MJ Law GroupYour Mission. Our Fight.

Practice Area

Military Administrative Actions

The paperwork that quietly ends careers.

Schedule a Consultation305-831-3649

Overview

About Admin Actions

Commanders have a broad toolkit of administrative actions short of a court-martial, and each one can quietly end a career. Nonjudicial punishment (Article 15 in the Army, Air Force, and Space Force; Captain's Mast in the Navy and Coast Guard; Office Hours in the Marine Corps), Letters of Reprimand (in the Army, a General Officer Memorandum of Reprimand, or GOMOR; in the Air Force and Space Force, a Letter of Reprimand, Letter of Admonishment, or Letter of Counseling; in the Marine Corps, an adverse Page 11 entry), adverse evaluation reports (OERs and NCOERs in the Army, FITREPs in the sea services, and the corresponding performance records in the Air Force and Space Force), Relief for Cause, Unfavorable Information Files, Bars to Reenlistment, security-clearance suspensions, and Suspensions of Favorable Personnel Actions (a "Flag" in Army parlance) all move on paper, but their consequences follow the record. A filed GOMOR can end a promotion board. A single negative evaluation can trigger a show-cause board. A revoked clearance can force separation.

Representation spans every stage of these proceedings: advising before you sign or respond, drafting matters in extenuation and mitigation, appealing to the imposing authority and the next-higher commander, petitioning for filing determinations that keep an adverse document local rather than permanent, and moving to the appropriate Board for Correction of Military Records when the chain of command declines to fix an error. The practice is disciplined around the details that decide these matters: framing the response before the paperwork moves, filing where the regulations actually govern, and preserving every appellate window the record allows.

What’s at Stake

Your career, your rank, your retirement, and your clearance.

  • Promotion eligibility and selection board outcomes
  • Rank, pay, and time in grade following nonjudicial punishment
  • Whether an adverse document is filed locally or permanently in your record
  • Retention, retirement eligibility, and years of service already earned
  • Security clearance access and continued assignability
  • Referral to a separation board or Board of Inquiry

Common Questions

Frequently Asked

Can I refuse an Article 15?
In most cases, yes. A service member offered nonjudicial punishment generally has the right to turn it down and demand trial by court-martial instead, with one significant exception: members attached to or embarked in a vessel typically cannot refuse. Refusing is a serious decision with real consequences in both directions. Nonjudicial punishment carries a lower burden of proof and lighter maximum penalties, but it still creates a record that can affect promotion, retention, and security clearance. A court-martial offers full due process, the right to counsel, and the possibility of acquittal, but a conviction is a federal criminal conviction. Because the calculation depends heavily on the strength of the government's evidence and what is actually at stake in your case, this is a decision to make with counsel rather than on your own timeline.
What is a GOMOR, and how do I fight one?
A General Officer Memorandum of Reprimand is a formal written censure issued by a general officer in the Army; the Air Force and Space Force use Letters of Reprimand, Admonishment, or Counseling, and the Marine Corps uses adverse Page 11 entries. Receiving one is not the end of the matter. You are entitled to submit a rebuttal, and that rebuttal is your case. The critical question is usually not whether the reprimand issues but where it is filed: a locally filed reprimand stays at the unit and generally leaves service after a set period, while one directed to your permanent record follows you to every promotion board for the rest of your career. Written matters in extenuation and mitigation, character statements, and documentary evidence all bear on that filing decision. If the reprimand is filed permanently, the next remedy is typically a petition to the appropriate Board for Correction of Military Records to have it removed or transferred.
Do I need a civilian lawyer for an administrative action if military counsel is free?
Free military defense counsel is real and competent, and many service members are well served by it alone. Trial Defense Service in the Army, the Defense Service Office in the Navy and Marine Corps, and the Area Defense Counsel in the Air Force and Space Force all provide no-cost representation. The practical considerations are caseload and continuity: military defense counsel typically carry heavy dockets and rotate assignments every 24 to 36 months, which can matter in a proceeding that stretches across a permanent change of station or an appeal. Service members facing career-ending exposure, such as a permanently filed reprimand, a clearance revocation, or an action likely to trigger a show-cause board, often retain civilian counsel to work alongside their detailed defense counsel. The two roles are complementary, not competing, and co-counsel arrangements are common.

Related

Other proceedings we handle.

Separation Boards

Administrative separation boards, Boards of Inquiry (BOI), show cause boards, and medical separation proceedings (LDES/IDES): outcomes that determine your discharge characterization.

Read the Overview

Boards for Correction of Military Records

The highest administrative remedy for correcting errors and injustices in military records: discharge characterization, retirement points, adverse documents, awards, and rank.

Read the Overview

Military Courts-Martial

Summary, Special, and General courts-martial defense, from Article 32 investigations through trial and appeals to the service Courts of Criminal Appeals.

Read the Overview

Start Here

How can we help you?

Schedule Consultation305-831-3649
Back to All Practice Areas
CallConsultation