diff --git a/drivers/scsi/ibmvscsi_tgt/ibmvscsi_tgt.c b/drivers/scsi/ibmvscsi_tgt/ibmvscsi_tgt.c
index 61f06f6885a5..80238e6a3c98 100644
--- a/drivers/scsi/ibmvscsi_tgt/ibmvscsi_tgt.c
+++ b/drivers/scsi/ibmvscsi_tgt/ibmvscsi_tgt.c
@@ -1872,11 +1872,8 @@ static void srp_snd_msg_failed(struct scsi_info *vscsi, long rc)
  */
 static void ibmvscsis_send_messages(struct scsi_info *vscsi)
 {
-	u64 msg_hi = 0;
-	/* note do not attempt to access the IU_data_ptr with this pointer
-	 * it is not valid
-	 */
-	struct viosrp_crq *crq = (struct viosrp_crq *)&msg_hi;
+	struct viosrp_crq empty_crq = { };
+	struct viosrp_crq *crq = &empty_crq;
 	struct ibmvscsis_cmd *cmd, *nxt;
 	long rc = ADAPT_SUCCESS;
 	bool retry = false;
@@ -1940,7 +1937,7 @@ static void ibmvscsis_send_messages(struct scsi_info *vscsi)
 					crq->IU_length = cpu_to_be16(cmd->rsp.len);
 
 					rc = h_send_crq(vscsi->dma_dev->unit_address,
-							be64_to_cpu(msg_hi),
+							be64_to_cpu(crq->high),
 							be64_to_cpu(cmd->rsp.tag));
 
 					dev_dbg(&vscsi->dev, "send_messages: cmd %p, tag 0x%llx, rc %ld\n",
diff --git a/include/scsi/viosrp.h b/include/scsi/viosrp.h
index c978133c83e3..6c5559d2b285 100644
--- a/include/scsi/viosrp.h
+++ b/include/scsi/viosrp.h
@@ -70,12 +70,17 @@ enum viosrp_crq_status {
 };
 
 struct viosrp_crq {
-	u8 valid;		/* used by RPA */
-	u8 format;		/* SCSI vs out-of-band */
-	u8 reserved;
-	u8 status;		/* non-scsi failure? (e.g. DMA failure) */
-	__be16 timeout;		/* in seconds */
-	__be16 IU_length;		/* in bytes */
+	union {
+		__be64 high;			/* High 64 bits */
+		struct {
+			u8 valid;		/* used by RPA */
+			u8 format;		/* SCSI vs out-of-band */
+			u8 reserved;
+			u8 status;		/* non-scsi failure? (e.g. DMA failure) */
+			__be16 timeout;		/* in seconds */
+			__be16 IU_length;	/* in bytes */
+		};
+	};
 	__be64 IU_data_ptr;	/* the TCE for transferring data */
 };