You Will Undergo an OGD in the Air Force when you are retiring if any of the below apply:
- You have applied for Retirement in lieu of judicial or administrative separation action. If you are allowed to retire instead of a court-martial or administrative discharge, an OGD will occur.
- You have a court-martial conviction
- You have a civil court conviction that resulted in a referral OPR
- You have received nonjudicial punishment (Article 15); a Letter of Reprimand in your current rank.
- You have been the subject of a substantiated adverse finding or conclusion from an officially documented investigation, proceeding or inquiry conducted by military or civilian authorities (except minor traffic infractions)—whether or not command action was taken against you.(CDI, IG, EO investigations)
- In any other case in which the commander or other appropriate authority believes an OGD is appropriate.
(AFI 36-3203, Service Retirements, paragraph 8.6.3).
Most OGDs fall into categories 4 and 5 above. The exception to the above is if your command is not initiating court-martial or administrative discharge against you and you have a medical retirement for a physical disability. In such cases, you will not undergo an OGD, but will be retired at the grade in which you were serving when you name was placed on the disability retired list IAW 10 USC §1372, Grade on Retirement for physical disability.
- Things to Consider before Applying for Retirement
If you are a Lieutenant Colonel or Colonel, you must have three years-time in grade to retire in grade despite the OGD. So, you should consider this before applying for retirement. The OGD process is not a one or two week process. It could take six months or more to process your OGD as it goes through the chain of command from the Wing to the NAF to the MAJCOM before it gets to the Secretary of the Air Force Personnel Council. Factor this period into your decision when choosing a retirement date.
Once you apply for retirement and AFPC informs you that you meet the requirements to retire, you will submit your retirement application to your commander. Once your commander approves your retirement request, an OGD will be triggered if any of the six factors above apply to you. Your commander will notify you that you will undergo an OGD and “The Secretary of the Air Force (SAF) or designee, will decide the grade in which you will be retired based upon determination of satisfactory service.” 10 USC §1370, Commissioned officers, general rule
- You should take the OGD process seriously even if you believe your command will recommend retirement in grade.
Your commander will inform you why the OGD is being initiated—for example, you received an Article 15 or LOR, There is usually an underlying investigation that substantiated some misconduct or an adverse finding. You must be given all information relevant and material to the determination of satisfactory service in each grade at issue and have an opportunity to respond to the OGD. You have 10 calendar days from receipt of the OGD letter to respond. You should submit a detailed response that details why you served satisfactorily and should be retired in grade. Ten calendar days is usually not enough time to prepare an appropriate response. You need to think about this before you hit the Apply to Retire button on the AFPC website.
- Factors the SecAF Considers to determine Satisfactory Service:
In considering whether an officer has provided satisfactory or creditable service, The SAF Personnel Council :”will consider the nature and length of the officer’s improper conduct, the impact the conduct had on military effectiveness, the quality and length of the officer’s service in each grade at issue, past cases involving similar conduct, and the recommendations of the officer’s command chain. In some cases, a single incident of misconduct can render service in a grade unsatisfactory despite a substantial period of otherwise exemplary service.” (AFI 36-3203, paragraph 8.6.2.2) If you have misconduct in more than one grade, you could be reduced by more than one grade.
AFI 36-3203 states that “An OGD resulting in retirement in a lower grade is not punishment. It is an administrative action required by law that determines the highest grade in which an officer served satisfactorily.” While it is not be punishment, a reduction in rank will result in a substantial loss of pay. If you do calculations on the military pay calculator, depending on your rank and years of service, your loss in retirement pay over the next 30-40 years of your life can result in the loss several hundreds of thousands of dollars.
You need to take the OGD process seriously while you are on active duty. Once you are retired in a lower grade, it will be an uphill battle to try to correct your records.
You have been in the military your entire adult life; you have loved serving your country. You may have served your country on remote assignments, deployed to combat zones, and you have been separated from your spouse and children during your deployments causing stress on your marriage and strain on your spouse raising children on his or her own. And now, everything you have dedicated your life to and worked for your entire life is at risk.
- What can you do?
Understand the OGD process now and take the steps you need to prepare before you hit the Retire button. An OGD is a serious matter. Don’t wait until you are served the OGD notification to begin planning. What you do now can make a difference.
