Letters of Reprimand are a tool used by Commanders to punish servicemembers without providing much due process. After being issued a letter of reprimand, usually by a General Officer, the servicemember is given a short amount of time to respond. The servicemember has to convince the issuing authority to either rescind the letter of reprimand or place it in their local file. Their local file is simply their counseling packet, meaning that no one outside of their current unit will ever know about it. Importantly, letters of reprimand filed in a servicemember’s local file are not seen by promotion boards.

Letters of Reprimand that are filed in a servicemembers permanent file are almost always career enders. They will be seen by promotion boards and in today’s military, will most likely lead to promotion stagnation. Furthermore, and more immediately, letters of reprimand that are filed in a servicemember’s permanent file often lead to the administrative separation process. It is therefore important for a servicemember to respond appropriately to a letter of reprimand.