Summary of Adverse Information

August 25, 2022

This article addresses a Summary of Adverse Information in the Army.

A Summary of Adverse Information is a simple document that is created and placed in an Officer's Military Record prior to certain promotions. This document is typically created under the authority of 10 USC Section 615(a)(3).

The document itself is typically a one-page PDF with the following sections:

Name of the Officer Concerned
Social Security Number of the Officer Concerned
The Authority under which the document is created (typically 10 USC Section 615(a)(3)
Source: This summarizes where the credible information is coming from, i.e. a certain 15-6 investigation finding.
Substantiated Findings: This lists the adverse finding in question
Synopsis: This is a brief summary of the adverse finding and the facts and circumstances surrounding it
Disposition: This attempts to summarize what occurred after the adverse information in question, such as a referred OER, article 15, GOMOR, Board of Inquiry, etc. However, sometimes this section does not have enough information, as it entirely comes from the Officer's Military Record, which might not contain enough information.

The Summary of Adverse Information is most commonly created because of AR 15-6 Investigation Findings. However, one can be created because of a previous CID investigation or MPI investigation, even if no action resulted from said investigation. For example, if an Officer was investigated, even without adverse action, he or she still may have been "titled" for the offense, which would result in a Summary of Adverse Information.

These summaries are created and provided to promotion boards when Officers are being considered for promotion above the rank of Captain. Said another way, Summaries of Adverse Information start appearing in a Captain's promotion file when getting looked at for Major.

Previously, for most Officers, there was no system for adverse 15-6 investigation findings to be furnished to a promotion board unless they were made part of a GOMOR, Article 15, or some other action filed in an Officer's Official Military Record. Now that Summaries of Adverse Information are being created and shown to promotion boards, it becomes even more important to avoid any adverse 15-6 investigation finding.

Finally, a Summary of Adverse Information, if shown to a promotion board, may result in a Special Selection Review Board, which could result in an Officer losing his/her promotion.

Summaries of Adverse Information have made it even more challenging for Officers to get promoted and even more important to avoid substantiated 15-6/CID/MPI investigation findings.

Any Officer under investigation, therefore, should contact an experienced Military Lawyer prior to speaking to an investigating officer, CID agent, or MPI agent. It is critical that he or she do early on, and not before it is too late.

The Law Office of Matthew Barry represents clients worldwide. He has offices on the East Coast, West Coast, and in the Central U.S.