AR 600-8-24, para. 3-13
- Eligibility Criteria—Officer under suspended sentence of dismissal or who has charges preferred with a view to trial by general court-martial.
- General Court-Martial Convening Authority (GCMCA) can proceed to trial or hold proceedings in abeyance pending decision on resignation.
- GCMCA cannot take action on the findings and sentence until resignation has been approved or disapproved. However, note by definition an officer under a suspended sentence of dismissal can only submit a RFGOS after action is taken.
- Approval of resignation before action requires GCMCA to disapprove both the findings and sentence based on approval authority’s expressed intent. U.S. v. Woods , 26 MJ 372 (CMA 1988) and AR 27-10, paragraph 5-18.
- Practice points: Send complete information about offenses – law enforcement investigations, victim/witness impact, Article 32 investigations, chain of command recommendations and rationale. Provide points of contact information for government and defense, preferably names, phone numbers, and email addresses.