A memorandum was published Dec. 21, directing Department of the Air Force commanders to track data from lesser disciplinary actions to assist in determining whether all discipline is being carried out in a fair and impartial manner.
Lesser disciplinary actions are defined as adverse administrative discipline, to include administrative counseling, admonishments and reprimands. Data demographics that will be tracked are rank, age, gender, race and ethnicity of Airmen and Guardians who issue and receive the discipline.
“(Tracking administrative discipline data, to include demographics) reinforces the Department’s commitment to ensuring all Airmen and Guardians are treated fairly and provides commanders insight to facilitate positive practices, such as increased mentoring and professional development,” said John A. Fedrigo, principal deputy assistant secretary of the Air Force for manpower and reserve affairs, in a signed memorandum.
The Department of the Air Force has collected data on nonjudicial punishment and court-martials since 1974. The General Administration message expands this initiative to include other disciplinary actions, as well.
Letters of counseling, letters of admonishment and letters of reprimand intended to be placed into an Airman’s or Guardian’s official record, to include a personal information file or unfavorable information file, will now be tracked to include demographic data.
“The intent of this data tracking is to aid commanders in their responsibility to build a lethal, disciplined force to execute our national security missions and more specifically to see disciplinary trends in their organizations,” said Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Rockwell, the judge advocate general for the Department of the Air Force. “The key to our success historically in developing this disciplined force has been to operate under a progressive discipline construct, across the entire continuum of discipline, addressing minor transgressions to major crimes appropriately. As an Air Force, we have consistently collected Article 15 and court-martial data, but not lesser mentoring and other actions which build this inclusive, disciplined force. This tool will help commanders facilitate positive practices such as increased mentoring and will ensure that every Airman and Guardian is given an equal opportunity to meet and exceed standards.”
Names and other personally identifiable information will not be collected. The data will be reported by commanders to installation staff judge advocates, who will make the data available to commanders during status of discipline briefings, or other times as commanders require.
For more information, service members can contact their local staff judge advocate’s office or review the interim change to AFI 36-2907.
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