For official instructions on the "Magic Statement", see Chapter 17-4, Sample Instructions in AR 635-200, Active Duty Enlisted Administrative Separations
Magic Statement for Promotion Not Recommended Counseling (No Edit Required)
This counseling statement has been furnished to you IAW AR 600-8-19, Chapter One, Para 1-28 and/or Para 1-30 (Suspension of favorable personnel action). "First-line leaders will formally counsel Soldiers, in writing, who are eligible for promotion to PV2 through SPC without a waiver (fully qualified) but not recommended for promotion. This counseling requirement also applies to all Soldiers who are boarded (fully qualified in the PZ) but not integrated into the promotion recommended list after having appeared before a promotion board. Counseling will take place initially when the Soldier attains eligibility, and at least every 3 months thereafter, and include information as to why the Soldier was not recommended and what the Soldier can do to correct deficiencies or qualities that reflect a lack of promotion potential." Para 1-30: "A Flag will be initiated on Soldiers not in good standing as prescribed in AR 600-8-2".
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Magic Statement for ABCP Counseling (No Edit Required)
You are hereby counseled for the above enrollment in the Army Body Composition Program (ABCP) in accordance with AR 600-9. Program failure is defined as the Soldier exhibiting less than satisfactory progress on two (2) consecutive monthly ABCP assessments; or after six (6) months in the ABCP, Soldier still exceeds body fat standards, and exhibits less than satisfactory progress for three or more (nonconsecutive) monthly ABCP assessments. Failure to demonstrate satisfactory progress, as defined in AR 600-9 para 3-9b, while enrolled in the ABCP will result in bar to continued service or initiation of separation proceedings IAW AR 635-200 Chapter 18 (Active Duty Enlisted Administrative Separations).
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General Statement for Most Types of Counseling (No Edit Required)
You are hereby counseled for the above indicated misconduct and/or unsatisfactory duty performance in accordance with AR 635-200, paragraph 1-16. Continued behavior of this kind may result in initiation of separation action to eliminate you from the Army. If you are separated for unsatisfactory performance, you could receive an Honorable, General, or Other than Honorable (OTH) characterization of service. A General or OTH characterization of service could severely prejudice you in civilian life. Additionally, an OTH characterization of service could deprive you of many or all military and VA benefits, to include forfeiture of all educational benefits. Any further misconduct or unsatisfactory performance may cause you to be eliminated without further counseling.
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General Statement for Most Types of Counseling (No Edit Required)
In addition to being counseled on the issues above, he/she received counseling on the following: (1) that behavior for which he/she has been counseled may result in punishment under Article 15, UCMJ, court-martial, or adverse action such as bar of reenlistment, suspension of favorable actions (promotion, retention, schools), or other appropriate administrative sanctions; (2) that if this behavior continues, separation under the provisions of AR 635-200 may be initiated; (3) that if separated prior to ETS, that he/she could receive an honorable, general, or other than honorable discharge for the current term of service, or the term of service would be uncharacterized if less than 180 days had been served on active duty; (4) the basis of each characterization of service, the discharge certificates received for each, and the character of service would become part of a permanent record which may be provided to any Federal agency if they were to apply for either federal employment or security clearance; (5) the possible effects that each type of discharge would have on reenlistment, civilian employment, veteran benefits, and related matters; (6) that a general discharge would cause loss of civil service retirement credit; (7) that other than honorable discharge would result in reduction to the lowest rank, loss of payment of accrued leave, and loss of all benefits administered by the Veterans Administration and other federal and state agencies; (8) that separation prior to ETS may preclude enlistment in any component of the Armed Forces; (9) that separation prior to ETS may cause loss of entitlement to education benefits and money paid into the Army College Fund; (10) that separation prior to ETS may require repayment of any unearned bonus received for enlistment or reenlistment; (11) that it is unlikely that any attempt to have the characterization of service upgraded would be successful; (12) that he/she is encouraged to make every reasonable effort to ensure his/her performance and conduct meet military standards; (13) that he/she will be given a reasonable chance to bring substandard performance and conduct to acceptable military standards.
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General Statement for Most Types of Counseling (No Edit Required)
I am counseling you for the conduct noted above. If this conduct continues, UCMJ action or adverse administrative action such as a General Officer Memorandum of Reprimand (GOMOR), Bar to Reenlistment, Article 15 or other action may be taken to include action to separate you from the Army. If you are involuntarily separated, you could receive an Honorable Discharge, a General (Under Honorable Conditions) Discharge, or Under Other Than Honorable Conditions Discharge. An Honorable Discharge is a separation with honor based on the quality of service, which meets the standards of acceptable conduct and performance of duty. A General Discharge is a separation under honorable conditions, based on a military record being satisfactory but not sufficiently meritorious to warrant an Honorable Discharge. A discharge Under Other Than Honorable Conditions is based upon a pattern of behavior of one or more acts or omissions that constitutes a significant departure from the conduct expected of a soldier. If you receive an Honorable Discharge, you will be qualified for most benefits resulting from military service. If you receive a General Discharge, you will be disqualified from service for some period of time and you will be ineligible for some military and VA administered benefits, including the Montgomery GI Bill. If you receive a discharge Under Other Than Honorable Conditions, you will be ineligible for further service and for most benefits, including payments of accrued leave, transitional benefits, the Montgomery GI Bill, and possibly transportation of dependents and household goods to home. You may also face difficulty in obtaining civilian employment as employers have a low regard for General and Under Other Than Honorable conditions discharges. Although there are agencies to which you may apply to have your characterization of service changed, it is unlikely that such application will be successful.
_______ (Soldier's initials)
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General Statement for National Guard Counseling (No Edit Required)
You are advised that separation action may be initiated under the provision of Army Regulation 135-178 if this behavior/conduct continues. If separated, you could receive an Honorable, Under Honorable Conditions, or Under Other Than Honorable Conditions discharge or characterization of service, or an Entry Level Separation (uncharacterized), if authorized. If separated with less than an Honorable discharge/characterization, you could receive substantial prejudice in civilian life, and it may affect civilian employment, veterans benefits, and related matters. It is unlikely that you would be successful in any attempt to have the character of your service changed.
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General Statement/Focused Entirely on Types of Discharge (No Edit Required)
If this substandard conduct continues, action may be initiated to separate you from the Army IAW AR 635-200. If you are involuntarily separated, you could receive an Honorable Discharge, a General (Under Honorable Conditions) Discharge, or an Under Other Than Honorable Conditions Discharge. An Honorable Discharge is a separation with honor based on the quality of service, which meets the standards of acceptable conduct and performance of duty. A General Discharge is a separation under honorable conditions based on a military record being satisfactory but not sufficiently meritorious to warrant an Honorable Discharge. A discharge Under Other Than Honorable Conditions is based upon a pattern of behavior that constitutes a significant departure from the conduct expected of a soldier. An Honorable Discharge may be awarded under any of these provisions. A General Discharge may be awarded for separation under Chapter 5, Chapter 9, Chapter 13 and Chapter 14. With an Honorable Discharge, you will be qualified for most benefits resulting from military service. An involuntary honorable Discharge, however, will disqualify you from reenlistment for some period of time and may disqualify you from receiving transitional benefits (commissary, housing, health benefits) and the Montgomery GI Bill if you have not met other program requirements. If you receive a discharge Under Other Than Honorable Conditions, you will be ineligible for reenlistment and for most benefits, including payments of accrued leave, transitional benefits, the Montgomery GI Bill and possibly transportation of dependents and household goods to home. You may also face difficulty in obtaining civilian employment as employers have a low regard for General and Under Other Than Honorable conditions discharges. Although there are agencies to which you may apply to have your characterization of service changed, it is unlikely that such application will be successful.
_____ (Soldier's initials)
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General Statement for Most Types of Counseling (No Edit Required)
You are being counseled for the above indicated misconduct and/or unsatisfactory duty performance IAW AR 635-200, 1-16b. Continued behavior of this kind may result in initiation of separation action to eliminate you from the Army or non-judicial punishment. Any further acts of misconduct or unsatisfactory performance may cause you to be eliminated without further counseling. If you are administratively separated from the Army, you could receive an Honorable (HON), General Under Honorable (GEN) or an Other Than Honorable (OTH) Conditions Discharge. Any less than Honorable discharge could deprive you of many or all military and Veterans Administration (VA) benefits including loss of both education benefits and civil service retirement credit. A negative characterization of your service can have lasting negative impact on future civilian employment. Should you receive a discharge less favorable than Honorable you may apply to have your characterization of service upgraded by the Army Board for the Correction of Military Records and/or the Army Discharge Review Board.
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Army Reserve Statement for Specific Acts (Must Edit)
Army Reserve, AR 135-178, para. 2-4:
You may be separated from the U.S. Army Reserve for [inability to obtain a valid family care plan][designated physical or mental conditions][entry level performance and conduct][unsatisfactory performance][misconduct][failure to meet army body composition standards], in accordance with AR 135-178, Chapter [6-5][6-7][8][9][12-1a or b][16] if you: _________________.
If separated, you could receive an [honorable], [general, under honorable conditions], [uncharacterized] or [under other than honorable] characterization of service.
If you receive less than an Honorable discharge, you can expect to encounter significant prejudice in civilian life. Any early separation action might result in recoupment of unearned enlistment bonuses, a loss of G.I. Bill or VEAP education benefits and no separation pay, if you were otherwise qualified. You could be required to repay the Government for any portion of an unearned reenlistment bonus or any educational benefits already used. If you have not completed the required time of enlistment, loss of accrued benefits will occur, and any monies reduced from your pay are not refundable. Your type of discharge will become a matter of permanent record, and may, consistent with the Privacy Act, be provided to Federal, state and local agencies.
You may be subject to a bar to reenlistment under AR 140-111; a written reprimand under AR 600-37; reduction in grade under AR 600-200, Chapter 6; MOS reclassification under AR 140-158; an adverse NCOER evaluation report (if eligible for one) under AR 623-105 or 623-205; extra training or instruction under AR 600-200, paragraph 4-6; flagging action under AR 600-8-2, and other adverse administrative action.
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Boiler Plate Magic Statement (Must Edit 2nd Line)
I am recommending the following action(s) be taken and where necessary, referred to the Commander for action:
___Punishment under UCMJ____Corrective Training___Bar to reenlistment ___Flagging action____Other
I am counseling you for the conduct noted above. If this conduct continues, action may be initiated to separate you from the Army IAW AR 635-200. If you are involuntary separated, you could receive an Honorable Discharge, a General (Under Honorable Conditions) Discharge, or an Under Other Than Honorable Conditions Discharge.
An Honorable Discharge is a separation with honor based on the quality of service, which meets the standards of acceptable conduct and performance of duty. A General Discharge is a separation under honorable conditions, based on a military record being satisfactory but not sufficiently meritorious to warrant an Honorable Discharge. A discharge Under Other Than Honorable Conditions is based upon a pattern of behavior of one or more acts or omissions that constitutes a significant departure from the conduct expected of a soldier. A General Discharge may be awarded for separation under Chapter 5, Chapter 9, Chapter 13 and Chapter 14. An Under Other Than Honorable Conditions Discharge may be awarded for separation under Chapter 14 for misconduct. If you receive an Honorable Discharge, you will be qualified for most benefits resulting from military service. An involuntary honorable Discharge, however, will disqualify you from reenlistment for some period of time and may disqualify you from receiving transitional benefits (e.g., commissary, housing, health benefits) and the Montgomery GI Bill if you have not met other program requirements. If you receive a General Discharge, you will be disqualified from reenlisting in the service for some period of time and you will be ineligible for some military and VA administered benefits, including the Montgomery GI Bill. If you receive a discharge Under Other Than Honorable Conditions, you will be ineligible for reenlistment and for most benefits, including payments of accrued leave, transitional benefits, the Montgomery GI Bill, and possibly transportation of dependents and household goods to home. You may also face difficulty in obtaining civilian employment as employers have a low regard for General and Under Other Than Honorable conditions discharges. Although there are agencies to which you may apply to have your characterization of service changed, it is unlikely that such application will be successful. _______ (Soldier's initial)
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General Statement for Counseling (No Edit Required)
Failure to follow these orders is a violation of article 92 (Failure to obey order or regulation) of the UCMJ and may result in initiation of action separating you from the U.S. Army under the provisions of Chapter (5) (8) (11) (13) (14), AR 635-200. Such action may result in either an Honorable Discharge, General Discharge, or an Other Than Honorable (OTH) Discharge. If you receive a General or an OTH Discharge, this could result in the possible loss of some or all Veterans Benefits and substantial prejudice in obtaining civilian employment. In addition, if you have contributed money to the Montgomery G.I. Bill and you are released from active duty with a less than Honorable Discharge, you will not be eligible to receive money for educational purposes and any money already contributed for educational purposes is nonrefundable and may be forfeited.
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General Statement for Counseling (No Edit Required)
You are being counseled in accordance with AR 635-200, paragraph 1-16, for your conduct as set forth in Part II above. Any further misconduct, inappropriate actions, or deficiencies in your performance may result in punitive action under the UCMJ and/or initiation of separation IAW AR 635-200. Separation action may result in your service being characterized as Honorable, General, or Under Other Than Honorable Conditions (UOTH). An Honorable Discharge entitles you to receive all discharge benefits. A General Discharge may result in substantial prejudice in civilian life and loss of certain benefits, such as civil service retirement credit and educational assistance. An UOTH Discharge could result in substantial prejudice in civilian life, and may result in the loss of most or all benefits as a veteran under both Federal and State laws. Some of the benefits you would not be eligible for with an UOTH discharge are payment for accrued leave, health benefits, civil service preference, reemployment rights, unemployment compensation and naturalization benefits. An involuntary separation might result in recoupment of unearned enlistment bonuses, a loss of G.I. Bill or VEAP educational benefits, and no separation pay. It is very difficult to upgrade a less than honorable discharge.
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Active Guard/Reserve (AGR) General Statement for Counseling (No Edit Required)
You are being counseled for poor performance/misconduct. Continued poor performance/misconduct can result in separation UP 135-178 chapters 9 and 12; or transfer to the IRR. If separated, you could receive a discharge with a characterization of service as General under honorable conditions or under other than honorable conditions. A discharge under less than honorable conditions could affect your entitlement to reenlistment, civilian employment, veterans' employment, veterans' benefits, and education assistance benefits. While you can apply to the Discharge Review Board or Army Board for Correction of Military Records to upgrade the character of your service, it is unlikely that you will be successful.
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Active Guard/ Reserve (AGR) General Statement (No Edit Required)
You are hereby notified that if the type of conduct noted above continues, actions may be initiated to separate you from the Army National Guard prior to your scheduled ETS Date IAW AR 135-178. If you are involuntary separated, you could receive an Honorable Discharge, a General (Under Honorable Conditions) Discharge, or a Under Other Than Honorable Conditions Discharge. If you receive a discharge under less than honorable conditions, you will be ineligible for reenlistment and for most benefits, including payments of accrued leave, transitional benefits, the Montgomery GI Bill, VA benefits, and you may also face difficulty in obtaining civilian employment.
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General Statement/Focused Entirely on Types of Discharge (No Edit Required)
If this conduct continues, action may be initiated to separate you from service per AR 635-200. If you are involuntary separated, you could receive an Honorable Discharge, a General (Under Honorable Conditions) Discharge, or Under Other Than Honorable Conditions Discharge. If you receive an Honorable Discharge, you will be qualified for most benefits resulting from military service. An involuntary separation for any other discharge however may disqualify you from benefits to include but not limited to: reenlistment, transitional benefits (e.g. commissary, housing, health benefits), the Montgomery G.I. Bill, VA administered benefits, payments of accrued leave, and transportation of dependents and household goods. In addition you could face difficulty in obtaining civilian employment as employers have low regard for general and Under Other Than Honorable conditions discharge. There are agencies to which you may apply in an attempt to change the characterization of your discharge, however it is unlikely that any such application would be successful. SM initials__________
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General Statement for Counseling (No Edit Required)
I am counseling you for the conduct noted above. Be advised that continued conduct of this nature may result in initiation of a bar to reenlistment, administrative action to include your separation from the service, and/or punitive action (i.e. UCMJ action). If this conduct continues, action may be initiated to involuntarily separate you from the service under AR 635-200, Chapter 5, 11, 13 or 14. If you are involuntarily separated, you could receive an Honorable, General Under Honorable Conditions, Other Than Honorable, or Uncharacterized Discharge. An Honorable Discharge may be awarded under Chapter 5, 13 and 14. An Uncharacterized Discharge may be awarded under Chapter 11. A General Under Honorable Conditions Discharge may be awarded under Chapter 5, 13 and 14. An Other Than Honorable Discharge may be awarded under Chapter 14. If you receive an Honorable Discharge, you will be qualified for most benefits resulting from your military service. If you receive a General Under Honorable Conditions Discharge or an Uncharacterized Discharge, you will be disqualified from reenlisting in the service for some period (i.e. at least two years) and you will be ineligible for many veterans benefits to include but not limited to the Montgomery G.I. Bill. If you receive Other Than Honorable Discharge, you will be ineligible for most, if not all, veterans benefits to include but not limited to the Montgomery G.I. Bill and you will be precluded from reenlisting in the service. If a General Under Honorable Conditions, Other Than Honorable, or Uncharacterized Discharge is given, you may face difficulty in obtaining civilian employment as employers have a low regard for less than Honorable Discharges. Although agencies exist to which you may apply to upgrade a less than Honorable Discharge, it is unlikely that such application will be successful.
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Provided by JAG for Event Oriented Counseling (No Edit Required)
Pursuant to 1-16, AR 635-200, this constitutes a formal counseling session concerning your noted deficiencies. You will be given a reasonable period of time to correct these deficiencies and to rehabilitate yourself into a productive satisfactory Soldier. Your conduct will be monitored during this time and you will be given an opportunity to prove yourself. If your performance and conduct continues to be unsatisfactory, you could be processed for separation under Chapter 5-13 or 5-17 AR 635-200. You could also be chaptered under Chapter 9, 13, or 14. If you are processed for separation under Chapters 9 or 13 you could receive a general discharge and if processed under Chapter 14, Section III, you may receive up to an Other Than Honorable Discharge. Regardless of the type of discharge that you may receive it may have serious consequences effecting civilian, veterans benefits, or future service.
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General Magic Bullet (No Edit Required)
This counseling statement has been furnished to you, not as a punitive measure under the provisions of article 15, UCMJ, but as an administrative measure to stress that continued behavior of the same or a similar nature may result in initiation of action separating you from the U.S. Army under the provisions of Chapter (5) (8) (11) (13) (14) , AR 635-200. Such action may result in either an Honorable Discharge, General Discharge, or an Other Than Honorable (OTH) Discharge. If you receive a General or an OTH Discharge, this could result in the possible loss of some or all Veterans Benefits and substantial prejudice in obtaining civilian employment. In addition, if you have contributed money to the Montgomery G.I. Bill and you are released from active duty with a less than Honorable Discharge, you will not be eligible to receive money for educational purposes and any money already contributed for educational purposes is nonrefundable and may be forfeited.
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Same as Above but Specific (Must Edit)
This counseling statement has been furnished to you, not as a punitive measure under the provisions of article 15, UCMJ, but as an administrative measure to stress that continued behavior of the same or a similar nature may result in initiation of action eliminating you from the U.S. Army for (Involuntary Separation Due To Parenthood) (Personality Disorder) (Entry Level Performance and Conduct) (Unsatisfactory Performance) (Misconduct or Minor Disciplinary Infractions) under the provisions of Chapter (5) (8) (11) (13) (14), AR 635-200. Such action may result in the issuance of either an Honorable Discharge, General Discharge, or an Other Than Honorable (OTH) Discharge. If you receive a General or an OTH Discharge, this could result in the possible loss of some or all Veterans Benefits and substantial prejudice in obtaining civilian employment. In addition, if you have contributed money to the Montgomery G.I. Bill and you are released from active duty with a less than Honorable Discharge, you will not be eligible to receive money for educational purposes and any money already contributed for educational purposes is nonrefundable and may be forfeited.
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General Counseling Statement (No Edit Required)
Separation actions may be initiated if unsatisfactory behavior or performances continues. Unsatisfactory performances and acts or patterns of misconduct can result in separation from the Army under AR 635-200. Chapter 13 (Unsatisfactory Performance) is the commander's judgment of your performance. Chapter 14 (Misconduct) is misconduct based on minor disciplinary infractions, a pattern of misconduct, commission of a serious offense, conviction by civil authorities, desertion, and absence without leave. Under the provisions of these chapters, discharge from the Army can be characterized as: Chapter 13 Honorable or under honorable conditions as warranted by their military record. Chapter 14: a Discharge under other than honorable conditions is normally appropriate for a soldier under this chapter. However, the separation authority may direct a general discharge if such is merited by the soldier's overall record.
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For Commissioned/ Warrant Officer Misconduct
In addition to being counseled on the issues above, you are advised of the following: (1) that behavior for which you have been counseled may result in punishment under Article 15, UCMJ, court-martial, or adverse action such as suspension of favorable actions (promotion, retention, schools), GOMOR (General Officer Memorandum of Reprimand) or other appropriate administrative sanctions; (2) that if this behavior continues, elimination under the provisions of AR 600-8-24 may be initiated; (3) that if eliminated, you could receive an honorable, general, or other than honorable characterization of service; (4) the basis of each characterization of service, the discharge certificates received for each, and the character of service would become part of a permanent record which may be provided to any Federal agency if they were to apply for either federal employment or security clearance; (5) the possible effects that each type of discharge would have on civilian employment, veteran benefits, and related matters; (6) that a general discharge would cause loss of civil service retirement credit; (7) that other than honorable discharge would result in loss of payment of accrued leave, and loss of all benefits administered by the Veterans Administration and other federal and state agencies; (8) that elimination may preclude entry/re-entry in any component of the Armed Forces; (9) that elimination may cause loss of entitlement to education benefits and money paid into the Army College Fund; (10) that it is unlikely that any attempt to have the characterization of service upgraded would be successful; (11) that you are encouraged to make every reasonable effort to ensure your performance and conduct meet military standards.
