All four services will allow you to consult with a military lawyer in regards to appealing Letters of Reprimand (LOR)s, General Officer Memorandum of Record (GOMOR)s, and Potentially Adverse Counselings. DO NOT FOLLOW THE ADVICE OF YOUR LEGAL ASSISTANCE, AREA DEFENSE or TRIAL DEFENSE COUNSEL. The defense templates they use are old and will have you “falling on your sword” and can get you discharged from the US Military.

The problem is that the paradigm that the military lawyers are using to respond to these actions is out of date. The templates they use tend to have the Service-member “falling on their sword” and accepting responsibility.  The idea is that if there is an acceptance of responsibility their will be mercy from the commander.

This may have worked in the old days, but now with the ZERO DEFECT military this admission will come back to haunt the Service-member. I have seen these responsive pleas to not file an official reprimand backfire over and over again. When we got to the Administrative Hearing or the Board of Corrections, the letter is admitting to misconduct. You should not admit to any wrong doing, but instead defend your case at every level, to include the lowest level.