Start by determining whether the program asks for a recommendation, endorsement, standardized form, or memorandum. Those terms may represent different official acts and different responsibilities.
Confirm authority and format
Verify that your role, rank, relationship, and period of observation satisfy the current instructions. Use the exact form or memorandum structure, and include required official contact and signature elements.
Select board-relevant evidence
Describe duty performance, leadership, judgment, character, technical ability, or mission contribution that connects directly to the selection criteria. Give enough unit or role context for the board to interpret the achievement.
- Scope of responsibility
- Conditions and stakes
- Applicant action
- Mission or team result
- Comparison or stratification when requested
- Readiness for the target program
Distinguish fact, observation, and endorsement
Record facts can establish background. Your observations establish behavior. The endorsement is your professional judgment about readiness. Keep those functions clear and avoid claims outside your knowledge.
Inspect the finished document
Check names, rank, organization, dates, form edition, office symbols, subject line, page limit, signature, contact information, attachments, classification, and routing. When instructions conflict with a sample, the current announcement controls.
Military recommendations succeed when the correct authority uses the correct format to connect observed performance with the board’s exact criteria.
Keep the military endorsements requirements in view.
Requirements differ by service and program. Current examples include a one-page form for certain Army direct-commission applicants, program-specific memorandum formats, signature and contact requirements, age limits for letters, and distinct rules for recommendations versus command endorsements. The governing announcement or form always controls.
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