How to Appeal a Barment Letter from Military Base
This guide will inform you about the barment process on military bases, and your rights.
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What is a barment letter?
Title 18, Section 1382 empowers military commanders to prohibit certain individuals from entering on military base, or even in a region or area. A barment is an action taken by a debarring official, usually a garrison commander, under the applicable laws and regulations to exclude a person or business from entering on a military installation or participating in contracts under the Federal Acquisition Regulation. Once a person or business is so excluded, it is considered that such person or business are debarred. A debarment is only one tool available to installation commanders to handle civilian misconduct on military installations. -
How long can one be barred from entering military base?
Generally, there are 3 types of barments: (1) temporary - several days, (2) from 0 to 3 years, and (3) indefinite. When you receive a barment letter, this should be one of the first things to review. -
What are your rights?
The first remedy is to request reconsideration or modification based on new facts or legal issues. An experienced military law attorney who focuses exclusively on reviewing each barment letter, identifying legal issues, developing facts, and preparing comprehensive requests backed-up by facts and legal research can assist you with this. Federal Courts offer another route to proceed. Many federal agencies have their own remedy process. Consult with an experienced counsel to find out what specific remedies may apply to you. -
What should you put in your barment response?
There are several ways of trying to remove the barment. One way is to retain an experienced military law attorney who has a good idea of what garrison commanders may be concerned about. Another option is to draft the letter yourself, and have the military law attorney review it. It is generally better to have someone else look at it before submission because garrison commanders have a very broad discretion. Generally, you should address the following: (1) Address what happened, (2) Why do you request to lift barment? (3) What have you done since the barment to make sure the issue does not happen again, (4) What will you do once the barment is removed? (5) Do you have letters of reference? (6) Your POC.
There may be other factors, depending on your situation, so you should consult with an experienced military law counsel.
Additional resources provided by the author
DoD's General Counsel Homepage - http://www.defenselink.mil/dodgc/
Army's General Counsel Homepage - http://ogc.hqda.pentagon.mil/
Air Force's General Counsel Homepage - http://www.safgc.hq.af.mil/
Navy's General Counsel Homepage - http://ogc.navy.mil/
Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA) - http://www.dcma.mil/
Interagency Suspension and Debarment Committee (ISDC) - http://www.epa.gov/isdc/index.htm
DCMA Contract Integrity Center - http://home.dcma.mil/cntr-dcmac-y/index.htm
Air Force's General Counsel Contractor Responsibility - http://www.safgc.hq.af.mil/organizations/gcr/index.asp
EPA's Suspension and Debarment Program - http://www.epa.gov/ogd/sdd/debarment.htm
GSA Excluded Parties List System (EPLS) - http://epls.arnet.gov
Federal Acquistion Regulation (FAR) - http://www.arnet.gov/far/
Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) - http://farsite.hill.af.mil/VFDFARA.HTM
DFARS Appendix H - http://farsite.hill.af.mil/reghtml/regs/far2afmcfars/fardfars/dfars/dfarsApxH.htm
Standards of Conduct Office - http://www.defenselink.mil/dodgc/defense_ethics/
