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Show HsIftop- VMay 1 1 2000 . . Area Defense Counsel Senior Airman Melanie Thompson Defense Paralegal Whenever a military member is given a written disciplinary or rehabilitative action, such as a letter of repri- mand, admonishment or counseling, they have the right to provide a written response. Unfortunately, manymembers fail to takeadvantage of this opportunity. Perhaps they think it wont make a difference. Maybe theyve already told their version of what happened verbally, so they think there is no point in repeat or think theyre ing it Maybe theyre just not very good not very good at writing. Regardless of the reason, this opportunity and later regret it. many forgo There are several reasons to consider taking the opportunity to respond. Assuming youve received a letter of reprimand, if you dont respond, the letter will be placed in your Personal Information File and perhaps in an Unfavorable Information File. Further, it will be presumed that everything in the letter of reprimand is true and that you agree with it. If, on the other hand, you respond, your response may influence the outcome. For example, if your response is compelling, there is a possibility that your supervisor or commander will withdraw the letter of reprimand completely, or perhaps downgrade it to a Letter of Counsel? Even if your response doesnt alter the letter of reprimands immediate outcome, it could still prove to be useful at alater date. Lets assume thatyou dont completely agree with the letter of reprimand. Your response is your chance to tell your side of the story, to explain why you believe youre innocent, explain mitigating and extenuating circumstances, or explain why you believe the action is unfair. re-enli- st, well-writte- " ; n . . - 40 . You c: vorttiio Can Live the like Dream jobs Hawaii, Aspen, the Virgin Islands, or right in your hometown. rr .$& er : - 'V Ty.'v . desk-draw- - , ... the letter, response that she will decide to will and the letter never become part of your permanent record at all. To demonstrate how this can all work, lets look at a common example Assume that Airman A overslept. Her supervisor, Staff Sgt. B, calls to see if she is okay and to have her come into work. After Airman A comes to work, He goes through the Squadron Personal Information obviously very late, Staff Sgt. B decides to give her a LetFiles and Unfavorable Information Files and finds sev- ter of Reprimand for failing to go to prescribed place of eral letters of counseling and reprimand in your file. He duty. The letter of reprimand states that Airman A can decides that youre a troublemaker. provide a written response if she wishes to. decides he The next time you screw up, even slightly, Obviously, Airman A is guilty of being late, so she may to give you an Article 15 and administratively discharge feel that responding isnt worth it. But she should rethink you. Your discharge notification letter cites all the inci- this. Even though she was late, Airman A could offer a dents that you have ever received letters of counseling written statement to show she didnt purposely oversleep. or reprimand for. You now want to dispute the basis for: Perhaps Airman As alarm clock didnt go off when it should have or there was a power outage in which her the discharge. Too bad. Its basically too late. alarm clock was disabled or she had car problems. AirBecause you didnt respond when you received the counseling letters or reprimands, nobody will care to hear your man A should say that in a written response. Or perhaps there was a good reason that Airman A was explanation now. Letters of counseling and reprimand can also be used as a basis to deny you the opportunity very tired or distracted. For example, if that morning Air--, to or deny you other opportunities. If you man A had found out that a loved one was very ill, or she and convincing response attached and was under a great deal of stress because of some family have a the full story is known, its less likely that such adverse or personal crisis, Airman A could provide Staff Sgt. B with that information in a written response. Even if there actions will be taken. Even if you are guilty of whatever offense is the basis was no explanation at all, it still wouldnt hurt to write a for the; letters, it can still be useful to respond. Your response. Airman A could assure Staff Sgt. B that she response is an opportunity to showthatyo i accept respon- - understands the importance of being on time and assure her that it wont happen in the future. The mistakes. and from Heres the bottom line: if youre given an opportunity can learn attitude positive your response is an opportunity to impress your supervisor to provide a written response to any type of disciplinary and commander or whoever issued the letter. It shows or rehabilitative action, you should seriously consider that you care enough about your Air Force career that taking advantage of it. It just takes a few minutes and it you took the time to sit down and write something. It could help you both in the short run and the long run. If you have any questions, or need help writing a response, shows that you read the letter and thought about it and or call the Area Defense Counsel at Ext. took it in the spirit in which it was intended. Perhaps -- . ing. the author of the letter will be so impressed with your Your response must be attached to the original letter of reprimand and placed in the Personal Information File . or Unfavorable Information File with it It becomes a part of the permanent record. If you dont respond, your version of the events is essentially lost to history. Whoever reviews your personnel files, for whatever reasons, will only see one side of the story. Suppose, a year or two later, your new squadron commander decides to clean house. by Capt. David J.R. Frakt ' fi -- :TI Dream! All-Americ- an r D n; Ci Lifetime career service EEE assistance. Graduate in just seven months. - Financial Aid grants and loans to those who qualify. UTAH COLLEGE 0MASSAGE A THERAPY-- ' & - nn V j ' iax 1992 W. Antelope Drive, Suite BD . . Utah 84041 ' - Layton, , - fmz Full Approvals in as fast as 3 minutes! j Alan Jeppsen, M.D, . 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