Army duty rosters are designed to quickly define the roles and situations for each member of a smaller unit, such as a platoon. Duty rosters let leaders know where each soldier should be and what he should be doing for a given day, using a numerical system. Creating a duty roster is a daily occurrence, with platoon leaders changing or leaving assignments requiring completion as necessary.

Fill in the duty description on the "Nature of Duty" header. Examples might be motor pool repairs, leave schedules or aviator flight scheduling.

Enter the letter assignment of your company and the branch of service under the "Organization" header. For example, enter "Battery B, Artillery."

Enter the rank and name of each soldier in your unit assigned to this particular roster. These should be listed vertically in alphabetical order along the left side, under the "Grade" and "Name" headers.

Create a numerical key that defines each assignment. These numbers are placed horizontally, parallel to the soldier and corresponding to a date within a one-month period. For example, a number "1" might correspond to "Performing server maintenance."

Provide a letter key for special circumstances surrounding an individual soldier. Troops with authorized absences are represented by the letter "A." Soldiers that have an overriding duty and cannot be chosen for this assignment are designated with a "D." Anyone missing, AWOL or in custody are designated with a "U."