To: The Honorable John McHugh, Secretary of the Army, Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, US Army Chief of Staff, Honorable Joseph W. Westphal, US Army Under Secretary, Gen. John F. Campbell, US Army Vice Chief of Staff, Major General Jefforey A. Smith...
Overturn ROTC Disenrollment Decision
The purpose of this petition is to obtain reinstatement in to the US Army ROTC program and successfully get my commission as a second lieutenant back.
Why is this important?
I request that the decision to dismiss me from ROTC be overturned and as a consequence the Department of the Army reinstate me as an ROTC cadet at the University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez, so that I can receive my commission as a Second Lieutenant in the United States Army. I did not receive my rights to Due Process in the course of the investigation and board proceedings regarding the incident that made the basis of this action and that the punishment of disenrollment is overly harsh considering my stellar performance in ROTC. The disenrollment process at the University of PR ROTC battalion occurred approximately one month before my anticipated graduation and commissioning date. The Assistant Professor of Military Science (APMS) who was tasked with conducting an impartial inquiry into a single alleged instance of misconduct subsequently and surreptitiously included twelve (12) additional allegations of purported misconduct for the board’s consideration after then I, who was unrepresented by counsel, had been notified of only a single allegation of disrespect to an officer as the reason for separation. The Board subsequently assembled an incoherent and cursory record showing no consideration of any matters on my behalf. It is both unjust and in error to dismiss me from ROTC immediately prior to my commissioning date based on false allegations with little or no consideration given to my record of performance and ability to complete the remaining requirements to commission. As such, the separation should be overturned and I should be reinstated in ROTC.
I joined the enlisted Reserve ranks in 2009 and performed drills with my reserve unit in addition to participating in ROTC. I took to the discipline and rigors well, excelling at physical training (PT), receiving accolades for improving swiftly at PT and volunteering to participate in the Ranger Challenge program. The next year I successfully completed Airborne School in September 2009 at Fort Benning, Georgia and the following summer in 2010 I earned my Air Assault badge. In my third year in the ROTC-SMP program I was awarded the Army Achievement Medal by my unit for my strength and determination in achieving a perfect score of 300 points on the Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT), the highest score in my reserve unit. In the summer of 2011 I successfully completed the Leadership, Development, and Assessment Course (LDAC) required in order for all ROTC cadets commission as officers.
In February 2012 I experienced what would turn out to be a career-altering disagreement with a Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO) at his reserve unit. In addition to losing drill pay, I received a Letter of Reprimand (LoR) in March 2012 from my reserve unit for the incident. I filed a rebuttal to the LoR and for the first time was able to render a sworn statement detailing what I went through on the day at drill duties, though there is no evidence in the record that anyone at the unit or my ROTC battalion considered the information I brought forth.
On 2 May 2012 the Disenrollment Board convened and found that I had committed misconduct by “disrespecting a superior officer.” The only evidence that the Board considered was my responses to their questions and the documents provided by the PMS. Inexplicably, my cadet record also includes a series of duplicate disenrollment board memoranda dated in June 2012 that appear to indicate I waived myright to a board that had already occurred. It is unclear what information was provided to U.S. Army Cadet Command because the disenrollment decision memorandum from Cadet Command cites “frequent absences from military training,” and notably does not mention “disrespect to a superior officer,” as the basis for the action.
The problems with the Board process are evident in the Cadet Command determination to disenroll Cadet Ruiz for “absences from training.” I was never notified in the Board process that this is what I had to defend against because this allegation is not contained in the 9 April 2012 board notification memorandum. It begs the question, what documentation did Cadet Command receive? It appears the disenrollment action may have been erroneously based on the June 2012 memoranda submitted by the PMS, which are dated after the Board’s recommendation came to him. Of note, the June 2012 paperwork appears to represent that I waived my right to a board entirely, and yet one was held in May 2012 and it did not find that the misconduct consisted of “absences from training.” The only remedy remaining to correct this injustice is to set aside the disenrollment action.
I joined the enlisted Reserve ranks in 2009 and performed drills with my reserve unit in addition to participating in ROTC. I took to the discipline and rigors well, excelling at physical training (PT), receiving accolades for improving swiftly at PT and volunteering to participate in the Ranger Challenge program. The next year I successfully completed Airborne School in September 2009 at Fort Benning, Georgia and the following summer in 2010 I earned my Air Assault badge. In my third year in the ROTC-SMP program I was awarded the Army Achievement Medal by my unit for my strength and determination in achieving a perfect score of 300 points on the Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT), the highest score in my reserve unit. In the summer of 2011 I successfully completed the Leadership, Development, and Assessment Course (LDAC) required in order for all ROTC cadets commission as officers.
In February 2012 I experienced what would turn out to be a career-altering disagreement with a Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO) at his reserve unit. In addition to losing drill pay, I received a Letter of Reprimand (LoR) in March 2012 from my reserve unit for the incident. I filed a rebuttal to the LoR and for the first time was able to render a sworn statement detailing what I went through on the day at drill duties, though there is no evidence in the record that anyone at the unit or my ROTC battalion considered the information I brought forth.
On 2 May 2012 the Disenrollment Board convened and found that I had committed misconduct by “disrespecting a superior officer.” The only evidence that the Board considered was my responses to their questions and the documents provided by the PMS. Inexplicably, my cadet record also includes a series of duplicate disenrollment board memoranda dated in June 2012 that appear to indicate I waived myright to a board that had already occurred. It is unclear what information was provided to U.S. Army Cadet Command because the disenrollment decision memorandum from Cadet Command cites “frequent absences from military training,” and notably does not mention “disrespect to a superior officer,” as the basis for the action.
The problems with the Board process are evident in the Cadet Command determination to disenroll Cadet Ruiz for “absences from training.” I was never notified in the Board process that this is what I had to defend against because this allegation is not contained in the 9 April 2012 board notification memorandum. It begs the question, what documentation did Cadet Command receive? It appears the disenrollment action may have been erroneously based on the June 2012 memoranda submitted by the PMS, which are dated after the Board’s recommendation came to him. Of note, the June 2012 paperwork appears to represent that I waived my right to a board entirely, and yet one was held in May 2012 and it did not find that the misconduct consisted of “absences from training.” The only remedy remaining to correct this injustice is to set aside the disenrollment action.