What should I do if my Bn Cdr is pressuring me to sign an Unsatisfactory OER?

CH (CPT) Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 20 Jun 2022 22:13:25 -0400

I got to a new unit and BC the did not like me. Don't know what I did wrong but he had some issues and completely ignored me. Eventually someone filed a EO complaint against me and due to friends being eyewitnesses the final result was filed as a local GOMAR. I thought it would stop their but the BC decided to put the EO complaint on my OER and put Unsatisfactory. He was very adamant on me signing it and write a memo if necessary without any counseling. What do I need to do? I spoke with another person that is trying to help me and she said do no sign it.
I feel like this BC never stops and wants to ruin my career :(

Please if you have any good comments I need wise advice since I need to respond soon.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 20 at 2022 10:48 PM

CPT Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 20 Jun 2022 22:48:40 -0400

At the end of the day, they don't need you to sign the OER, there is a select option for them to check "Soldier refuses to sign box". You do have rights though and you can appeal your OER, reference AR 623-3, chapter 4. There are timelines that you have to meet so don't delay inquiry.

I'm not sure what your AOC is but honestly the best piece of advice I can give you is start looking for another unit. Even if you turn over the OER the chances of things going amazing for you where you are at afterwards from that point isn't going to be great. Take your lumps and move on, Army just doesn't keep the best soldiers but they do like keeping the resilient ones around too.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 21 at 2022 12:30 AM

CPT Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 21 Jun 2022 00:30:56 -0400

There really isn't much you can do at this point. A substantiated MEO complaint does have to reflect on your evaluation. The time to have questioned it would have been during the MEO complaint. You don't have to sign it. I have had Soldiers not sign an evaluation. It still went into their record. You can try and refute the OER but if the investigation is over then you can't prevent the complaint from being in your OER.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 21 at 2022 1:50 AM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 21 Jun 2022 01:50:06 -0400

Your rater didn't decide to put the EO complaint in there, your rater is required to put any substantiated issue regarding EO or SHARP in your evaluation. Even if your rater chose not to, the senior rater would direct the comments to be added.

The counseling you received was your locally filed gomar. The counseling is to substantiate any negative remarks, the gomar is the substantating document.

You don't have to sign your evaluation. The saying goes that you're only signing to acknowledge the administrative data is correct. You can appeal the evaluation, but since the information is correct, it won't be a successful appeal. You might be able to move it to your restricted file in the future. You're very lucky that the gomar was only locally filed, because this OER will probably be a bump in your career, but a gomor is a career ender for most people

Response by CPT Lawrence Cable made Jun 21 at 2022 12:53 PM

CPT Lawrence Cable — Tue, 21 Jun 2022 12:53:02 -0400

Am I missing something? You had an EO complaint that resulted in a GOMAR, which means that a General saw some merit to the accusation. I don't think you can blame the BC for this one.
As SFC Boyd indicated, signing it just means the admin side is correct, it does not mean you agree with the OER. I also agree that you are lucky that the GOMAR is local instead of in your permanent file.
Bad OER can be difficult to overcome as a CPT since the promotion field starts getting more competitive in most Branches at Major. Did your Senior Rater give you a bad evaluation too? I got flamed on my OER by a CO as a very young LT. Luckily, he had managed to piss of every NCO in the Company, who then went to the SGM, and soon this clown was transferred out. He used the Change of Command OER to blast all the Officers in the Company. The BN XO was my Senior Rater and saved my ass with bullets like "outstanding performance under extremely trying circumstances". If your Senior Rater gave you a bad OER also, you need to plan on trying to be the shining star if you want to make the Army a career.