Senior Military Officer Retires Honorably, at Highest Rank, after Disputed Disciplinary Action Triggers Officer Grade Determination (OGD)

Recently, a senior military officer defended by attorney Richard V. Stevens (Military Defense Law Offices of Richard V. Stevens, P.C.) 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…

Prior to being represented by Attorney Stevens, the senior officer client had received a disciplinary action that was disputed, but was not rescinded. Consequently, 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 comprehensive rebuttal, not only to the disciplinary action, but 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, please see:

  • 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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    Attorney Richard Stevens

    Mr. Stevens has been handling military cases since 1995. He has defended military cases dealing with the most serious military offenses, including allegations of “war crimes,” national security cases, murder, manslaughter, homicide, rape, sexual assault, other sex related offenses, drug offenses, computer crimes (pornography), larceny, fraud, AWOL/desertion, conduct unbecoming, military academy offenses, offenses within combat zones, senior officer cases and other military specific offenses around the world. [ Attorney Bio ]