What is a General officer Memorandum of Reprimand or a Letter of Reprimand?

Commanders give an administrative warnings to service members through a general officer memorandum of reprimand or Letter of Reprimand, commonly know as GOMOR or LOR. Commanders give this censure to a service member, enlisted or officer, for failure to comply with established standards or policies. Commanders can file a letter of reprimand or a general officer memorandum of reprimand either locally or in a service members permanent personnel file. Reprimands are considered unfavorable information and can result in non-promotion or an administrative separation action. These censures allow a GOMOR rebuttal from the service member.  When general officer writes an LOR it is considered a general officer memorandum of reprimand. General officers write a GOMOR when they are concerned about a service member under their command. At the general officer’s discretion, he can direct the GOMOR filed locally or in the service members permanent file. A Soldier who receives a GOMOR in the Army may find it filed in their permanent, but restricted file. Having an experienced attorney who understands this process can increase a service members chances of a better result. You want to be one of the GOMOR rebuttal success stories.

Where is my GOMOR or LOR filed?

A locally filed GOMOR or LOR in a service members personnel records folder can be seen by the Soldier’s chain of command, but not by a promotion board. The service will remove this unfavorable information after a change of duty station or after 3 years, whichever is sooner. However a new requirement from the fiscal year 2020 NDAA has prompted the services to adopt new policies regarding adverse information now available to officer promotion boards. Officer promotion boards will now have access to summaries of investigations and substantiated misconduct allegations. Read more about these changes in our blog. These changes make it even more critical for those under investigation to have aggressive legal representation before these reports are filed. If you suspect you are going to receive a GOMOR in the Army, call now.

Permanently-filed GOMOR or LOR

A permanently-filed letter of reprimand or general officer memorandum of reprimand will remain in the performance portion of the service member’s human resource record and can be seen by the service’s human resources division and promotion boards. This permanently-filed GOMOR or LOR will stay there through the service member’s career unless it is appealed for removal or transferred to the restricted portion of the service member’s permanent record. Information in the restricted file of the permanent record is not generally viewable by promotion or selection boards. Exceptions may be service-level selection boards, if the board president makes a specific written request. For the U.S. Army, CSM/SGM, SGM Academy, and CSM/SGM retention boards, and some government agencies may view restricted file material by written request. For more information on who in the U.S. Army may view restricted file material, see AR 600-8-104, para. 2-6 & 2-7.

What are the consequences of receiving a GOMOR or LOR?

Receiving a GOMOR or LOR in any service may prevent you from being promoted. The negative information may also be addressed in your evaluation. For the U.S. Army, a negative NCOER and GOMORs may trigger a Qualitative Management Program, or QMP, review. The QMP is designed to deny NCOs continued service on qualitative grounds if they do not meet retention standards for continued service. Reprimands issued as punishment under an Article 15 proceeding will be filed with the Report of Proceedings. For officers, a GOMOR in the Army or any service can also be a later basis for administrative separation.

How do I respond to a general officer memorandum of reprimand or letter of reprimand?

Upon receipt of a general officer memorandum of reprimand or letter of reprimand, the command will notify the service member of the opportunity to respond, and the date by which the response must be submitted. This response is referred to as “rebuttal matters.” Having an experienced lawyer to assist you in this process can make all the difference and help your case become one of many GOMOR rebuttal success stories.

Rebuttal Matters

Service members like this one need an aggressive response when facing a GOMOR. Get GOMOR Rebuttal help from an experienced civilian military lawyer. Be one of many GOMOR rebuttal success stories!

GOMOR Rebuttal matters should reply to the reprimand as denying the allegations or requesting that the reprimand be filed in a local or restricted file. Service members should address the underlying facts and provide mitigating evidence through their GOMOR rebuttal. Although service members are not entitled to a military attorney to assist them, service members can benefit from hiring a civilian military lawyer to assist them in preparing their response as part of the rebuttal matters. Expert assistance may make the difference in preventing non-promotion or involuntary administrative separation.

GOMOR Rebuttal Success Stories

Servicemembers can rightly be concerned when they find themselves under command investigation. You will find at our case results several examples career-saving success. If you are facing a GOMOR in the Army or any service or you are under investigation, you want to find yourself in the company of other GOMOR rebuttal success stories. You deserve aggressive defense from an experienced lawyer.