A Mother's Letter to the General

Brigadier General                                                                                                August 26, 2014

Headquarters, Tripler Army Medical Center

1 Jarrett White Road

Tripler AMC, HI 96859-5000

RE: General Officer Memorandum of Reprimand (GOMOR) issued to Master Sergeant                , Medical Company C, Tripler Army Medical Center, Tripler AMC, HI  

Dear General           ,

I am incensed and astounded in your decision to file this document in his permanent military file, which effectively ruins the career path of my son. He decided to become a Physician Assistant (PA) to better his ability to care for soldiers after using his training as a Medic in Special Forces. As you must be aware, that training was extremely rigorous and the result was a soldier that was deemed to be an example to others when he earned his Green Beret. His medic training prepared him to handle medical emergencies with almost the equivalent skills of a PA so he was naturally excelling in the Army PA program. 

You refused to see him last week and give him 15 minutes of your time.  My understanding is that this violates an Army Regulation that governs commander’s open door policy; therefore, I would like to address those 5 points of the Reprimand:

A: The 15-6 investigation. There was no evidence to support an unsubstantiated claim and there were no findings other than he attended a party hosted by his enlisted neighbor/classmate with other classmates and their families, enlisted and officers. Were all those other officers and enlisted men also counseled about fraternization? If not, isn't that being discriminatory?  And on top of that, my son told me that the counseling statement closing the investigation is a forgery of his signature and an incorrect date!  How close did you look into this before you made your decision?

B: Prior to becoming a Special Forces Green Beret he was a Sniper in Reconnaissance in the Marine Corps. These 2 areas required instant decisions and little time and patience for diplomacy or tact.  What was always expected of him was dedication to his duty and the men on his team; the ability to make judgment calls based on his experience and to determine what was necessary to preserve the safety of those team members. This served him well on his tours of duty in Iraq. Coming from this background has perhaps influenced his abruptness and no tolerance for those who don't put forth their best efforts, which he pointed out in his email to his company commander, Captain          . She interpreted his words as being disrespectful; abrupt and curt perhaps, but not disrespectful. She cleared up the miscommunication with him with a conversation last November, so it seems that she did not feel it was significant at that time. What changed?

C: I agree that the comment may have been inappropriate, but it was not directed at 1Lt.      . It does not constitute sexual harassment. I'm sure if you had spoken with Andrew he would have agreed the remark was not professional and one that he did apologize for.  He has also told me that what he was quoted as saying on the counseling statement is different from what he is quoted as saying on the GOMOR; another error that you failed to notice before signing off on a reprimand that is intended to ruin my Son’s career.

D: As far as the in-processing for the MC IPAP – he was asked to list what he felt his strengths were. What he wrote was that he does have a dominating personality, he has leadership qualities, and he meant to write that he could “read” people (body language, etc) not minds. On a subjective and objective level these would be considered strengths. What he considers his weakness, a tolerance for Army BS, I would like you to consider what he had gone through for several months prior to coming to Tripler. He was taking intense academic PA classes; was being investigated, along with 2 others, for something that was fabricated; passing a kidney stone, and his father was in a                          hospital having double by-pass surgery. During this ordeal, he maintained a more than satisfactory academic status and he continued to be there as a husband and father. In light of these major stressors, is it understandable that the 15-6 investigation left him with a sense of disillusionment and betrayal; therefore, that was the weakness he listed. It was not politically correct, but he was asked what he considered his weakness. This form was filled out last September and was never mentioned until appearing on this GOMOR nearly a year later.

E:  As far as the profile was concerned: the PA should not have signed a blank form (DA Form 689), but what Andrew wrote on it was to be excused for 3 weeks of physical training, completely reasonable after being seen in Tripler ER for diverticulitis only a couple weeks prior. He didn't write a diagnosis and he didn't sign it, nothing was false, forged or modified, he was given the signed form with the intent for him to fill it out himself. This is a man who was doing a physical training event in Ft. Bragg during his SF training, fell and broke his collar bone, yet got up and finished before collapsing. While in Ft. Sam Houston, he was ill with a fever, yet did the APFT. He has completed an Iron Man distance triathlon! Does this sound like a man who would knowingly falsify an “excuse” to get out of taking his fitness test? He just needed more time to heal from the diverticulitis before performing the exercises.

This action (GOMOR) appears to be a petty response and an overreaction on the part of Cpt.            . I believe that she and my son may have had a personality conflict, but as Commanding Officer, it should not be justification for tarnishing his service record and effectively railroading his completing the IPAP program, with 9 weeks left. She, along with others in the chain of command and IPAP faculty went through his history and these were the most points that she could come up with. #1 – he was counseled about being at a party with both enlisted personnel and officers, which happened more than 1 year ago #2 – being abrupt and curt in his response to being denied the wearing of his Green Beret and pointing out its history to his CO. # 3 -making an inappropriate comment #4- asked for what he believed to be his strengths and weakness and answering what he considered those strengths and weaknesses; and finally #5 – incorrectly having a profile form filled out, which was corrected as Cpt.         requested and accepted.  He never disobeyed an order, was insubordinate, or committed a criminal act.  

These are not the actions of a commander deserving respect from those under her command but more of an example of what I have been reading about, TOXIC LEADERSHIP. I am extremely saddened and outraged that these petty and insignificant “findings” are considered grounds for such a serious administrative punishment. Is this justice? Is this indicative of the Army's policy of deeming “guilty unless proven innocent” which is not in keeping with the premise our country was founded on of “presumed innocent unless proven guilty”. I am ashamed of the Captain's seeming inability to separate her injured pride from justly responding to a mistake. And I am ashamed of you, General, for fostering this toxic leadership. I would not wish for you to be dealt with in such a manner as you have with Master Sergeant Bardeen.  

I am left with the distinct belief that if a reprimand is issued it's a “done deal”. A GOMOR issued means that the action is considered valid and the recipient is guilty. Is this what our son and all the other troops have been defending? Is this what you are asking of the soldiers putting their lives on the line to preserve? 

General, you need to be held accountable.  You are reprimanding my son over petty matters in which supporting evidence is in part false and/or inaccurate, as well as subjective interpretations.  However, Andrew has shown me that the enclosed e-mail traffic demonstrates that you have clearly and objectively violated Army regulation 600-20 chapter 2-2.

Nancy                      

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