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A change to Army regulations now requires that the Army determine
the suitability of each officer considered for promotion before that
officer's name ever crosses the desk of the Army secretary.
While the Army has always investigated officers to ensure they are
suitable for promotion, in the past such vetting usually took place
at the same time that senior Army, Defense and congressional
leadership were considering them, rather than before.
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August 2016 - A new change to Army regulations ensures that officers
selected by boards for promotion meet the standards for exemplary
conduct laid out in U.S. law, before their names are forwarded to
the Secretary of the Army. (U.S. Army
photo by C. Todd Lopez)
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Now, the directive published Thursday, July 18, requires
that officers who are selected for promotion be vetted for
mental, physical, moral, and professional fitness and meet
the standards for exemplary conduct before their names are
forwarded to the secretary of the Army for certification.
The previous concurrent vetting process sometimes
resulted in the Army having to remove officers from
promotion lists, resulting in embarrassment for the
individual and the service.
"Previously, the Army did
not systematically screen all officers recommended for
promotion or federal recognition for adverse or reportable
information prior to nomination or confirmation," said
Albert S. Eggerton, chief of Officer Selection Board Policy.
"Consequently, some officers confirmed by the Senate
were not discovered to have adverse or reportable
information until just prior to appointment."
According to Army Directive 2016-26, "a post-board screening
initiated by the director of Military Personnel Management
will be conducted on officers selected for promotion to
captain through colonel and CW3 through CW5 before the
results of the promotion selection board are forwarded to
the secretary of the Army."
The post-board screening
includes a review of information in official files
maintained by the Army Criminal Investigation Command, the
Department of the Army inspector general, the restricted
portion of the Army Military Human Resource Record, and a
query for suspension of favorable personnel actions.
"Adverse information" can include, among other things,
SHARP-related offenses; domestic assault or child abuse;
DUIs/DWIs; possession or involvement with child pornography;
positive urinalysis; false swearing; patterns of misconduct;
or ongoing investigations or cases under review with
Criminal Investigation Command, the Department of the Army,
the Inspector General, or their unit.
Similar changes
have been made for officers who are being considered for
promotion to first lieutenant or chief warrant officer.
By U.S. Army C. Todd Lopez
Army News Service
Copyright 2016
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