Results for counseling

Counseling for adverse actions and the record it creates

Adverse counseling is the foundation under a flag, a bar, or a separation. Written carelessly it collapses under review; written properly it protects the Soldier and the command equally.

Counseling, coaching, and mentoring

Three different developmental methods that get used as synonyms and should not be. Only one of them is directed by the chain of command, and only one of them is voluntary on both sides.

Leadership & Counseling

The leadership requirements model, developmental counseling that holds up, and the evaluation system from support form to senior rater box.

Providing Feedback: Counseling - Coaching - Mentoring

ATP 6-22.1 is the counseling publication, retitled in February 2024 to cover all three forms of feedback: counseling, coaching, and mentoring. It explains when each is appropriate and how to plan, conduct, and follow up on a session. DA Form 4856 is the record of developmental counseling.

Developmental Counseling Form

Documents event, performance, and professional growth counseling, including the plan of action the leader and Soldier agree to and the follow-up assessment.

Developmental counseling: three types, four stages

ATP 6-22.1 defines event, performance, and professional growth counseling, and a four-stage process that runs from identifying the need through follow-up.

What are the three types of developmental counseling?

Event-oriented counseling, performance counseling, and professional growth counseling.

What form is used to document developmental counseling?

DA Form 4856, the Developmental Counseling Form.

Acronym finder

Look up the acronym you hit in an order, a counseling, or a board question.

Developing Leaders

FM 6-22 is the how-to behind ADP 6-22: how leaders develop subordinates, build teams, improve their organizations, and develop themselves. The 1 November 2022 edition supersedes the 30 June 2015 manual, and the posted file incorporates change 2, dated 20 February 2025. It pairs directly with ATP 6-22.1 on feedback.

Enlisted Promotions and Demotions

AR 600-8-19 is the enlisted promotion and demotion regulation: eligibility, the semi-centralized promotion system for sergeant and staff sergeant, promotion boards, and administrative demotions. It is one of the most frequently revised regulations in the Army, and the promotion point tables change with it. Always work from the edition currently posted on APD, not a saved copy.

Evaluation Reporting System

AR 623-3 governs the evaluation reporting system for officers, warrant officers, and NCOs: rating chains, report types, timelines, and the appeals process. It is the policy; DA PAM 623-3 is the procedure. Rating officials who do not read it end up writing reports that get returned.

NCO Evaluation Report Support Form

The counseling and support document behind the NCOER, where the rated NCO and rater record the duty description, performance goals, and major objectives for the rating period.

Officer Evaluation Report Support Form

Records the rated officer's duty description, significant duties, and objectives, and documents the required face-to-face counseling with the rater.

Flagging, enrollment, and what happens after an ABCP failure

What enrollment actually costs a Soldier, what counts as satisfactory progress, and where the separation line is.

The NCO evaluation system and the rating chain

AR 623-3 governs the evaluation reporting system. The DA 2166-9 series carries the NCOER, the support form drives the counseling behind it, and the rating chain fixes who is accountable for the assessment.

The officer evaluation report

The DA 67-10 series covers officers and warrant officers by grade plate, with a support form that requires face-to-face counseling between the rater and the rated officer.

Writing a DA 4856 that survives scrutiny

The counseling form is only as strong as the facts in it. A useful DA 4856 states what happened, cites the standard, and sets a plan of action a third party could measure.

What are the two types of sexual assault reports, and what is the difference?

Restricted and unrestricted. A restricted report is confidential. It gets the victim medical care, advocacy, legal support, and counseling without notifying the command or law enforcement, and it does not start an investigation. An unrestricted report notifies the command and law enforcement and starts an investigation, and the victim still receives the full range of care and support.

What happens to a Soldier enrolled in the Army Body Composition Program?

The Soldier is flagged, which suspends favorable personnel actions including promotion, schooling, and reenlistment. The Soldier is referred for nutrition counseling and a medical evaluation, weighed and assessed monthly to measure progress, and counseled in writing. Failure to make satisfactory progress, or repeated enrollment, can lead to separation.