Special Selection Review Boards  and affect those officers alleged to have violated UCMJ Article 133 or UCMJ Article 92 among other potential misconduct. Having an experienced military lawyer preparing mitigation matters for this board may assist in being retained on the promotion list. On 20 May 2021, the Secretary of Defense (SECDEF), as a matter of policy, extended the requirement to conduct SSRBs to all other officer selection boards and processes that result in nomination or appointment recommendation to the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD).

The Secretary of the Army is required to certify to the DOD and Congress that all officers selected for promotion to Regular Army Chief Warrants 3, 4 & 5, CW3, CW4, and CW5 on the Reserve Active Status List (RASL), and CPT, Major (MAJ), and Lieutenant Colonel (LTC). The U.S. Army G-1 is required to conduct a post-board screening to identify officers selected for promotion where additional information may need to be reviewed by a Special Selection Review Board if the information was not available to the promotion board. The U.S. Army Human Resources Command says Exemplary Conduct Certification is a continuous process that ensures compliance with law and guarantees those selected for higher levels of leadership responsibility embody Army values.

SSRB review adverse information in officer records

Special Selection Review Boards are a new process mandated by the FY21 NDAA, 10 USC §628a and §14502a, and Department of Defense Instruction (DoDI) 1320.14 (will be added to the AR 600-8-29 and AR 135-155 upon revision). It directs that adverse information will be presented to a SSRB if not seen by a promotion selection board, to certain grades, that convened after 1 January 2021. The SSRB will consider officers for promotion to the grades of Regular MAJ through COL, and Reserve COL. In addition, adverse information that has received significant media attention or is of interest to the Senate Armed Services Committee, as provided in Enclosure 6 of DoDI 1320.04, will be presented to the SSRB to consider officers for chief warrant officers.

Officers recommended by the above boards who are determined to have adverse information in their records, not seen by their original promotion selection boards as specified in the above references as appropriate, will undergo a SSRB to determine whether their recommendation for promotion will be sustained.

What the SSRB considers

The SSRB will consider the affected officer’s original promotion board file along with any adverse information conforming to the requirements in 10 USC 615(a) or 14107, as well as any comments the officer submits in reference to the adverse information. The military now requires adverse information such General Officer Memorandums of Reprimand, Article 15, and summaries of investigations that find misconduct violations. In addition, the files of officers who were both selected and non-selected by the original board will be considered along with the affected officer’s file. The SSRB will establish an order of merit ranking of all the considered files. The affected officer may be recommended for promotion if they rank higher in the established order of merit than the highest officer who was previously non-selected. If the SSRB does not select the officer for promotion, they will be considered to have failed selection for promotion and will be counted as a non-select.

How long do I have to submit a letter to the president of the board?

The Officer Promotions Special Actions (OPSA) team will send an official SSRB notification that contains the details of the SSRB referral. An enclosure to this official notification is an acknowledgment memorandum that must be returned back to OPSA. The acknowledgment enclosure must be initialed on the appropriate line to indicate your intentions to submit or not submit a letter to the president of the board, signed, and returned within five days of your receipt of notification. Regular Army Officers have 14 days from receipt of notification to complete the letter to the president of the board package and submit to OPSA. US Army Reserve and USARNG Officers have 30 days from receipt of notification to complete the letter to the president of the board package and submit to OPSA. Although short extensions, not more than 14 days, are authorized, they will only be granted if there are extreme circumstances that prevent timely submission. Extension requests with a clear explanation of the reason will be submitted through email to usarmy.knox.hrc.mbx.tagd-opsa@army.mil for review. The officer will receive an approval or denial for the extension via email from OPSA once the supervisor, Special Actions reviews the request. The chain of command will be notified for those that fail to return the signed acknowledgement.

Once the officer’s letter to the president of the board is received, it is packaged with a memorandum from our office directing the SSRB to convene at the earliest date and is then sent to the DA Secretariat for boarding. The SSRB is usually conducted within 120 days but may vary due to board composition and availability. The board’s recommendation will be staffed to the Secretary of the Army, who will make the final decision.

How long does the SSRB process take?

From initial notification to final SECARMY decision takes 12 to 18 months. This timeline does not start until the official SSRB notification is sent to the officer. Time spent awaiting the closure of an open or ongoing investigation is in addition to the 12-to-18-month timeline. Updates to the progress of the SSRB will be emailed to the officer when OPSA receives them. We strive to provide each case with our professional attention as often as necessary; time just will not permit daily or weekly updates. Every SSRB case is endorsed by the Secretary of the Army and approved by OSD, as such, must be staffed from HRC at Ft. Knox, through the DMPM to the Office of the Secretary of the Army at the Pentagon.

What information will the SSRB consider?

The SSRB will consider the officer’s letter to the president of the board (if provided), My Board File, the adverse information, and the ORB as those records exist when the original PSB convened. If the adverse information being referred to the SSRB is from DAIG or CID, a summary of those reports will be provided to the officer and to the board.

What’s the process for notification of final SSRB results?

Officers that are removed by a SSRB will be informed of the results, in writing, through their chain of command at the conclusion of the process. Officers that are retained by a SSRB will be informed of the results, in writing, at the conclusion of the process.

Will a SSRB removal count as a non-selection?

Yes. Removal from the promotion list counts as a non-selection for promotion. Cumulative non-selections of two or more may result in the officer being separated from the Army IAW AR 600-8-24 or AR 135-175.

When will the HQDA flag (F) be removed?

The officer will remain flagged with an HQDA (F) flag until a final SSRB decision is received.

Already on promotion list but under investigation

If you think you made the promotion list, but you are under investigation for misconduct like UCMJ Article 133 or under investigation for misconduct like UCMJ Article 92, you need a lawyer. The best outcome is when the IO or other investigator finds no misconduct. The Fiscal year 2020 NDAA directed the services to make changes to their officer promotion boards.  Army policy regarding adverse information requires a summary of any guilty findings be filed in an officer’s permanent record, regardless of how poorly an investigation is executed. Because of this requirement, field grade officers are given the opportunity to respond to investigation findings before the commander determines guilt or innocence. A rebuttal response may be able to mitigate the damage and influence the commander’s filing decision for the investigation summary. Having an experienced military lawyer help you navigate a command or law enforcement investigation may mitigate the damage done by a poor investigator or faulty witnesses.

If you are facing an SSRB and would like to prepare a letter to the Board President and mitigation matters, our military lawyer can help you put your best foot forward. If you are under AR 15-6 investigation, no matter where you are stationed in the world, contact our office at ‪(757) 504-2815 or through our convenient online form to schedule a consultation. Attorney Peter Kageleiry, Jr., focuses his legal practice exclusively on military court-martial law and related adverse administrative actions.