GOMOR criteria inquiry for senior leaders and commanders

2014-10-14T16:25:47-04:00

During a recent retread of the "Letters from a Fired Army Officer" thread I found myself pondering a question. I could look this up, but I've found that feedback from the community can be very enlightening. My question is primarily for Senior leadership and commanders: "What criteria/circumstance would you use/have used to recommend that a GOMOR be issued to a commissioned officer?"

I will post my most recent experience involving this issue (no, not me) a little later, but wanted to start the discussion.

Response by SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL made Oct 14 at 2014 11:38 PM

2014-10-14T23:38:53-04:00

I would go with morale's, UCMJ violations and ethics violations, coupled with fraternization within the ranks for starters.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 15 at 2014 1:56 PM

2014-10-15T13:56:01-04:00

I find this entire conversation interesting and provocative.

As a future officer (Candidate), I am intrigued to see the dialogue that hopefully comes from this.

Response by COL Jason Smallfield, PMP, CFM, CM made Feb 8 at 2015 12:04 AM

2015-02-08T00:04:09-05:00

What criteria/circumstance would you use/have used to recommend that a GOMOR be issued to a commissioned officer?"
- Any illegal, immoral, or unethical activity that caused me to lose trust in an officer. Illegal can be either violations of UCMJ or civilian law. Immoral activity would be higher level and not lower level. By higher level I mean having sexual relations with another Soldiers spouse. Some people consider premarital sex to be immoral. That is what I mean by lower level that I do not consider worthy of a GOMOR since what happens between two consenting and single adults is generally not the concern of the chain of command. Unethical activity would be things such as unethical actions while serving as a COR. Some things can be legal (and therefore not a violation of UCMJ) but not be ethical and therefore worthy of a GOMOR.
- Anything that is directed as mandatory by my chain of command such as receiving a DUI. A younger officer receiving a DUI for a 0.09 BAC is worthy of several legal actions but not necessarily a career killing GOMOR. Most commands I have been in, however, the CG has retained authority for officer misconduct and a DUI almost always results in a GOMOR.
- The question asks about criteria but a significant criteria is whether to local file or OMPF file the GOMOR. A locally filed GOMOR has a big but temporary impact whereas an OMPF filed GOMOR has a big and enduring impact. Career killing in today's environment. Sometimes the decision on where to file the GOMOR is just as important as the decision to give a GOMOR in the first place.

Response by CW2 Joseph Evans made Feb 8 at 2015 12:46 AM

2015-02-08T00:46:02-05:00

The GOMOR is an interesting beast. In a sense, it is an administrative black mark that doesn't really carry any real punishment except for curtailing future promotions. It can also be negated by properly falling on your sword and accepting that you screwed the pooch and don't make any further mistakes, as long as the failure isn't too epic.
What I find interesting is a tendency for Commanders to use the GOMOR/GOLOR rebuttal letter as a "confession" in pursuing a Court Martial.