Officer Administrative Separation - S-1 Procedural Page

Role and responsibility

The unit commander initiates the officer administrative separation per MCO 1900.16MCO 1900.16 Chapter 4 paragraph 4101 (Initiating Separation of an Officer). The S-1 officer signs by direction on routing and tracking. The S-1 chief tracks the officer show cause package through MMPB and Board of Inquiry (BOI) action. The legal advisor reviews sufficiency per JAGINST 5800.7GJAGINST 5800.7G. The Secretary of the Navy signs final action on officer separation for cause in cases requiring SecNav approval.

Source documents flow from the basis documentation (misconduct, substandard performance, moral or professional dereliction, security violation), the chain-of-command show cause notification, the officer's response and submissions, the Board of Inquiry record, the convening authority recommendation, the JAG sufficiency review, the Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Manpower and Reserve Affairs) action, and the SecNav decision. Officer separation actions land in MCTFS as a status change per Appendix E. Outputs include the SecNav action, the DD Form 214 per Chapter 1 Section 2, the Page 11 entries per MCO P1070.12KMCO P1070.12K Chapter 6, and the closed OQR per MCO P1070.12K Chapter 2.

Per MCO 1900.16 Chapter 4 paragraph 4001 (Purpose), Chapter 4 governs officer administrative separation for cause. Per paragraph 4002 (Applicability), Chapter 4 applies to regular and reserve officers on active duty. Per paragraph 4003 (Guidance to Commanders), commanders apply specific standards before initiating separation. Per paragraph 4103 (Reasons for Separation for Cause), the bases include misconduct or moral or professional dereliction, substandard performance, and other specific bases per the chapter. Per Chapter 5 paragraph 5006 (Involuntary Discharge as a Result of Second Failure of Selection), officers twice failing selection for promotion discharge from active duty per the order rules.

Trigger events

• Officer pattern of misconduct or single serious offense per paragraph 4103.
• Officer substandard performance or moral or professional dereliction per paragraph 4103.
• Second failure of selection for promotion per Chapter 5 paragraph 5006.
• Officer voluntary resignation request per Chapter 5 paragraph 5002 (Resignation Eligibility).
• Officer not career designated separation per Chapter 5 paragraph 5007.
• Officer interservice transfer request per Chapter 5 paragraph 5008.
• Officer adverse FITREP or Page 11 referring to standards covered by Chapter 4.

Processing workflow

1. Identify the basis. Per MCO 1900.16MCO 1900.16 Chapter 4 paragraph 4103 for separation for cause or Chapter 5 paragraphs 5001-5008 for resignations and second FOS discharge.
2. Apply commander guidance. Per Chapter 4 paragraph 4003 (Guidance to Commanders), validate the standards and the documentation before initiating.
3. Process notification. Per Chapter 4 paragraph 4101 (Initiating Separation of an Officer), the commander notifies the officer in writing of the basis, the supporting evidence, and the rights including consult counsel, submit statements, and appear before a Board of Inquiry.
4. Build the show cause package. Per Chapter 4 paragraph 4102 (Processing for Administrative Separation), the package includes the basis, the supporting evidence, the officer's response, the BOI record (when convened), the JAG sufficiency review, the unit commander recommendation, and the convening authority recommendation.
5. Route through legal. Per JAGINST 5800.7GJAGINST 5800.7G, the JAG advisor reviews sufficiency before final action.
6. Route to SecNav for final action. Per Chapter 4 paragraphs 4101-4107 and DODI 1332.30DODI 1332.30, officer separation for cause routes through Assistant Secretary of the Navy (M&RA) to the Secretary of the Navy.
7. Process Chapter 5 resignations and second FOS discharge. Per Chapter 5 paragraph 5003 (Submission of Resignation Requests) for voluntary resignations or paragraph 5006 (Involuntary Discharge as a Result of Second FOS) for failed-of-selection officers.
8. Cut MCTFS officer separation transaction. Per Appendix E and MCTFSPRIUMMCTFSPRIUM.
9. Prepare the DD Form 214. Per Chapter 1 Section 2 paragraphs 1200-1205, prepare the DD Form 214 with the appropriate SPD code and characterization per Chapter 4 paragraph 4105 or Chapter 5.
10. Close the OQR Field Folder. Per MCO P1070.12KMCO P1070.12K Chapter 3, close for transfer to OMPF.

Systems of record and forms

Systems

• MCTFS. Holds the officer separation status.
• UD-MIPS. Cuts officer separation transactions per Appendix E.
• MOL DTMS. Prepares the DD Form 214.
• MMPB. Routes the officer show cause package.
• Board of Inquiry. Convenes per Chapter 4 paragraph 4102.
• OQR/OMPF. Holds the officer record.

Forms

• Show Cause Notification. Per Chapter 4 paragraph 4101.
• Officer Response and Submissions. Per Chapter 4 paragraph 4102.
• Board of Inquiry Record. Per Chapter 4 paragraph 4102.
• JAG Sufficiency Review. Per JAGINST 5800.7G.
• Resignation Request. Per Chapter 5 paragraph 5003.
• Second FOS Discharge Letter. Per Chapter 5 paragraph 5006 and Figure 5-5.
• DD Form 214. Per Chapter 1 Section 2.

Common pitfalls

• Show cause notification lacks rights advisement. Per MCO 1900.16MCO 1900.16 Chapter 4 paragraph 4101, the officer receives written rights including consult counsel, submit statements, and BOI appearance.
• Board of Inquiry skipped when required. Per Chapter 4 paragraph 4102, BOI is the formal mechanism for officer show cause. Convene per the order rules.
• JAG sufficiency review skipped. Per JAGINST 5800.7GJAGINST 5800.7G, the legal review precedes ASN(M&RA) and SecNav action.
• Resignation in lieu of show cause not processed promptly. Per Chapter 4 paragraph 4104 (Retirement or Resignation), the officer is permitted to submit resignation in lieu of show cause per the order rules.
• Dual processing missed. Per Chapter 4 paragraph 4107 (Dual Processing), administrative separation and disability evaluation run concurrently per the order rules.

Decision points

• Show cause versus resignation in lieu. Per MCO 1900.16MCO 1900.16 Chapter 4 paragraph 4104, the officer is permitted to submit resignation in lieu of show cause. The SecNav decides retention, separation, or acceptance of resignation.
• Characterization of service. Per Chapter 4 paragraph 4105 (Characterization), Honorable, General (Under Honorable Conditions), or Other Than Honorable apply per the basis and the record.
• Separation pay eligibility. Per Chapter 4 paragraph 4106 (Separation Pay for Involuntary Separations for Cause), separation pay is permitted in specific cases per the order rules. The DODFMR Vol 7A Chapter 35 sets the payment mechanics.
• Career designation status (Chapter 5). Per Chapter 5 paragraph 5007 (Separation of Officers Not Career Designated), non-career-designated officers separate per a different path than career-designated officers.

Authority

This sub-page sits under MCO 1900.16MCO 1900.16 Chapter 4 (Administrative Separation of Officers for Cause) paragraphs 4001-4107 and Chapter 5 (Officer Resignations and Second FOS Discharge) paragraphs 5001-5008. DODI 1332.30DODI 1332.30 sets DoD-level officer separation policy. JAGINST 5800.7GJAGINST 5800.7G sets sufficiency review. MCO P1070.12KMCO P1070.12K Chapter 6 covers Page 11 documentation. S-1 responsibilities sit at MCO 5000.14DMCO 5000.14D MCAP enclosure 4. The processing workflow maps to NAVMC 3500.3E T-R event 0170-PERA-2002.

Related references

• MCO 1900.16 Chapter 4 paragraphs 4001-4107. Authoritative officer administrative separation for cause rules.
• MCO 1900.16 Chapter 5 paragraphs 5001-5008. Officer resignations and second FOS discharge.
• DODI 1332.30. DoD-level officer separation policy.
• JAGINST 5800.7G. Sufficiency review.
• MCO P1070.12K paragraph 3005. Page 11 documentation.
• MCO 5000.14D MCAP enclosure 4. S-1 separation responsibilities.
• NAVMC 3500.3E. T-R event 0170-PERA-2002.