Are you facing the Quality Management Program? Here is what to expect.
The military branches, to include the one I am most familiar with, the U.S. Army, has continually found new statutory mechanisms to rid itself of “bad” folks, that in its view, do not deserve the right to continue onward, in military service, toward reenlistment, or long-term retirement. (See, Immediate Reenlistment Prohibition (IMREPR)
Code 13)
When naturally faced with a QMP notice, you may become overcome with stress— is this it? After all the combat deployments, time away from my wife, my kids, really? The Army answers it this way, usually by GOMOR: “The QMP board process [typically] starts upon the permanent filing of material in the Performance or Restricted folder of an NCO’s Army Military Human Resource Record (AMHRR).” MILPER 22-347, (19 September 2022), para. 3 This is precisely the reason a “local filing” of a GOMOR is so invaluable.
The harsh reality is that while the military expected you to suit up for deployment, to fall into formation, to put your life on the line, mishaps, or mistakes in judgement, usually with alcohol, can be twisted and turned, if you will, to come to your door, to offer a pink slip. That is precisely what the QMP process, whether justified or otherwise, seeks to vet—accountably.
In response to a family’s unnerving QMP Notice, MILPER Message, 22-364 (27 Sep 2022) para. 8(a) permits some due process by authorizing “Soldiers eligible for evaluation by this board [to] write to the president of the board to provide documents and information drawing attention to any matter concerning themselves that they feel is important to their consideration.”
Ok, let’s get to the point. What can you do to protect yourself, and your family? A ton. First, you have the right to also “submit [important, and maybe soul searching] matters of mitigation or extenuation for consideration by the President of the QMP board.” MILPER Message Number 21-411. Procedurally, do not forget, however, that such matters must be submitted as one [scanned] document and organized in the manner to be presented to the board.
Additionally, under law, any fair evaluation of a Soldier must carefully weigh several other variables to allow the board to “take a holistic look at Soldier’s record.” FY22 Qualitative Management Program (QMP) In other words, present witness statements and other evidence to rebut, explain, mitigate, or extenuate the matters raised. Words matter, and in fact, the ones you choose will probably determine your fate in this pretty dire circumstance, thus a carefully worded reply to the QMP must be fashioned, it must not only be persuasive, it must resonate as candidly genuine.
Finally, if the fight is nevertheless within you, one must either convincingly rebut the underlying QMP-related accusation(s), or undermine parts of it (as utter embellishment) or accept it in whole, in which case one if left to explain what “he or she” been learned since then. In the latter case, the U.S. Army will not retain you unless you have demonstrated that you have categorically “learned” from your mistakes.
For more information on QMP, and how could effect you, please contact Court & Carpenter. They have the experience and expertise in this area to help you overcome this.