A letter of reprimand is a

US Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national sec ...

procedure involving a letter to an

employee Employment is a relationship between two parties regulating the provision of paid labour services. Usually based on a contract, one party, the employer, which might be a corporation, a not-for-profit organization, a co-operative, or any ot ...

or service member from their superior that details the wrongful actions of the person and the

punishment Punishment, commonly, is the imposition of an undesirable or unpleasant outcome upon a group or individual, meted out by an authority—in contexts ranging from child discipline to criminal law—as a response and deterrent to a particular ac ...

that can be expected. A ''Formal Letter of Reprimand'' is one in which a copy of the letter is kept in the personal service record of the individual. In

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

contexts, a formal letter of reprimand can be

career The career is an individual's metaphorical "journey" through learning, work and other aspects of life. There are a number of ways to define career and the term is used in a variety of ways. Definitions The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' defi ...

-ending, even without prescribed punishments, because it makes it difficult to secure advancements in rank or to enjoy the respect of one's peers. In legal contexts, a letter of reprimand is sometimes called a ''letter of admonition''. It is the lowest form of attorney

discipline Discipline refers to rule following behavior, to regulate, order, control and authority. It may also refer to punishment. Discipline is used to create habits, routines, and automatic mechanisms such as blind obedience. It may be inflicted on ot ...

under the Code of Professional Responsibility. The United States Manual for Court Martial, R.C.M. 306(c)(2), states:

Administrative action. A commander may take or initiate administrative action, in addition to or instead of other action non-judicial_punishment_(Article_15_or_"NJP")_and_court-martial.html" ;"title="nonjudicial punishment">non-judicial punishment (Article 15 or "NJP") and court-martial">nonjudicial punishment">non-judicial punishment (Article 15 or "NJP") and court-martialtaken under this rule, subject to regulations of the Secretary concerned. Administrative actions include corrective measures such as counseling, admonition, reprimand, exhortation, disapproval, criticism, censure, reproach, rebuke, extra military instruction, or the administrative withholding of privileges, or any combination of the above.

The order of severity for formal written administrative action is: * a letter of counsel (least severe) * a memorandum of concern * a letter of admonishment * a letter of reprimand. A letter of reprimand may be issued in lieu of punishment under Article 15 of the

Uniform Code of Military Justice The Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ, 10 U.S.C. §§ 801–946 is the foundation of Military justice, military law in the United States. It was established by the United States Congress in accordance with the authority given by the United S ...

. A formal letter of reprimand is placed in the service member's permanent personnel record. In the US Navy, a letter of reprimand can only be given as a result of non-judicial punishment or a court-martial conviction.

Examples

In July 1945, after delivering the Little Boy

atomic bomb A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions ( thermonuclear bomb), producing a nuclear explosion. Both bomb ...

to Tinian, the USS ''Indianapolis'' was torpedoed in the

Philippine Sea The Philippine Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean east of the Philippine archipelago (hence the name), the largest in the world, occupying an estimated surface area of . The Philippine Sea Plate forms the floor of the sea. I ...

. When the ship was sunk, most of the crew were stranded at sea for 5 days where they staved off shark attacks and dehydration. In the aftermath of the disaster, some US naval officers in Leyte, Philippines, were given letters of reprimand, because they failed to note that the ship was missing. The ''Indianapolis'' commander,

Charles B. McVay III Charles Butler McVay III (August 31, 1898 – November 6, 1968) was an American naval officer and the commanding officer of the cruiser which was lost in action in 1945, resulting in a significant loss of life. Of all captains in the history of ...

, was also given a letter of reprimand before being court-martialed and eventually exonerated, but not before he committed suicide.

Air National Guard The Air National Guard (ANG), also known as the Air Guard, is a federal military reserve force of the United States Air Force, as well as the air militia of each U.S. state, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the ter ...

Major Harry Schmidt was reprimanded for the Tarnak Farm incident, in which on April 17, 2002, he dropped a 500-pound bomb on Canadian soldiers near

Kandahar Kandahar (; Kandahār, , Qandahār) is a city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on the Arghandab River, at an elevation of . It is Afghanistan's second largest city after Kabul, with a population of about 614,118. It is the c ...

, Afghanistan, killing four and injuring eight others. On September 25, 2008, the Department of Defense announced that six

US Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Sig ...

and two

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

generals and nine colonels had received letters of reprimand, admonishment, or concern because of the mishandling of fuses for nuclear weapons, which were mistakenly shipped to

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the no ...

. Air Force Chief of Staff

Norton Schwartz Norton Allan Schwartz (born December 14, 1951) is a retired United States Air Force General who served as the 19th Chief of Staff of the Air Force from August 12, 2008, until his retirement in 2012. He previously served as commander, United Sta ...

met with each officer personally before issuing the letters. He noted they committed no offense under the UCMJ but "did not do enough to carry out their leadership responsibilities for nuclear oversight. For that they must be held accountable."The Associated Press.
Military cites poor oversight in mistaken shipment of warheads to Taiwan
" NBC News, Sept. 25, 2008; accessed 2008-09-26.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Letter Of Reprimand United States military law