QMP and QSP are tools used by Congress to lay people off, period. When they don’t achieve their goals in force reduction, they look in restricted files the next year. It is cyclic but they only use it when they are trying to reduce the force.

I agree some of the sh*tbags needed to go, but there is nothing fair about kicking somebody out over Article 15 that has been moved to the restricted file. They have already been punished for their crime and their value to the unit is proven by the commander that opts to put it in the restricted file. There is nothing fair about the UCMJ process period, to be real honest with you.

I was QMP’d over an article 15 for something I did not do, that i did not fight so i could still deploy with my dudes, that I appealed to the ABCMR to have it removed. I was separated like two or three months before the ABCMR took it off my record.

I was a part of an airborne infantry unit literally deployed to the most kinetic environment in Afghanistan in that time frame, in support of the green berets, building and guarding OP’s and RON’s in and around the Mohmand for the operators out there to have a save place to sleep. Sent me back on a resupply to JBAD, to be notified by my BC via VTC, and right straight back to the valley. My BC swore he would take care of it but they didn’t. I went from a fairly new squad leader to weapons squad leader to platoon sergeant in that one single 9 month tour, to give you an idea what kind of soldier I was.

Well fast forward a few months I am a couple weeks out from my deadline for appeals, jump through my a$$ to get as many letters of recommendation as I could, submitted my appeal and hoped for the best. Brigade commander extended me numerous times to wait out the appeal to the ABCMR until I woke up one day unable to do a single pushup. Every disk in my spine had been herniated multiple times, pinched nerves throughout my back I just thought it was normal aging and tendon pain from military life lol. My pinched nerves got so bad i went from maximum score on pushups to no pushups overnight, barely able to hold a phone to talk on it. Doc diagnosed me with degenerative disk disease but i healed up fine after a few months of physical therapy and time off from jumping and rucking. But i was already out by then.

But anyway after that and some surgery on my feet with a 16 week bed rest profile and 4 pins each all the way through my feet they quit extending me and helping me. No need for a lame mule i guess lol. Life is not fair it is what it is.

When ABCMR removed my article 15, i got a call from the Fort Bragg JAG to see if I was interested in being re-instated. I had absolutely zero interest in going back after all I went through. I make more money today than a E9 maxed out on time in grade/time in service. Why in the heck would i go back to that.

Furthermore, even though the Article 15 triggered my QMP process I know for a fact it was my social media that sealed the deal. Because I was fairly active, pro-2A, pro Trump and i constantly had notifications about my Linked In being checked by US Army HRC.

My medical issues would have gotten me medically retired if I had fallen apart before the QMP process was initiated. As a matter of fact I would have been med boarded for a heart issue that occurred in theatre if I had not asked for them to fix it so i could go back to my dudes. They were running on an hour or two of rest a day at that time. It was tough. Unbeknowst to us, if our battallion lost like 2 more people we would have been replaced by another unit. Somebody was lying to higher ups about our numbers 🤣. That is why it was so hard for us, and we were so short.

I never stopped fighting it until I lost my phyisical ability to do my job. I was in jumpmaster school when my arms quit working right, when i should have been ACAPing and was dependent on extensions to stay in and fight the QMP. Yes, they let me attend jumpmaster while I was flagged. That is kind of a big deal.

QMP is s congressional tool to lay people off nothing more nothing less. Life is not fair. It is what it is. I have adapted well to civilian life, what can I say?

Why would you accept an ARTICLE 15 for something you did not do?

Dave, you are right that I don’t predate computers. We had an IBM 365 (I think it was) with punch cards when I was in college. I don’t miss that computer. I should have said that I predate desk top computers.

As for slide rules, I’m an engineer, and engineers needed slide rules back in the day. It was totally uncool to actually wear one, like hanging it on your belt, so only the Physics majors did that in college. When in the work force, it was still uncool to have the big slide rule on your person, so we truly cool individuals had smaller ones. I even had one of the circular ones. Of course the slide rule rode with your pens and pencils, in your pocket protector. Also very uncool to non-engineers. My youngest daughter is also a Chemical Engineer and even had a pocket protector. It’s a family joke now. She’ll send me one for Christmas and I’ll regift it to her next Christmas.

But, back on topic, I am worried. The stock market seems way higher than the current state of the economy would suggest is reasonable. Something is out of whack. Sooner or later, we’ll find out what that is, and I don’t think we’ll like it. It’s like wondering which arrow will kill you, and when you find out, you don’t like it.

Long story short, we were about 6 months out from a big mission and i wanted to go with my company. First step in fighting it, is putting in a 4187 to be moved. A s*bag soldier that was on the verge of being chaptered out on the zero tolerance policy for drugs, filed a SHARP complaint against me and said the stress forced him to turn to drugs and won.

The SHARP complaint didn’t hold up but they were on a bit of a witch hunt, i was getting an article 15 one way or another. Well, when I got read it was only a company grade Article 15 for a far lesser offence, that CID had determined I might have committed based on two similar sworn statements covering an incident of horseplay. Something unrelated between myself and one of my peers, fellow squad leader and buddy of mine. But basically an arm drag into a hip toss was taken as “humping” and because I denied i ever humped him, it was “assault consummated by a bsttwry and false official statement”. It was the most absurd thing I had ever heard of. I represented my unit as a heavyweight in every single combatives tournament and the arm drag into a hip toss or suplex is pretty much my bread and butter for a takedown, but you have to go down with him because of tournament rules against slamming. My buddy was a scrappy wrestler, we were having fun, and it had nothing to do with anything sexual in nature. It was baffling, and i could not believe it was happening.

Jag told me it would not follow me or effect my career if he put it in my restricted file, and fighting it would most certainly mean i would miss the deployment. And fighting it and winning would mean I would have to spend at least $30k on a legit attorney just to get started, due to the nature of a SHARP complaint. So i took my company grade, commander put it in my restricted file, and I moved on with my life.

About a year later the QMP board decided to use the restricted file.

Life is not fair. It is what it is.

I had to fight it after the fact, I had no choice once the QMP was initiated against me. The ABCMR ruled in my favor and exonerated me, and removed it from my OMPF but the decision did not come until I had already been separated and found a way to make a lot of money.

Made me understand the old saying, “every good NCO has at least one article 15”. Well that is why. The most loyal NCO’s are gonna take it to be close to their dudes.

One thing you have to understand is the culture of the Infantry and especially Airborne. It was never about career progression. It’s about purpose and duty and camaraderie.

At least under QMP you still get a half severance, and an Honorable discharge. Not general under honorable, you get an Honorable discharge. But also an RE3 reenlistment code.

Fighting the QMP process itself is very costly, starting out at about $30,000 and attorneys will tell you it doesn’t matter you are probably gonna lose anyway, it’s a tool used by Congress to reduce the force and it has nothing to do with being fair or impartial.

The only way to really beat it is have the triggering document removed from your file. Which has to happen within 2 years of the day of your reading. Well, that was too easy. Sworn statements from the guy i allegedly “humped” and letters of recommendation from my entire chain of command, jag helped me put together a packet, ABCMR took it out of my record. But the decision came after I was already separated and moved my family to a happy home on 7 acres and had no intention of every serving in the military ever ever ever again.

If you are curious, last i heard about the one that filed a SHARP against me, he was finishing his MBA and probably getting into politics lol. We have actually spoken since then, he was very apologetic, was never supposed to go that far, he had no choice but to follow through or it could ruin his life lol. Life is not fair but i am not complaining.

Only God can judge a heart, we will all have to answer for everything we do in this life. If I had never gotten QMP’d I would not be weeks away from closing on a three story home built in a hillside on 5 acres in big buck country, nor would I be earning about $145k a year in a home weekly driving job. I probably don’t deserve that either lol.

Sounds like the QMP process has its purpose. I never had any UCMJ or negative NCOERs. Being EOD we had to maintain high standards being in the PRP program.

Well i agree to disagree. It’s a congressional tool to reduce the size of the force and it is unfair. And the ones that do deserve it, don’t deserve an Honorable discharge or any severance pay.

NCOers mean nothing, before they changed them like 90 percent of NCO’s were rated best of the best, 1/1, etc. When they changed them, my PL gave the 1/1 rating to a dirtbag that did his CONOPS for him. One who sucked at his job, and failed Jumpmaster like 6 times.

We later found out he kept trying to go back to JM to avoid going to the field 🤣🤣 “1/1 best of the best”.

The last PSG i personally know of that was rated best of the best blackmailed our 1SG. I have zero faith in the military rating system. After you get your rocker it’s all politics.

I gotta give you props for EOD though. I appreciate you.

Rodney Carrington said it best, "I don't believe I'd told that"

I know that no one here believes me. Or they scan and don’t read the details, and see what they want to see. I have waited this long to even tell anyone about it. Been like 5 years since I was separated. And I really don’t care, it had to be said. I can’t sit there and read this venom, that everyone who is QMP’d are a bunch of people with GOMOR’s and DUI’s that deserve it. If that is really what you think, you don’t know anything.

603, I expect it was an IBM 360. That was a huge step up from the 1401 and/or 1410. Both used Hollerith punched cards and the soon to be released magnetic tapes for data storage. I still have a needle used on the cards and one of the tapes. They belong in a technology museum.

A lot of companies are having RIFs quietly. Not calling them layoffs and not being reported to WARN due to amount of employees. The economy is much worse than is being reported. 2025 could be as bad or worse than 2009