Oral Admonishment/Oral Reprimand

A disciplinary discussion between a management official who has authority to take disciplinary action and his/her employee in which the employee is informed that he/she has been disciplined by receipt of an oral admonishment or oral reprimand. It is a disciplinary action which is not an adverse action. It is informal and the least severe penalty in the Army disciplinary program.

The oral admonishment/oral reprimand is used to correct minor misconduct or delinquency. Because of its adaptability to a variety of situations, the oral admonishment/oral reprimand is often adequate to effect the required correction or improvement, particularly when the employee has no previous history of violations.

The oral admonishment/oral reprimand has neither procedural requirements nor prescribed format. The process is oral except the admonishment/reprimand should be documented in the form of a memorandum for record. No record is placed in the employee's official personnel folder.

In taking this informal disciplinary action, the supervisor will advise the employee of the specific infraction or breach of conduct and exactly when and where it occurred. The employee should be allowed to explain his/her side of the incident. The supervisor will then advise the employee that continued violations will result in formal disciplinary action.