Senior Military Officer Retires Honorably, at Highest Rank, after Officer Grade Determination (OGD)

Recently, a senior military officer defended by attorney Richard V. Stevens who had previously received a disputed administrative disciplinary action retired honorably from the military, at the highest rank he held.

Because this was an administrative case, there are Privacy Act issues and regulations that preclude the reporting of specific details. However, what can be generally described is…

This case began as a very serious criminal investigation, in which the client was accused of a crime he did not commit. The investigation seemed to be based more on assumptions than any fact or evidence that was objectively incriminating. After a very lengthy investigation, no court-martial charges were preferred, and the criminal aspect of the case was dropped. A low-level administrative disciplinary action was taken due to an ancillary issue.

During the course of the investigation, the accused officer’s retirement was placed on hold. After the case was concluded, and when the client applied to retire, an Officer Grade Determination (OGD) was triggered and Attorney Stevens represented the client in that action. In response to the OGD notification, the defense submitted a rebuttal detailing the exemplary service of the officer at the highest rank he held. After consideration at the Secretary level, the senior officer client was notified that he would retire at the highest rank he held.

He now moves on to the next chapter in his life, without the stain of a reduced retirement rank along with the significant financial penalty of such a retirement reduction. While the defense was successful in this military case, it is important to understand that every case has different facts, and success in some previous case(s) does not guarantee success in any particular future case. No military lawyer or civilian defense lawyer, including those who specialize in military law as we do, can guarantee the outcome of any military case.

For more information about the military justice system, particularly administrative disciplinary cases, pleasesee our page at:

• https://militaryadvocate.com/practice-areas/administrative-discipline-actions/
• https://militaryadvocate.com/practice-areas/article-15-njp-captains-mast-office-hours/
• https://militaryadvocate.com/practice-areas/administrative-dischargeseparation/
• https://militaryadvocate.com/practice-areas/performance-report-appeals/

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