Importance of responding to adverse actions Published Jan. 6, 2015 By Staff Sgt. Sydney Terry 92nd Air Refueling Wing Area Defense Counsel FAIRCHILD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. -- To make a response to a written derogatory or adverse action or not make a response, that is the question. Your decision can affect your career positively or negatively. Any time a military member is given any type of written derogatory or adverse action he or she should consider taking advantage of every opportunity to provide a written response. A few examples of some forms of adverse actions are; a Letter of Admonishment (LOA), a Letter of Counseling (LOC), a Letter of Reprimand (LOR), an Article 15, discharge action, Reports of Survey (ROS), denial of re-enlistment, demotion action, and a referral of an enlisted performance report or officer performance report. There are several different directions an Airman can go with their response. Such as; explaining why they are innocent of the allegations against them, or explaining the facts and circumstances that led to their actions. Every situation is different and seeking advice can likely be beneficial. For example, assume Airman Smith is working with a customer who came to the office for assistance and his supervisor, Tech. Sgt. Supervisor, overhears him being very rude and disrespectful with Master Sgt. Customer. Later, after the customer leaves, Tech. Sgt. Supervisor calls Airman Smith into his office gives him an LOR for being disrespectful to a superior. The LOR states that Airman Smith has three duty days to provide a written response if he chooses. At this point Airman Smith can offer a written statement to show that he was not disrespectful and should explain the reasons for his actions. For example, if Tech. Sgt. Supervisor was unaware that Master Sgt. Customer was on his cellphone and not paying attention while Airman Smith was trying to help him, then he should explain that in a written response. If on the other hand Airman Smith knows his supervisor is right, then he can still offer information to explain his actions. As another example, Airman Smith could have been informed that a family member was very ill or he was under a great deal of stress for some other reason. Although the explanation is not an excuse for what happened, it helps put the entire situation into context for the supervisor. It's important for Airman Smith to provide a written response to the LOR because his response, along with the LOR, will be kept in his personal information file (PIF). By making a written response, Airman Smith has ensured that, anyone who reviews his PIF will see both sides of the incident. A commander reviewing Airman Smiths file prior to taking any additional action can review his responses to determine if any action is appropriate. Additionally, your written response can be reviewed by the Area Defense Counsel before submitting it to your supervisor or commander. An ADC provides legal representation, free of charge, to active duty service members facing disciplinary or other adverse actions. Please contact our office, as soon as you are served a copy of the adverse action at (509) 247-2918 or DSN 657-2918.