Administrative Correction vs. Statement vs. Appeal

Frequently I counsel sailors who are unhappy with their FITREP or Evaluation and want to submit a statement to the record to officially register their disagreement with the reporting seniors Evaluation. Unfortunately, many of these sailors are confused with the difference between an Administrative Correction, a Statement to the Record and an Appeal.

While this information is found in chapter 17 of the BUPERS Instruction 1610.10 (Navy Performance Evaluation Instruction), this article will attempt to clarify the differenced and provide recommendations for proper use.

Administrative Correction

An administrative correction is a request from a service member to PERS-32 to change an administrative item in a service members FITREP or EVAL The most common administrative correction is to correct the spelling of a members name, Social Security number, or the dates of a FITREP/EVAL.

A member may not request NAVPERSCOM to change any evaluative mark or comment or any administrative or evaluative data that would modify summary group averages, the reporting seniors cumulative average, or place the member in another promotion recommendation summary group.

Appeal

An appeal is only used if a service member believes that a FITREP, CHIEFEVAL, or EVAL is inaccurate, unjust, or wrongly submitted. This would be most commonly used if a FITREP/Eval is factually incorrect, or if there is clear wrongdoing at a command where a superior officer would need to be investigated.

There are two methods to submit an appeal. The first is through a UCMJ Article 138 (Redress of Wrong Committed by a Superior). Using this process an investigation would be initiated by your commanding officers superior and a report on the alleged wrongdoing submitted to your Type Commander.

The second type is to submit an appeal directly to BUPERS using DD 1049 which is an Application for Correction of Military Record Under the Provisions of Title 10, U.S. Code, Section 1552. This form would be sent to the Board for Correction of Naval Records in Washington DC, and upon endorsement would then be forwarded to the Secretary of the Navy for approval.

Statement to the Record

Every Sailor has the right to add a statement to his or her record. This statement is most often used when a sailor receives an Adverse FITREP or EVAL or to elaborate on existing material in a sailors record.

Statements to the record are sent through a service members chain of command to PERS-32.

If you believe that you need assistance submitting an Administrative Correction, Statement to the Board or Appeal please contact me here.