Bilecki Presents Family Emergency and Service Record; Reserve Lieutenant Receives Permanent GOMOR

Bilecki Presents Family Emergency and Service Record; Reserve Lieutenant Receives Permanent GOMOR

February 2023

New Jersey / San Francisco, California

Army Reserve First Lieutenant | O-2

Allegations: Unauthorized Absence from COVID Quarantine During Annual Training; Lack of Candor Regarding Location; AR 600-37 General Officer Memorandum of Reprimand

Facts

An Army Reserve First Lieutenant tested positive for COVID during annual training in New Jersey and was placed in quarantine barracks at the 78th Training Division. Soon after, he learned that his elderly mother in San Francisco had also tested positive for COVID and had become very ill. He believed she needed immediate help.

In mid-August 2022, he left quarantine and flew to California. He did not ask permission. He did not notify his chain of command before he left. When command contacted him the next day about his location, he was not transparent about being in California. He returned to New Jersey two days later.

Bilecki was retained the day after he returned.

For an Army officer, this could have gone much worse. Leaving annual training without authority, while assigned to quarantine, and then failing to be candid with command about his location gave the Army a straightforward unauthorized absence case. Bilecki presented the family circumstances, his acceptance of responsibility and his service record. The case remained administrative, and no court-martial charges were preferred.

The case was handled by GOMOR.

The rebuttal did not deny the conduct. The Lieutenant accepted responsibility for leaving quarantine without authority, acknowledged that he should have told his chain of command, and admitted that he was not transparent about his location when asked. The defense asked the Commanding General to file the GOMOR locally instead of permanently.

The argument was straightforward. He made a serious mistake. He left because his elderly mother was sick across the country, not because he was trying to avoid duty. He came back two days later. The mistake deserved correction, but it did not need to define the rest of his Army Reserve career.

The rebuttal also gave the Commanding General the rest of the officer's record. He commissioned in 2017 after graduating from Claremont McKenna College, where he earned degrees in economics and finance, received a four-year Presidential ROTC scholarship, and played varsity football. In the Army Reserve, he served as Executive Officer and later Commanding Officer of the 316th AG Detachment at Fort Totten, New York. In his civilian career, he worked at Goldman Sachs, earned early promotion to Vice President in Derivative Sales, and later moved to Citadel Securities. He also raised more than $16,000 through a 22-mile ruck march for RAINN.

The Commanding General permanently filed the GOMOR in the Army Military Human Resource Record.

Result: No court-martial charges preferred. GOMOR permanently filed in AMHRR.

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FAQ

Q: What was the defense argument when the Lieutenant admitted leaving without permission?
Tim explained why he left, how quickly he returned and what he accepted responsibility for. The rebuttal did not excuse his lack of candor. It asked the general to weigh a serious mistake made while worried about his mother against the rest of his military service and to choose local filing.

Q: Did the general grant that request?
No. The GOMOR was permanently filed in the AMHRR. No court-martial charges were preferred, but the permanent reprimand remained an adverse part of his record.