A General Officer Memorandum of Reprimand is an administrative action, not a criminal conviction. But a GOMOR filed in the performance portion of your Army Military Human Resource Record can affect promotion, command, assignments, retention, and retirement plans. Your exact referral notice controls the response deadline. Army Regulation 600-37 currently gives many Soldiers on active duty seven calendar days. That is enough time only if the work starts now.
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The Notice in Your Hand Controls. Read It, Preserve It, and Start Now.
- Record when and how the GOMOR was delivered. Calendar the suspense written in the notice, including the time and time zone if one is stated.
- Save the complete GOMOR, referral memorandum, acknowledgment, every listed enclosure, and every document the command says supports the reprimand.
- Preserve messages, photographs, videos, location information, medical records, training records, database entries, and original paper documents. Do not delete, alter, or manufacture anything.
- Do not contact the person who made the allegation or begin collecting statements without a plan. Continue following lawful orders and do not discuss the case on social media.
- Do not submit a rushed apology or decline to respond simply because the form is due. If more time or missing records are necessary, request them immediately, but continue working against the original suspense unless an extension is approved in writing.
Ask for the Best Result the Evidence and the Regulation Authorize.
| Requested Result | When It Fits | What the Rebuttal Must Show |
|---|---|---|
| Withdraw the GOMOR and destroy it | The allegation is false, materially unsupported, or the memorandum is unjust as written. | Identify the decisive factual error and prove it with original records, reliable witnesses, or both. |
| Withdraw and replace or narrow the memorandum | Some conduct occurred, but the GOMOR overstates what happened, assigns unsupported intent, or includes allegations the evidence does not establish. | Separate the supported conduct from the exaggeration and propose language that accurately states what remains. |
| File locally, when authorized | The filing authority concludes that a reprimand is warranted, but placement in the performance portion of the AMHRR is not necessary or proportionate. | Address the facts honestly, show rehabilitation and continued value, and explain why the authorized local result answers the command’s concern. |
| File in the performance portion of the AMHRR | The authorized filing official directs Army wide filing after considering the rebuttal, or a specific mandatory filing rule applies. | The response still matters because it must be considered and, when filed, accompanies the unfavorable information. |
Decision Note: Performance filing is not automatic merely because a general officer issued the GOMOR. Local filing is not authorized in every case. The precise basis for the reprimand and the filing authority’s legal options must be checked before the rebuttal asks for relief.
The Command’s Accusation Is Not the Whole Case.
The word reprimand is everywhere in military culture. Nearly every enlisted Soldier or officer has found themselves on the wrong end of a reprimand, whether it was a good old fashioned ass chewing from a grizzled First Sergeant or a documented counseling that was unpleasant and then passed.
All reprimands are not created equal.
A GOMOR is a written administrative reprimand issued by a general officer. It is not nonjudicial punishment, and it is not a finding of guilt by a court-martial. The Army can issue one even when no criminal charge is preferred and no court ever hears the evidence. That is exactly why the written response matters.
The memorandum often states the command’s conclusion in absolute terms. It may rely on a military police report, a Criminal Investigation Division file, an administrative investigation, a civilian arrest, a urinalysis packet, a training document, or several sources assembled into one accusation. Your side of the story may not appear anywhere in that packet unless the rebuttal puts it there.
Silence leaves the filing authority with the command’s version. A generic apology can make the problem worse by conceding facts or intent that the evidence does not establish. A useful rebuttal does something different. It identifies the actual accusation, tests every supporting source, supplies the missing evidence, and asks for the most favorable result the regulation permits.
That work must happen fast. The short suspense does not excuse a thin submission. It makes disciplined evidence gathering, writing, and judgment more important.
“Can you see why it is important to get your voice into the rebuttal?”
Timothy J. Bilecki, Managing Attorney
Understand Your Rights and the Process
The GOMOR Is Administrative
A GOMOR is not a court-martial conviction and does not impose Article 15 punishment. It is unfavorable administrative information, and the filing decision can create serious career consequences without a criminal trial.
The Complete Referral Packet Matters
When the command intends AMHRR filing, the referral should identify that intent and list the portions of investigations, reports, and other documents that form the basis for the memorandum when the Soldier has not already had an opportunity to answer them. Counsel needs the entire packet, not only the signed reprimand.
The Exact Notice Controls the Suspense
Under the current Army regulation, Soldiers on active duty and Army Reserve Soldiers in troop program units are generally provided seven calendar days. Army National Guard and Reserve Soldiers who are not on active duty are generally provided 30 calendar days. The referral notice must state the date the response is due. Use that date, not a website estimate.
There Is No Restricted AMHRR Filing Option for an Initial GOMOR
For a nonpunitive administrative memorandum under paragraph 3-5, the initial choices are local filing or filing in the performance portion of the AMHRR. Restricted filing is not an initial option. Local filing is not the same thing as restricted AMHRR filing.
A Local Filing Has a Defined Life
Army Regulation 600-37 permits local filing for up to 18 months or until the Soldier is reassigned to another general court-martial jurisdiction, whichever occurs first. A local filing remains serious, but it does not place the GOMOR in the performance portion of the AMHRR.
The Rebuttal Travels With a Filed GOMOR
The filing authority must review the Soldier’s statements and evidence before deciding on AMHRR filing. If the memorandum is filed, the response and supporting correspondence are attached. The response therefore must make sense to the filing authority today and to an authorized reader who encounters the document later.
The Regulation Provides Two Filing Destinations, but Not Every Case Allows Both.
Local Filing
Command File for a Limited Period
A local GOMOR remains outside the performance portion of the AMHRR. Under the current regulation, it may remain in the local file for up to 18 months or until reassignment to another general court-martial jurisdiction, whichever happens first. The memorandum should state how long it will remain and identify a point of contact for removal when that period expires.
Local filing is not harmless. The current command may rely on it when making assignment, leadership, evaluation, training, or other personnel decisions within its authority. But it is materially different from a performance filing, and it can be an appropriate alternative when the evidence supports some administrative action but Army wide filing is not necessary.
Performance Filing in the AMHRR
Army Wide Personnel Record
A GOMOR directed into the AMHRR is filed in the performance folder. The performance folder is part of the Army record used for personnel management and board consideration. A filing can affect promotion, command selection, assignments, retention decisions, and the practical ability to complete a military career.
For a memorandum governed by paragraph 3-5, the authorized official must consider the circumstances, the rebuttal, and alternative nonpunitive measures before directing performance filing. Minor behavior infractions and developmental mistakes normally should not be recorded there. The fact that the document is called a GOMOR does not predetermine the destination.
The Paragraph 3-4 Mandatory Filing Rule
A Narrow Rule Defined by Specific Offenses
Paragraph 3-4 uses a different filing rule for a punitive administrative action initiated because of specified offenses that the regulation calls sex related. The listed provisions are Articles 120, 120b, 120c, 125, and 130 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, plus attempts to commit a listed offense under Article 80. When paragraph 3-4 applies, commanders do not have authority to use local filing or the restricted folder. The document goes into the performance disciplinary folder of the AMHRR.
That rule does not apply merely because a memorandum uses words such as sexual misconduct, harassment, or inappropriate relationship, and a different caption does not necessarily avoid the rule. The question is whether the punitive administrative action was initiated as a result of conduct that meets one of paragraph 3-4's listed offenses. Article 134 extramarital sexual conduct, for example, does not itself appear on the list, but the label alone cannot replace an examination of the actual factual and legal basis. Counsel should test that basis against the regulation and the required servicing judge advocate coordination instead of accepting the caption as conclusive.
Mandatory filing also does not convert an allegation into a criminal conviction or erase the right to respond. Unless a referral exception applies, the Soldier must receive notice and an opportunity to answer before the action is filed, and the response is filed with it.
Primary Source: Army Regulation 600-37, Unfavorable Information, paragraphs 3-4, 3-5, and 3-7
A GOMOR Rebuttal Is an Evidence Submission, Not an Apology Letter.
01: A Factual Analysis of Every Claim
We break the memorandum into the facts it actually asserts. Who supposedly did what? When? What intent does the GOMOR assign? Which source supports each statement? A conclusion that sounds forceful can still rest on a missing document, a contradictory timeline, or a witness who never observed the disputed event.
02: The Original Evidence
The strongest rebuttal evidence is often the record created before anyone expected a fight. That can include messages, photographs, videos, official database entries, scorecards, profiles, medical records, receipts, location data, training records, or contemporaneous reports. We preserve the original source and explain exactly what it proves and what it does not prove.
03: Witnesses With Personal Knowledge
We identify the people who saw the event, created the document, made the entry, gave the order, or can explain the procedure. Their statements must address the disputed fact directly. Rank and enthusiasm do not replace personal knowledge.
04: Honest Context Without Unnecessary Concessions
If the allegation is false, the rebuttal should say so and prove why. If some conduct occurred, the submission should distinguish that conduct from what the memorandum exaggerates or assumes. Accountability can help when it is accurate. Capitulation does not.
05: Career Evidence That Answers the Filing Decision
Evaluations, awards, deployments, qualifications, rehabilitation, and credible leader testimony matter when they explain why withdrawal, narrower language, or local filing is the appropriate response. Quality beats volume. The useful letter is not from someone who likes you because you released the formation early. It is from the leader who can describe what you did under pressure and why continued service still matters.
06: A Specific and Authorized Request
The filing authority should not have to guess what the Soldier wants. We state the requested result in order: withdraw and destroy the GOMOR when the evidence does not support it; replace or narrow it when only limited conduct is established; or file locally when the law authorizes that choice. The relief request must fit both the evidence and the governing paragraph.
Seven Days Is Common. Every Hour Has a Job.
Step 1: Lock Down the Notice, Suspense, and Filing Rule
We read the GOMOR, referral notice, acknowledgment, stated basis, intended filing language, and every enclosure. We identify the actual response date, the authorized filing official, whether paragraph 3-4 or 3-5 governs, and which relief is legally available.
Step 2: Obtain the Complete Supporting Material
We compare the enclosure list to what was actually delivered and identify missing investigation pages, exhibits, recordings, witness statements, or other allied documents. When additional time is justified, we prepare a focused written request. No extension is assumed until it is approved.
Step 3: Reconstruct What Actually Happened
We build the timeline from original evidence and the people with personal knowledge. The task is not to make a thick packet. It is to determine which allegations are true, which are false, which are overstated, and which cannot be supported by the sources the command chose.
Step 4: Develop the Witness and Career Evidence
We obtain factual statements first, then identify leaders who can explain performance, judgment, rehabilitation, and continued value. Each statement receives a purpose. A pile of praise that never addresses the filing decision wastes time and attention.
Step 5: Draft the Rebuttal Around the Relief Ladder
The submission begins with the requested result and the reason the filing authority can grant it. It then addresses the facts, evidence, context, governing filing rule, and career considerations in a sequence that can be read quickly without losing the hard points.
Step 6: Review, Submit, and Confirm the Filing Decision
The Soldier reviews every factual statement and enclosure before submission. We make sure the package is complete, delivered before the controlling suspense, and received by the proper office. We then follow the initial action through the filing decision so the client knows whether the GOMOR was withdrawn, changed, filed locally, or placed in the performance portion of the AMHRR.
The deadline is short, but the point is not to write fast. The point is to find the decisive evidence fast and make the filing authority confront it.
A GOMOR Can Change a Career Without a Criminal Conviction.
Promotion and Selection
A performance filing becomes part of the personnel record considered in Army selection and management processes. It can affect promotion, command selection, schools, broadening opportunities, and other competitive decisions. It does not make every later outcome automatic, but it creates adverse information that future decision makers can see.
Continued Service
A GOMOR can become evidence in an administrative separation, elimination, or retention action. The reprimand does not itself discharge a Soldier, and a later proceeding has its own rules and decisions. But an unsupported factual statement left unanswered can be repeated in the next packet.
Retirement Plans
For a senior noncommissioned officer or officer approaching retirement eligibility, a filing can disrupt the assignments, promotions, and continued service necessary to reach that point. The financial effect depends on grade, years of service, component, and the personnel action that follows. Do not reduce that risk to a generic slogan or an invented dollar figure.
Leadership and Assignment Opportunities
Command, key developmental assignments, schools, special duties, and positions of trust can depend on a record free from substantiated adverse information. A GOMOR may affect those decisions even when the command does not immediately begin separation.
The Local Command
A local filing remains available to the command during its authorized period and can affect local decisions. It is a better result than performance filing in many cases, but it is not the same thing as withdrawal. The relief request should reflect that difference.
The Written Response
When a GOMOR is filed, the Soldier’s response is attached. A careful rebuttal therefore protects more than the immediate decision. It prevents the command’s accusation from becoming the only explanation in the file.
The Filing Authority Gets One Complete Defense, Not a Stack of Hope.
01: We Start With the Allegation
We do not begin with an apology and work backward. We test the accusation against the original records, the actual timeline, and witnesses with personal knowledge.
02: We Write for the Person Who Can Act
The rebuttal must give the authorized filing official a concrete reason and a lawful way to grant relief. We identify whether withdrawal, replacement, narrower language, or local filing is supported and available. Then we organize the evidence around that decision.
03: Trial Experience Applied to the Written Record
Trial experience teaches a lawyer to separate proof from accusation, identify what a witness actually knows, and recognize when a confident conclusion outruns its source. That discipline carries directly into a GOMOR rebuttal.
04: A Complete Package Under a Short Suspense
The notice, investigation, digital records, factual statements, career evidence, legal rule, and requested result have to fit together. We assign each enclosure a purpose and make the written submission understandable to a general officer who may have only minutes to review it.
05: OCONUS Defense With Deep Roots in Asia
Tim Bilecki served as Senior Defense Counsel in Seoul. The firm has defended service members throughout Asia, the Pacific, Europe, and the United States. The firm's overseas experience is part of how we understand the command, timing, records, and career consequences surrounding a GOMOR.
06: Straight Advice About the Achievable Result
Not every GOMOR should be withdrawn, and local filing is not authorized in every case. We explain what the evidence supports, what the regulation permits, and which argument is most likely to matter. We will shoot you straight.
Army GOMOR Rebuttal Questions
1. How long do I have to submit a GOMOR rebuttal?
The deadline stated in your referral notice controls. Under the current Army Regulation 600-37, Soldiers on active duty and Army Reserve Soldiers in troop program units are generally provided seven calendar days. Army National Guard and Reserve Soldiers who are not on active duty are generally provided 30 calendar days. The notice must identify the due date. An extension may be requested when more time or missing records are necessary, but it is not automatic. Keep working against the original suspense unless an extension is approved in writing.
2. Is a GOMOR a criminal conviction or Article 15 punishment?
No. A GOMOR is an administrative reprimand, not a court-martial conviction and not punishment imposed under Article 15. That distinction matters, but it does not make the GOMOR harmless. A performance filing can affect promotion, selection, assignments, retention, and later administrative action without any criminal conviction.
3. Can a general officer withdraw a GOMOR after reading the rebuttal?
Yes. The issuing or filing authority can decide not to place the memorandum in the AMHRR, and a rebuttal can ask that an unsupported reprimand be withdrawn and destroyed.
4. What is the difference between local filing and AMHRR performance filing?
Local filing keeps the GOMOR in the command file for a limited period, currently no more than 18 months or until reassignment to another general court-martial jurisdiction, whichever occurs first. Performance filing places it in the performance portion of the Army Military Human Resource Record used in Army personnel and board processes. The current regulation does not authorize initial filing of a paragraph 3-5 GOMOR in the restricted portion of the AMHRR.
5. Must every GOMOR involving alleged sexual conduct be filed in the performance folder?
No. Paragraph 3-4 mandates performance filing only for a punitive administrative action initiated as a result of conduct that meets one of the specific offenses listed there. The list covers Articles 120, 120b, 120c, 125, and 130, plus Article 80 attempts to commit those offenses. A general label such as sexual misconduct does not establish that the rule applies, and a different caption does not establish that it does not. Counsel must compare the actual factual and legal basis for the action to the exact list and the required servicing judge advocate coordination. Even when mandatory filing applies, the Soldier generally retains the opportunity to answer before filing.
6. What should I send a lawyer after I receive a GOMOR?
Call first so the firm can identify an appropriate secure channel. Then provide the complete GOMOR, referral notice, acknowledgment, stated suspense, and every enclosure. Also preserve the underlying investigation, messages, photographs, videos, medical or training records, evaluations, awards, and the names of witnesses with personal knowledge. Tell counsel when and how you received the packet and whether any supporting document listed in the referral is missing. Do not edit original files or submit a rushed statement before the factual and legal theory is clear.
Your Defense Team
Timothy J. Bilecki, Managing Attorney
Tim Bilecki leads the defense strategy. His experience as an Army defense counsel and Senior Defense Counsel in Seoul informs how he approaches the investigation, the evidence, and the decisions that may eventually reach a military courtroom.
Benjamin H. Gold, Associate Attorney
Ben Gold works on legal research, writing, and motions. His work helps organize a complicated record into a defense that addresses the governing law and the facts the government must prove.
Begin Your Defense
Call 813-669-3500. Tell the intake team whether an interview, hearing, response, or other deadline is approaching. Call before sending a notice, investigation, medical record, or other sensitive material so the firm can identify an appropriate secure channel. Attorney availability and representation are confirmed during intake.