What Evidence Should I Gather for an Administrative Separation Board?

What evidence should you gather for an administrative separation board? Two kinds. Evidence that attacks the allegation and evidence that proves you’re worth keeping. Most people bring only the second and lose on the first. I’m Michael Waddington, civilian military defense lawyer and co-founder of Gonzalez & Waddington. A separation board is a trial with three officers, a preponderance standard, and your career as the sentence.

Here’s the evidence that wins them. First, understand what the board decides. Under AR 635-200 for the Army and the equivalent regulations in the other services, the board answers three questions in order. Did the alleged misconduct occur by a preponderance of the evidence? If so, does it warrant separation? And if so, what characterization? Honorable, general, or other than honorable? Each question needs its own evidence.

A retention packet full of awards does nothing on question one. Category one, evidence attacking the allegation. This is the board’s first question and the one that ends the case if you win it. The complete investigation, the CID file, the 15-6, the police report, so the board sees the gaps the government’s exhibits leave out. Witness statements from people who were there and saw something different. Sworn, signed, and where possible, the witness in person.

Documents that contradict the government’s timeline. Duty logs, leave forms, phone records, gate logs. For urinalysis cases, the litigation packet and a defense expert’s review of the chain of custody and the cutoff levels. For domestic cases, the civilian court outcome, especially a dismissal. For sexual misconduct cases, the messages the government didn’t put in its exhibits. If you were acquitted at a court-martial, the record of that acquittal.

Category two, evidence for retention. The board’s second question. Even if it happened, should you stay? Your complete evaluation history, every award with the citations, your training record and schools, deployment history, a letter from your current commander saying they want you retained. This is the single most persuasive document at a board. Letters from senior NCOs and officers who’ve led you, addressed to the board president, specific about what they’ve seen.

Evidence of rehabilitation, counseling completed, treatment records if you choose to release them, a clean record since the incident, a statement from you, which you can make sworn or unsworn, that takes responsibility where responsibility is due, and explains what’s changed. Category three, evidence for characterization. The board’s third question and the fallback. Your record supports an honorable or general discharge even if the board votes to separate.

Evidence of the harm an OTH would do, loss of the GI Bill, VA benefits, and civilian employment. Comparison to how similar cases were characterized in the unit, if you know. Category four, the witnesses. Evidence on paper is fine. Evidence in the room is better. Under the regulation, you can call witnesses and the government must produce them if reasonably available. Your commander, your first sergeant, the peer who saw what happened.

Prepare them. They’ll be cross-examined. Category five, the things people forget. Your medical and behavioral health context, if relevant and if you choose to use it, especially for conduct connected to PTSD or TBI. Your prior service records, if you enlisted before. Your family situation, briefly. And the government’s own regulations, so your lawyer can show the board where the command skipped a step. What not to bring.

Character letters from family and friends with no military standing. A stack of unsworn statements nobody will testify to, and anything that admits more than the evidence proves. At Gonzalez & Waddington, we start the exhibit list the day we’re hired because a separation board packet is built over weeks, not the night before. So, what evidence do you gather for a separation board? The investigation and the witnesses that attack the allegation.

The record and the leaders that support retention. And the case for an honorable characterization. All three in that order. I’m Michael Waddington, a civilian military defense lawyer and co-founder of Gonzalez & Waddington. We defend service members worldwide facing military investigations, courts-martial, administrative separation boards, and military disciplinary actions. If your career, reputation, or freedom is on the line, you need experienced military defense lawyers fighting for you.

When the government builds a case, we build your defense. Visit ucmjdefense.com or call 1-800-921-8607 for a free, confidential consultation.