Command Review Board

January 21, 2023

This article addresses the Command Review Board (CRB) Process in the Army. A CRB is convened for a specific Officer after he/she is placed on the Command Selection List (CSL) and new information is found that is either characterized as misconduct or substandard performance of duty. The Officer's Command, the Chief of Staff of the Army, a General Officer Review Board, or HRC can request a Command Review Board to be convened. Typically, CRBs are convened when an Officer is selected for promotion, and Command, and is then subsequently placed under investigation with some sort of adverse action (GOMOR, Article 15, Letter of Concern, etc.) resulting. CRBs are often convened in conjunction with Special Selection Review Boards (SSRBs).

There is no regulation that governs a Command Review Board; however, the process is supposed to parallel the promotion review board process. Therefore, for active duty officers, see AR 600-8-29 (Chapter 7) and Title 10 United States Code Sections 624 and 629. For Reserve Officers, see AR 135-155 (Chapter 3-18) and United States Code Section 14310.

An Officer will be notified about a CRB via email. The Officer can either elect to submit a rebuttal within 14 days, decline to submit a rebuttal, or to submit a declination in lieu of a CRB. If an Officer submits a declination, he/she will be ineligible to compete for command selection at any grade in the future. There is no benefit to decline to submit a rebuttal, and HRC therefore encourages every Officer to submit one.

The Command Review Board will review the Officer's complete AMHRR, Promotion Board File, the Adverse information in question, and the Officer's rebuttal. The CRB will then make a recommendation that gets routed to the Army Vice Chief of Staff for a final decision. A final decision can result in the Officer taking Command, not taking Command, or not taking Command and facing a Board of Inquiry. The time of notification of a CRB to notification of a decision by the Vice Chief of Staff typically takes 12-18 months.

A good Command Review Board Rebuttal addresses the accusations in question, provides supporting documentation, and proves the Officers capability and potential to Command. A rebuttal needs to emailed in one PDF, with all supporting documentation, to usarmy.knox.hrc.mbx.tagd-opsa@army.mil. Legal Assistance Attorneys are available to assist any Officer facing a CRB; however, these Attorneys are often inexperienced and over-worked. Typically, they provide a template and offer to review whatever the Officer in question drafts on their own. For many reasons, this is not advisable. An Attorney should review all all adverse information relating to the Officer, in detail, discuss the entire situation with the Officer, assist said Officer in collecting additional and outside evidence, and draft the Officer's response for him/her. Officers facing a Command Review Board can hire a Civilian Attorney to assist.

This article was written by Attorney Matthew Barry.

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