ADMINISTRATIVE BOARD PROCEDURE

Use the administrative board procedure to process administration separations in the following circumstances:

l When a member with 6 or more years of total active and/or Reserve military service being processed under the notification procedure requests a board

l When the proposed reasons for separation processing require a board

l When the proposed characterization of service is under OTH conditions

If a member being processed for administrative separation is entitled, and elects to present his or her case before a board, strict compliance with the MILPERSMAN is required.

If the CO or OIC of the member's command does not have SPCM CA and the member desires a board, the following procedures will be used. The CO or OIC will give the member the letter of notification and the statement of awareness. The next reporting senior with SPCM CA will convene the administrative discharge board. The member's command will send the case to the Chief of Naval Personnel via the convening authority (CA), using a standard letter of transmittal.

Notice

When a respondent is going to appear at an administrative discharge board, the respondent will be notified in writing by the CO or OIC who proposed the action by a letter. This letter is referred to as a notice of an administrative board procedure proposed action and is illustrated in the MILPERSMAN, Article 3640200(7). The notice will include the following matters:

The notice is delivered personally to the respondent and, if required, mailed by certified mail, return receipt requested (for a respondent who is in civil confinement).

If the respondent should refuse to acknowledge receipt of the notice, a sworn affidavit of service by mail, as shown in the MILPERSMAN, Article 3640200(10), is prepared and placed in the respondent's service record.

If everything goes normally, and the respondent acknowledges the notice, the respondent will sign and submit a statement of awareness.

Counsel

A respondent has the same right to consult with counsel before electing or waiving any of his or her rights as that prescribed for the notification procedure.

If an administrative board is requested, the respondent will be represented by qualified counsel appointed by the CA or by individual counsel of the respondent's own choice, if that counsel is determined to be reasonably available.

The respondent has the right to consult with civilian counsel of his or her own choice and maybe represented at the hearing by that or any other civilian counsel, all at the respondent's own expense. Exercise by the respondent of this right will not waive any of the respondent's other counsel rights. Consultation with civilian counsel will not unduly delay administrative board procedures. If undue delay appears likely, the CA may direct the board to proceed without the desired civilian counsel after properly documenting the facts.

Nonlawyer counsel may represent a respondent before an administrative board if the respondent expressly declines appointment of qualified counsel and requests a specific nonlawyer counsel or the separation authority assigns nonlawyer counsel as assistant Counsel.

Response

After a respondent is notified of the pending separation processing, the respondent submits to the CO or OIC a signed and witnessed letter indicating his or her choice of rights as outlined in the letter of notification. The response is referred to as a statement of awareness.

The CO or OIC will allow a reasonable period of time, not less than 2 working days, for the member to respond to the notice. An extension may be granted upon a timely showing of good cause. The election of the respondent as to each of the specified rights will be recorded and signed by the respondent and respondent's counsel.

If notice by mail is required and the respondent fails to acknowledge receipt or submit a timely reply, that fact will constitute a waiver of rights and an appropriate notation will be recorded on a retained copy of the form.

A sample format for the respondent's statement of awareness is illustrated in the MILPERSMAN, Article 3640200(8).

ADMINISTRATIVE BOARD

As an LN you will see and be a part of an administrative board proceeding at some time in your career. Your contribution to an administrative board may be indirect such as typing the letter of appointment or direct as a reporter to record verbatim testimony or as a more senior LN, you may even be assigned to act as the recorder. No matter what your involvement, the existence of administrative boards in the overall scheme of separation processing is a fact of life and you must be aware of their purpose and mission. How a board is composed, the duties of board members, and the conduct of the hearing are important pieces to the overall board processes. As the assigned reporter, you maybe asked to record all the proceedings or just the testimony. The next section will allow you to see how the board functions from beginning to end.

CONVENING AUTHORITY

One of the most important steps a CA must carry out is appointing the board members. An administrative board may, by written order, be appointed by any CO with the authority to convene SPCMs. The CA must make sure the appointment prevents the appearance of any impropriety in the assignment of any board members who may have a preconceived opinion about the findings or recommendations, or both, to be made on the respondent's case.

The CA must appoint at least three commissioned, warrant, or noncommissioned officers well-qualified by reason of grade, leadership, experience, and judicial temperament. Enlisted personnel appointed to the board will be in paygrade E-7 or above and will be senior to the respondent. Enlisted personnel frocked to paygrade E-7 are not eligible for appointment. At least one member of the board will be a line officer serving in grade O-4 or higher.

If the respondent is on active duty when the board convenes, the senior member must be on the active duty list of the service in which the respondent serves. When the respondent is a reservist or holds an appointment as a Reserve commissioned or warrant officer, at least one member must be a Reserve commissioned officer.

To avoid split decisions, the CA should not appoint an even number of members to an administrative board.

If, during the session, one of the members is successfully challenged, the CA should appoint a similarly qualified substitute. Also, with respect to board challenges, if the board has no legal advisor assigned, the CA must rule on all challenges.

APPOINTING ORDER

The CA must issue an appointing order for the administrative board. The order is addressed to the senior member and its purpose is to inform the senior member of the names of the other members, the name of the respondent, and the reason for processing. The recorder is named in the order as well as the lawyer assigned to the respondent. A sample appointing order is shown in figure 9-4.

PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD

The president of an administrative board must make sure he or she and all the members are familiar with the MILPERSMAN articles pertaining to the separation for which the respondent is being processed. During the proceedings, the president presides at the hearing and is responsible for its proper conduct in an atmosphere of decorum and dignity. If there is no legal advisor assigned to the board, the president will rule on all matters of procedure and evidence. However, his or her rulings may be overturned by a majority of the board.

When no legal advisor is assigned, the president advises the CA, after consulting with a judge advocate, to spend funds for producing witnesses when the

Figure 9-4.-Sample appointing letter of administrative board.

president has decided that the witnesses are material. The senior member authenticates the record of proceedings and signs the report of the administrative board.