You have a few options:
Rather than refusing to sign your counseling statement, you can sign and write a rebuttal instead.
Option 1: You could refuse to sign. This does not usually help the situation and can ultimately put you at a significant disadvantage. If you happen to be working for an unethical leader, you empower them by not signing. The leader can simply write “Soldier refused to sign” and sign/date the form himself. At any later date the leader could write a counseling statement without your knowledge, and simply write “Soldier refused to sign.” You’ve set a precedent at that point. If you try to contest the counseling, the leader can say, “He always refuses to sign his counseling statements.” It then becomes your responsibility to prove the counselings did or did not take place. You are now on the defensive. The odds of this happening are slim but why put yourself in this position?
Option 2 (Recommended): Disagree with the counseling and write a rebuttal. If you need time to write your rebuttal you can request a reasonable period of time to respond to the counseling statement. Write “I request 24 hours to properly prepare my response to this counseling”.
If the leader refuses to allow you a reasonable time period to respond, write “I requested 24 hours to prepare my rebuttal to this counseling and SGT Doe refused to allow me adequate time to prepare my response.”
If he does allow you time to prepare your response, write “Please see attached sheet.”
Note: Refusing to sign a counseling statement shows a lack of maturity and professionalism on your part. It simply sets you up for failure. The best course of action is to disagree with the counseling and write your rebuttal. Make sure you get a copy of the counseling statement. You are entitled to a copy.
Comments
Al castillo
could an investigator officer use a counseling statement against you in a article 15 without your concern?
Anonymous
once a counseling statement is signed, is there any time frame you have to argue against it?
Mark Gerecht
You should choose disagree when you sign it and state why you disagree. Here are a few posts you might find useful:
What are the time limits for counseling?
How do I tell my side of the story?
What do I do when a Soldier checks Disagree on a counseling statement?
kolin
i have been late but never received a counseling but im pretty sure there gonna give me one its been almost a week is there a time peroid that they have to give me the counseling?
Mark Gerecht
Kolin,
Your question was answered in the following post: What are the time limitations for completion of a counseling statement?
shawn kofahl
Is a counseling given three months after insidences valid?
Mark Gerecht
The Answer to your question can be found in the following post: What are the time limitations for completion of a counseling?
Three months seems a bit excessive. When a leader waits that long to write a counseling statement there tends to be something else driving the documentation. Keep in mind the leader cannot back date a counseling. They could counsel you for an issue that happened 3 months ago but the date on the counseling would be the date you sign the counseling statement. If you are concerned you should consider telling your side of the story in the session closing block of the counseling statement. Be factual, calm, professional, and unemotional.
Hope this Helps!
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Anonymous
My sergeant told me to buy the new pt or I’m getting a negative counseling. The new pt don’t come into effect until 2016. Can he do that?
Mark Gerecht
According to DA PAM 670-1 dated 10 April 2015 the mandatory possession date for the new APFU is 1 October 2017. Until that time you are authorized to wear the previous PT Uniform.
The Leader can counsel you if they want to but I am not sure it really makes sense! You can disagree with the counseling and state the uniform is still authorized for wear.
Ensure your response is professional, factual, and unemotional.
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Robert
Actually he can. You get clothing allowance once a year. It is supposed to be used to replace unserviceable uniforms. If your uniform is unserviceable he can direct you to get the new ones with clothing allowance…But he can not tell you to go and buy them with your own money.
Mark Gerecht
Robert,
Excellent point, the only exception would be if the uniform is in fact unserviceable.
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marcel
My platoon sergeant told me he was going to counsel me for being late for staff duty, not until a week later a fellow SSG, like me typed the counseling up. Does it make the counseling obsolete?
Mark Gerecht
No the counseling is still valid. Here is an ASKTOP.net post that might be of use to you: How Do I Tell My Side of the Story?
Hope this Helps
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Pvt.Beck
I’m a private with HQ,and i was given my pt test and to my knowledge i had passed it. I am 17 and had done 72 push ups,88 sit ups, and my two mile time was 15:27. but my grader had marked it as 16:27 therefore making it as if i had failed. Because of the mistake i was given a counseling statement by my company commander, and i had signed it so that i would not cause a problem. and my grader even knew he marked it wrong and tried to talk to the SFC whom was in charge of processing the scores but he said he couldn’t do anything due to it already being paper.now i have no problem with retaking a pt test. I’m just worried about how the statement would look on my military record? would it effect me really?
Mark Gerecht
PVT Beck,
You have the ability to surface this issue through chain of command to the CDR. Basically an honest mistake was made by the individual scoring your card. You can request to see the commander/1SG on open door policy with the grader and explain the issue. If you take this action it would be wise to prepare a short written statement that is factual, unemotional, and professional. You could also ask the grader to prepare a statement for you to present to the Commander/1SG. The down side is you signed the counseling statement without providing your side of the story. I can understand you might have just been overwhelmed or possibly intimidated by the counseling statement but the session closing block is designed so that you can tell your side of the story concerning the incident at hand. You could request that these two statement be attached to your counseling statement. You should have also received a copy of the counseling statement for your records. If the command insists on annotating the APFT as a failed event it is imperative you have a copy of the counseling statement, a statement from the grader explaining what happened along with the time, date, circumstances and his/her signature.
The only way you will have an issue with failing the APFT is if it is a repetitive failure and they decide to separate you from service. If you write a statement and your grader writes a statement then I believe the chain of command would most likely be reasonable in reviewing your case or at a minimum not count it and allow you to take it again. The down side is if the unit counts this as an APFT failure you will be flagged. According to AR 350-1 you must wait 90 days to retest unless you and the commander agree you are prepared to test before the 90 day period has elapsed. Two consecutive APFT failures could result in separation from service.
If your grader is willing to write a statement saying he is absolutely positive it was a simply error on his/her part, I believe the CDR/1SG should relook the issue.
Hope this helps wish you the best of luck
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noname
Can a officer give a nco a counseling statement through email. Or any one for that matter.
Mark Gerecht
Noname,
While this is an unorthodox approach and I believe based on geographical separation this might be an acceptable option. AR 623-3 allows for telephonic and correspondence to be used as alternatives to face to face counseling with regard to evaluation counselings but it also states it should be followed up by face to face counseling at the earliest opportunity.
Now if this counseling is being conducted via email and there is no geographical separation then I would see this approach as unprofessional and inappropriate. However if the Counselor is simply providing you a “Read Ahead” copy of the counseling statement so that you can be well prepared to discuss the matter when you have a face to face session, then I would see it as appropriate and a useful way of encouraging participation from the Counselee’s perspective.
The goal of counseling is to have the Counselor and Counselee agree upon a plan of action to ensure improvement is made. This does not mean that the Counselee will necessarily agree with the Counselor and in these situations the Counselee should address any disagreement by annotating their concerns in the session closing block of the 4856 or by writing a statement that says something like: See attached statement.
Extract of AR 623-3
Other post you might find useful:
How do I tell my side of the story?
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anotherrandomsoldier
ok now let me double check this just to make sure I am right. If there is a soldier that makes mistakes every now and then the leader should counsel the soldier every incident & not fluff up anything he actually thinks 4856 worthy right?
And also say for instance the soldier disagrees with the counseling… does he have to write his statement on another piece of paper? Or can he just write it in the individual counseled remarks section?
SGT NICK
The Leader can decide to write any counseling he/she believes is worthy right. It doesn’t always have to be negative, it can be positive or just a concern for their Soldier’s well-being.
The counsel remarks section should be plenty but you can write “see attached memo, or sworn statement” on the remarks section if you want to get into a lengthy detail about something specific.
*All views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, the Department of Defense, or the US Army.*