Response After  a  respondent  is  notified  of  the  pending separation processing, the respondent submits to the CO or OIC a signed and witnessed letter indicating his or her  choice  of  rights  as  outlined  in  the  letter  of notification. The response is referred to as a statement of  awareness. The CO or OIC will allow a reasonable period of time, not less than 2 working days, for the member to respond  to  the  notice.    An extension may be granted upon a timely showing of good cause. The election of the respondent as to each of the specified rights will be recorded and signed by the respondent and respondent’s counsel. If notice by mail is required and the respondent fails to acknowledge receipt or submit a timely reply, that fact will constitute a waiver of rights and an appropriate notation will be recorded on a retained copy of the form. A sample format for the respondent’s statement of awareness is illustrated in the MILPERSMAN, Article 3640200(8). ADMINISTRATIVE  BOARD As  an  LN  you  will  see  and  be  a  part  of  an administrative  board  proceeding  at  some  time  in  your career. Your contribution to an administrative board may be indirect such as typing the letter of appointment or direct as a reporter to record verbatim testimony or as a more senior LN, you may even be assigned to act as the recorder. No matter what your involvement, the existence of administrative boards in the overall scheme of separation processing is a fact of life and you must be aware of their purpose and mission. How a board is composed, the duties of board members, and the conduct of the hearing are important pieces to the overall board processes.  As  the  assigned  reporter,  you  maybe  asked to record all the proceedings or just the testimony. The next  section  will  allow  you  to  see  how  the  board functions from beginning to end. CONVENING  AUTHORITY One of the most important steps a CA must carry out is appointing the board members. An administrative board may, by written order, be appointed by any CO with the authority to convene SPCMs. The CA must make  sure  the  appointment  prevents  the  appearance  of any  impropriety  in  the  assignment  of  any  board members  who  may  have  a  preconceived  opinion  about the  findings  or  recommendations,  or  both,  to  be  made on  the  respondent’s  case. The CA must appoint at least three commissioned, warrant, or noncommissioned officers well-qualified by reason of grade, leadership, experience, and judicial temperament. Enlisted personnel appointed to the board will be in paygrade E-7 or above and will be senior to  the  respondent. Enlisted  personnel  frocked  to paygrade E-7 are not eligible for appointment. At least one member of the board will be a line officer serving in grade O-4 or higher. If the respondent is on active duty when the board convenes, the senior member must be on the active duty list of the service in which the respondent serves. When the respondent is a reservist or holds an appointment as a Reserve commissioned or warrant officer, at least one member must be a Reserve commissioned officer. To avoid split decisions, the CA should not appoint an even number of members to an administrative board. If,  during  the  session,  one  of  the  members  is successfully  challenged,  the  CA  should  appoint  a similarly qualified substitute. Also, with respect to board challenges, if the board has no legal advisor assigned, the CA must rule on all challenges. APPOINTING ORDER The CA must issue an appointing order for the administrative board. The order is addressed to the senior member and its purpose is to inform the senior member of the names of the other members, the name of  the  respondent,  and  the  reason  for  processing.  The recorder is named in the order as well as the lawyer assigned to the respondent. A sample appointing order is shown in figure 9-4. PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD The president of an administrative board must make sure he or she and all the members are familiar with the MILPERSMAN  articles  pertaining  to  the  separation  for which the respondent is being processed. During the proceedings, the president presides at the hearing and is responsible for its proper conduct in an atmosphere of decorum and dignity. If  there  is  no  legal  advisor assigned to the board, the president will rule on all matters of procedure and evidence. However, his or her rulings may be overturned by a majority of the board. When no legal advisor is assigned, the president advises  the  CA,  after  consulting  with  a  judge  advocate, to  spend  funds  for  producing  witnesses  when  the 9-19