Can a leader backdate a counseling statement?

Leaders usually cannot backdate a counseling statement.

A counseling statement should reflect the date of the actual counseling. However, a written counseling can reference a previous verbal counseling. Let’s say you were verbally counseled on 2 Nov. Your squad leader may give you a written counseling statement on 10 Nov that states:

“On 2 Nov I verbally counseled you about… I am recommending…”

This would be acceptable as long as the counseling is dated 10 Nov. The counselor is being clear that the counseling is referencing a previous incident.

If the squad leader wrote the counseling statement on 10 Nov and asked you to date the counseling statement 2 Nov, it is a different story. If the intent is to deceive or fudge the truth, it is unacceptable. I recommended annotating your disagreement in the closing block.

This situation usually becomes a problem with promotion counseling. Sometimes a leader will miss the deadline for conducting promotion counseling and will want to backdate the counseling. This is unacceptable as it puts the Soldier at a disadvantage. Simply disagree and write your comments in the closing block.