Raters and senior raters should not make any comments about the rated Soldier’s spouse, partner, or personal relationships.
It is never appropriate to discuss the rated Soldier’s marital status or spouse when evaluating the performance and potential of a rated Soldier.
a.
Evaluation comments, favorable or unfavorable, will not be based on a rated Soldier’s marital status.
For example, statements such as the following will not be permitted:
“LTC Doe and his wife make a fine command team” or “As a bachelor, MSG Doe can quickly react to this unit’s contingency missions.”
b.
Evaluation comments will not be made about the employment, education, or volunteer activities of a rated Soldier’s spouse, partner, and so on.
For example, statements such as the following will not be permitted:
“Mr. Doe’s participation in post activities is limited by his civilian employment” or “Mrs. Doe has made a significant contribution to our Soldiers’ morale through her caring participation on the hospital volunteer staff.”
c.
There are limited circumstances involving actual and/or demonstrable impacts on the rated Soldier’s performance or conduct when comments containing a general reference to a family member may be made.
These comments will be focused on the rated Soldier’s actions.
For example, statements such as the following will be permitted:
“CPT Doe continued his outstanding, selfless service, despite significant family health issues”.
The following statement is not permitted:
“CPT Doe continued his outstanding, selfless service despite his wife’s severe illness.”
A rated Soldier’s spouse should not be mentioned at all in the evaluation.
This both protects the privacy of the spouse and ensures non-discrimination based on the Soldier’s marital status or identity/actions of their spouse.