Can a leader backdate a counseling statement? | AskTOP.net – Leader Development for Army Professionals

Can a leader backdate a counseling statement?

My squad leader is trying to backdate my monthly counseling statement. Can he do that?

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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.

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Mark is a Retired Command Sergeant Major with 26 years of military leadership experience. He held 3 military occupational specialties (Field Artillery, Nuclear Weapons Tech, and Ammunition Ordnance). Mark is one of the leading military authors in the fields of leadership, counseling, and training.

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  • Jake Brown

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    Are you going to post again anytime soon?

    • Preston

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      Jake,
      Mark posts on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Check out the “New Posts” area on the homepage or follow us on Twitter or Facebook for the latest. Thanks for your interest!

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