Operating tasks for conducting a Commander’s or Commandant’s Inquiry are outlined in table 4–1.
Table 4–1
Steps in conducting a Commander’s or Commandant’s Inquiry
Step 1
Work center
Requester
Action required
Submit a written request for a Commander’s or Commandant’s Inquiry indicating specifically the injustices and/or regulatory violations contained in the OER, NCOER, DA Form 1059, or DA Form 1059–2 in question.
Submit request to a commander above the designated rating chain.
Request must be filed no later than 60 days after the rated Soldier’s signature date (or senior rater’s signature date, if the rated Soldier’s signature is omitted).
Step 2
Work center
Commander or commandant
Action required
Upon receipt of a request for a Commander’s or Commandant’s Inquiry, the commander or commandant receiving the request will acknowledge receipt and notify the Soldier.
The commander or commandant must verify the status of the OER, NCOER, or AER in question; that is, if the evaluation in question has been submitted and received at HQDA for processing.
If the evaluation has been submitted and received at HQDA for processing and not yet filed in the Soldier’s AMHRR, the commander or commandant will notify the Evaluations Appeals Office via email with a request to have the evaluation placed in a temporary administrative hold status until completion of the inquiry (see app F).
Step 3
Work center
Commander or commandant
Action required
If, after looking into the allegations, no error, violation of the regulation, or wrongdoing is found, advise the individual requesting the inquiry.
Take no further action other than ensuring that the evaluation is forwarded to HQDA as expeditiously as possible.
If the commander desires, they may retain a written record of the inquiry (for example, a memorandum for record).
It is not necessary for the commander to notify HQDA if there are no discrepancies found in the evaluation report.
Step 4
Work center
Commander or commandant
Action required
If an error, violation of the regulation, or wrongdoing has occurred and the evaluation has not been forwarded to HQDA, the commander or commandant will return the evaluation with the inquiry results to the senior rater or reviewer, as applicable.
The commander or commandant will ask that the report be corrected to account for matters revealed in the inquiry.
This will be done with regard for the restrictions on command authority and influence (see paras 1–11 and 4-5c).
When the report has been corrected, it will be sent to HQDA with no reference to the action taken by the commander or commandant (for example, the OER, NCOER, DA Form 1059, or DA Form 1059–2 only is forwarded); the results of the inquiry will remain with the commander.
Step 5
Work center
Commander or commandant
Action required
If the report has not yet been forwarded to HQDA and the commander or commandant and the rating chain members cannot agree on the need for change in the report, the commander or commandant will forward the evaluation report and the results of the inquiry to the appropriate agency (see app F).
The results of the inquiry remain with the evaluation when processed to the Soldier’s record.
Referenced Paragraphs
1–11. Commander’s or Commandant’s Inquiry
During the evaluation process or after it has been completed, when a commander or commandant discovers that an evaluation report rendered by a subordinate or a subordinate command may be illegal, unjust, or otherwise in violation of this regulation, her or she will conduct an inquiry into the matter.
The definition of a rendered evaluation report is one that is authenticated by all designated rating officials with a senior rater’s intent to present the final evaluation report to the rated Soldier for authentication, or apply the appropriate statement in the absence or inability for the rater Soldier to authenticate.
The Commander’s or Commandant’s Inquiry will be confined to matters related to the clarity of the evaluation report, the facts contained in the evaluation report, the compliance of the evaluation with policy and procedures established by HQDA, and the conduct of the rated Soldier and members of the rating chain.
The official does not have the authority to direct that an evaluation report be changed; command influence may not be used to alter the accurate evaluation of a rated Soldier by a rating official that was made in good faith.
The procedures used by the commander or commandant to process such an inquiry are described in chapter 4.
4-5c
When processing a Commander’s or Commandant’s Inquiry, the commander or commandant must observe restrictions on command authority and influence and may not direct rating officials to change an honest evaluation rendered in good faith.
Appendix F
Appendix F contains addresses and contact information for the appropriate HQDA agencies, including the Evaluations Appeals Office and U.S. Army Human Resources Command offices used for evaluation report processing and inquiries.