. The pamphlet applies to the Regular Army, Guard, and Reserve, and also to foreign military sales customers, other Services, Department of Defense contractors, and other organizations authorized to use Army-published material. Paragraph 2-6 sets four rules:

1. Use a separate form or letter for each publication.
2. Give a brief reason for each proposed change.
3. Send it directly to the proponent's email address on the title page.
4. Mark a form about a classified publication with the right classification and handle it under AR 380-5 and DoDM 5200.01.

The title-page routes differ. AR 25-30 sends comments to a Chief Information Officer policy inbox. AR 750-1, the April 29, 2026 maintenance regulation, sends them to the Deputy Chief of Staff, G-4. ATP 3-04.7, Army Aviation Maintenance, dated October 20, 2020, sends them to the Army Aviation Center of Excellence by mail or email, or as an electronic DA Form 2028.

How the Army handles a 2028

For technical and equipment publications, AR 25-30 names three proponents: the commanding general of the Army Materiel Command, the Chief of Engineers, and The Surgeon General. Among their duties, they maintain an information system that rapidly provides users' feedback reports on deficiencies in those publications. The Army Materiel Command assigns overall management of its program to the Director of its Logistics Data Analysis Center.

DA Pam 25-40 gives the working steps to the equipment publications control officer (EPCO) of each command. The EPCO administers a program to manage the 2028s and proposals that users of the command's publications send in, forwards them to subject matter experts, and keeps a database to track outstanding forms. For technical and equipment publications, the pamphlet says a change is appropriate to correct known errors isolated to specific pages and does not require staffing. Neither document, in the editions read here, sets a deadline for answering a 2028.

The aviation route

ATP 3-04.7 puts the process in the quality control section. Technical inspectors help maintainers prepare 2028s, forward each one to the agency responsible for the manual, keep a file of recommended changes, and track every submission. When a malfunction results from an improper procedure in a maintenance TM, the inspector notifies the production control officer in charge and the maintenance officer. According to the ATP, recommended changes can be submitted electronically at the Aviation and Missile Command (AMCOM) Logistic Center 2028 website, which also shows the status of each change.

The records pamphlet has a route of its own. DA Pam 738-751, dated February 28, 2014, tells units that find a conflict between it and a related publication to send a 2028 to AMCOM (AMSAM-MSI-L). Where such conflicts arise, the pamphlet's instructions take precedence.

What to check

• Does the 2028 go to the proponent named in the publication's suggested improvements paragraph?
• Is there one form per publication, with a page, paragraph, or work package and a reason for each change?
• For a parts list error, was Part II used, with the figure, item, and national stock number?
• Was a 2028 on a classified publication marked and handled under AR 380-5 and DoDM 5200.01?
• For an aviation TM, was the change entered on the AMCOM 2028 website, and does the quality control file show its status?

Azcuna's TRACE is one offline viewer for S1000D, MIL-STD-3001 XML, and PDF technical manuals. It keeps the source location and the markings of everything it shows and never modifies the source. It was proposed to NAVAIR under Navy SBIR Phase I topic DON26BZ05-NV078, and the proposal was submitted on September 23, 2026.

Sources

1. 1Record Details for DA FORM 2028 · Army Publishing Directorate
2. 2DA Form 2028, Recommended Changes to Publications and Blank Forms (June 2018) · Department of the Army
3. 3AR 25-30, Army Publishing Program · Headquarters, Department of the Army, June 14, 2021
4. 4DA Pam 25-40, Army Publishing Program Procedures · Headquarters, Department of the Army, February 1, 2024
5. 5ATP 3-04.7, Army Aviation Maintenance · Headquarters, Department of the Army, October 20, 2020
6. 6DA Pam 738-751, Functional Users Manual for the Army Maintenance Management System-Aviation · Headquarters, Department of the Army, February 28, 2014
7. 7AR 750-1, Army Materiel Maintenance Policy · Headquarters, Department of the Army, April 29, 2026

Where this shows up in our work

• TRACE, the offline S1000D and IETM viewer opens S1000D, MIL-STD-3001 and PDF technical manuals on a tablet with every marking intact.
• ELLMENT, the offline LLM for E-2D crews answers a crew's question from the aircraft's own manuals and cites the page, with no network.