It is tempting. You have 7 days to respond to a General Officer Memorandum of Reprimand (GOMOR). You are stressed, money is tight, and ChatGPT is free. You type in: “Write a rebuttal letter for a GOMOR for a DUI.

In seconds, it spits out a polite, well-formatted letter. It looks professional. It sounds remorseful. It is also likely a suicide note for your military career.

At Gonzalez & Waddington, we are seeing a surge of soldiers permanently flagged and separated because they trusted an algorithm over an advocate. Here is the brutal truth about why AI cannot save you, and why real legal experience is non-negotiable.

The “Politeness” Trap: How AI Confesses for You

AI models are trained to be helpful and polite. In the civilian world, this is fine. In Military Justice, it is fatal.

The Scenario: You are accused of “Conduct Unbecoming” but the evidence is weak. You ask AI to write a rebuttal.

3 Things an Algorithm Cannot Do

1. Analyze “Command Climate”

An AI does not know that your Installation Commander is currently under pressure from the Pentagon to crack down on DUIs. It doesn’t know that your Brigade Commander hates “excuses” but respects “ownership.” We know these nuances because we deal with these commands daily. We tailor the tone of your rebuttal to the specific psychology of the officer reading it.

2. Verify the Evidence

AI accepts the premise of your prompt. If you say “I got a GOMOR,” it assumes the GOMOR is valid. It does not ask:

• Was the urinalysis chain of custody broken?
• Did the investigator coerce witness statements?
• Is the reprimand based on an unlawful search?

We do. We don’t just write a letter; we audit the investigation. If the foundation is rotten, the reprimand falls.

3. Protect Your Future Security Clearance

What you write in a GOMOR rebuttal stays in your federal record forever. AI often includes phrases like “I was struggling with personal issues” to sound sympathetic. A security clearance adjudicator reads that as “financial or emotional instability.” We craft rebuttals that protect your clearance eligibility for your post-military life.

Don’t Bring a Chatbot to a Gunfight

The government has unlimited resources. They have JAG officers, investigators, and commanders working to process your reprimand. Do not rely on a free tool to fight them.

Michael Waddington and Alexandra Gonzalez-Waddington have spent decades fighting for service members in the most high-stakes environments imaginable. We use the law, not templates, to fight for your career.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use ChatGPT to write a GOMOR rebuttal?

We strongly advise against it. AI frequently hallucinates regulations and defaults to admission of guilt, which can be used against you in administrative separation boards.

Does Gonzalez & Waddington use AI?

We use advanced legal research tools, but every strategy and every word of your defense is crafted by experienced human attorneys who understand the UCMJ.

Is a lawyer better than a template?

A template is static. A lawyer is dynamic. We can negotiate with the command, interview witnesses, and find leverage that a template simply cannot provide.