Equal Opportunity Reporting

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You have three ways to report discrimination or harassment, and they do different things. Pick the one matching what you want to happen next.

The program is called Military Equal Opportunity, or MEO. It used to be called Prohibited Activities and Conduct, or PAC. Same program, new name since August 2026.

Every fact on this page comes from MARADMIN 380/26MARADMIN 380/26, released 20 August 2026.

The Three Lanes

Confidential report

Talk to an Equal Opportunity Advisor, called an EOA. Give them your name and what happened. You get services and your information goes to authorized personnel only.

Your command is not notified. No inquiry opens. No investigation opens.

Three things break confidentiality, and only three.

1. Your report reveals a specific and imminent threat of serious bodily harm or death.
2. Your report reveals intent to commit a future crime or fraud.
3. Federal law, Department of War policy, or a legal authority requires the disclosure.

You change your mind at any point and convert a confidential report into an informal or a formal complaint. Nothing locks you in.

Informal complaint

File on NAVMC 11512NAVMC 11512 or the form your MEO office uses. Your command offers conflict resolution where it is workable.

Conflict resolution is voluntary for both sides. Decline it and your complaint moves forward. Try it and it fails, your complaint moves forward. Neither choice costs you the complaint.

Formal complaint

File on NAVMC 11512NAVMC 11512 or the form your MEO office uses. The EOA forwards it to your commander within 5 calendar days.

Your commander then has 30 calendar days to decide whether to dismiss the complaint or push it forward. If it is dismissed, you get the decision in writing within 7 calendar days of the determination.

Anonymous report

An anonymous report of discrimination or discriminatory harassment does not open an MEO complaint. Your commander still acts on the information, through whatever authority fits.

Anonymous reports of sexual harassment, hazing, and bullying still route the old way under ALNAV 048/26ALNAV 048/26.

Your Filing Window

File within 60 calendar days of the most recent incident. If you are a Reserve Marine, you have 120 calendar days.

Miss the window and your commander is allowed to dismiss the complaint as untimely. Allowed, not required. The complaint still reaches the commander, and the commander still consults the Equal Opportunity Advisor and the staff judge advocate before deciding.

Do not read the window as a wall. Read it as a reason to file early.

If Your Complaint Is Dismissed

Eight reasons let a commander dismiss a formal complaint without an investigation. Untimely filing, an allegation outside MEO scope, not enough actionable information, a matter already resolved informally, your own withdrawal request, your failure to answer requests for information, a duplicate complaint, and a complaint found to be a false official statement.

You get the decision in writing.

You appeal to the next higher commander holding General Court-Martial Convening Authority, within 5 calendar days of the written decision. Move fast. The window is short, and it runs from the decision, not from the day you read it.

What Happens to Your Promotion or Orders

If a favorable personnel action was delayed because of the complaint, your command restarts or completes it within 7 calendar days of the dismissal or of an unsubstantiated finding. Promotions, orders, awards, schools, and reenlistment all count.

Ask your S-1 directly if the action is still sitting after a week.

One Warning

A knowingly false official statement violates Article 107 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Report what happened, accurately. The rule cuts both ways, and it exists to keep the process credible for everyone using it.

Where Else to Go

• Sexual assault. Restricted and Unrestricted reporting under the Sexual Assault Prevention and Response program is a separate system with separate rules. See Sexual Assault Reporting and Special Victims' Counsel.
• A wrong by your commanding officer. Article 138 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, with a 90-day window. See Article 138 and IG Complaints.
• Waste, fraud, abuse, or reprisal. The Inspector General, at any level and at any time.

Quick Answers

Does a confidential report protect me from my command finding out?

Yes, outside the three exceptions listed above. No command notification, inquiry, or investigation follows a confidential report.

Do I lose the right to file later if I start confidential?

No. You convert a confidential report into an informal or formal complaint at any time.

Is conflict resolution mandatory?

No. It is voluntary for both parties. Declining it does not end your complaint.

How long does my commander have?

Thirty calendar days from receipt to decide on dismissal. Seven calendar days after the determination to notify you in writing.

How long do I have to appeal?

Five calendar days from the written determination, to the next higher commander holding General Court-Martial Convening Authority.