"They gave David an LOC. They're going to put it into his PIF. But it's better than Wall-to-Wall Counseling."
"An El Oh Si? I don't speak Spanish. What's that?'
For the civilian dependent, lay person or new military troop, these abbreviations sound ominous. They should. They are military punishments. Here we'll discuss what these official and unofficial disciplines mean.
The Personal Information File (PIF)
This contains all information, both positive and negative, about the troop. These records are kept as long as the troop is stationed at his or her base or post unit. A transfer to another base or post equals a new start for the troop, except for permanent record violations. The Orderly Room, or main office where all files and records are kept within the unit, control these records.
Verbal Counseling
This is the lowest form of discipline. It's what it sounds like-talking to a troop about his or her incorrect behavior. Often, no paper record is documented. However, some supervisors do keep a Memorandum of Record for themselves.
Memorandums of Record
These are the lowest and first form of disciplinary paperwork supervision can assign. In almost all cases, they are kept in the supervisor's desk file for his or her own interests. The supervisor may ask the troop to sign this copy. In few cases do these records go into the PIF.
Letters of Counseling (LOCs)
These are the second level of recorded documentation. While Memorandums of Record do carry weight, in all cases they cannot be used as disciplinary pattern evidence unless placed into a troop's PIF. Letters of Counseling are used to show such problem patterns. The recipient will be asked to sign the paperwork. In most cases, the supervisor will keep the LOC in his or her file. But if the pattern repeats, this documentation and others will go into the PIF.
Letters of Admonishment (LOAs)
These are not to be confused with Letters of Appreciation also known as the LOA. Letters of Appreciation are big pluses to a troop and excellence recognition. A Letter of Admonishment is the third level of recorded documentation. These are rare for enlisted personnel and more often administered to officers. This punishment will stall an officer's career. Against peers with stellar records and multiple accolades on promotion boards, an officer with this in his PIF won't progress in rank. In almost all cases, LOAs are placed in the PIF.
Letters of Reprimand (LORs)
These are the highest form of counseling before Article-15s and Courts-Martial. Only in rare cases will an LOR not be placed into a PIF. An LOR to an officer is career death. Enlisted personnel can recover and do from LOR punishments. Depending on the in-fracture, most LORs are given after a pattern of LOCs have shown no troop improvement. If the misstep is grave enough, lesser discipline levels are skipped in favor of the LOR.
Article-15s
These are paperwork where Military Justice, the troop's commander and even the base or post commander become involved. Article-15s are as serious as they sound. This paperwork will stall and even end careers. Lose of rank and wages, extra duties, and even freedom can result from an Article-15 action. These will be placed not only in the PIF, but in the permanent file and in a folder called an Unfavorable Information File. Unlike other forms of punishment, this record stays for all time unless the action is withdrawn or successfully appealed to the unit commander, base commander or higher.
Courts-Martial (CMs)
These are military trials. This is the highest form of disciplinary action. The three types of Courts-Martial from lowest to highest are Summary, Special, and General Courts-Martial. Declining an Article-15 will result in a Military Judge or jury trial. If found innocent, all charges to include the Article-15 will be dropped. But, if found guilty, the punishment is even worse. Punishment can include lose of rank, wages, benefits, imprisonment, less-than-honorable discharge, and in rare cases even death. A courts-martial conviction is considered a federal conviction.
Wall-to-Wall Counseling
This isn't ‘counseling' per se. This is where the supervisor takes the troop to a hidden location and beats the crap out of him. This archaic punishment is illegal, but rumors and tales still sound in military lore.
In-House Punishment
This is anything from Memorandums of Record to Letters of Reprimand. These don't go into the PIF. Instead, the supervisor keeps the documentation in his or her desk and only the troop and the next supervisory level are made aware. In most cases, nothing further is done unless the troop's behavior demands otherwise. Other forms of In-House punishment are manual labor such as mowing the grounds, barracks or dormitory clean-up, KP duties, janitorial tasks, or even announcing your wrong-doing before your peers. In almost all cases, this punishment is not officially recorded.
