The Final Record

After the hearing, the officer will prepare a statement of his or her conclusions concerning your sincerity and the basis of your objection. The report will then recommend approval or disapproval of your application.

"The investigating officer's report, along with the individual's application, all interviews with chaplains or doctors, evidence received as a result of the investigating officer's hearing, and any other items submitted by the applicant in support of his case will constitute the record." (DoD 1300.6, VI (D)(3)(f)) The officer gathers this together, forwards it to the commander who appointed him or her, and supplies you with the copy of the complete record.

Prepare a statement with your counselor explaining anything in the report to which you object and why you object to it. If, for example, the officer was hostile or kept asking irrelevant questions or didn't give you time to answer the questions properly, this can be evidence of bias. Statements you made at the hearing but which have been quoted out of context can be explained more fully. You can also mention points that the Investigating Officer didn't allow you to bring up or failed to mention in the report. And you can--and should--add new documentation, like supporting letters, to strengthen your claim. In your rebuttal, give as many details and exact quotes as you can.

The Army gives you ten calendar days from the receipt of the record to submit a rebuttal; the Navy, five working days; the Marine Corps, seven days; the Air Force, 15 calendar days; the Coast Guard, two weeks.

After the appointing officer has reviewed the record for completeness and legality, and, if necessary, sent it back to the Investigating Officer for more information, he or she will make a recommendation and forward the whole record through the chain of command to Service headquarters. Officers in the chain can make recommendations as the record passes through their hands on the way up. But before Service headquarters can make a final decision, you must be given the opportunity to rebut any adverse evidence (in the Army, any evidence at all), including chain of command recommendations, which you haven't seen or had a chance to rebut already.

You will be notified of the final decision and the reasons for it.

Go to next page