Free Army Letter of Recommendation Template

An Army letter of recommendation is a written endorsement supporting a soldier or applicant for a school, board, commissioning programme, award, or assignment. It states who you are, how you know the candidate, and what you have personally seen them do.

These letters carry weight because the writer is accountable for what they say. A board reads them alongside records and evaluations, so a letter that adds observed detail is far more useful than one that repeats a file the board already has.

The letter supports an application. It does not decide the outcome, and it does not replace whatever forms and records the board requires.

An Army letter of recommendation is usually requested when a candidate needs someone with direct knowledge to vouch for them. Common situations include:

• Applying to Officer Candidate School or a commissioning programme.
• Seeking a service academy or ROTC scholarship nomination.
• Competing for a selective school, course, or specialty assignment.
• Supporting an award, decoration, or recognition packet.
• Requesting a transfer, reclassification, or change of component.
• Moving to a civilian role where a former commander can speak to performance.
• Supporting a waiver or exception-to-policy request that needs a leader’s endorsement.
• Backing a soldier’s application to a competitive fellowship or civilian education programme.

Each board publishes what it wants: who may write, how many letters, what format, and how they are submitted. Read those instructions before you write, because a strong letter in the wrong format can still be set aside.

An Army letter of recommendation should stay on one page. A board reading dozens of packets needs to find the substance quickly.

Your Identification

Open with your full name, rank, position, and unit, plus the date. A board weighs a letter partly by who wrote it, so make that clear immediately.

The Candidate and the Purpose

Name the candidate in full and state exactly what you are recommending them for. One sentence.

Your Relationship and Its Duration

Say how you know them, in what capacity, and for how long. A rater who supervised someone for two years carries different weight than a brief acquaintance, and the board needs to know which this is.

Observed Performance

Describe what you saw them do. Duties held, responsibility carried beyond their grade, and results achieved all belong here.

Character and Conduct

Address bearing, discipline, and how they treat peers and subordinates. Boards care about this and it is where generic letters fall down.

A Clear Recommendation

State your endorsement plainly and without hedging. A qualified recommendation reads as a reservation.

Signature Block and Contact

Close with your signature block and a way to reach you if the board has questions.

What to Leave Out

Keep the letter to what the board is deciding. Personal circumstances the candidate has not asked you to raise, and anything you heard secondhand, both belong outside it.

The difference between a letter that helps and one that does not is verifiable detail. Boards read a great many of these, and generic praise registers as an absence of evidence.

Replace adjectives with events. Instead of calling a soldier dependable, describe the deployment where they ran a section short two people and still met every timeline. Instead of calling them a leader, name what they led and what changed as a result.

Numbers help when you have them. Personnel supervised, equipment accounted for, training conducted, and readiness figures all give a board something concrete to weigh.

Be candid about the limits of what you saw. A writer who says they supervised the candidate for six months in one role, and describes that role well, is more persuasive than one who implies broader knowledge than they have.

Tip: Write only what you personally observed or can support from records you had access to. A letter that overstates is worse than no letter, and your name stays attached to it.

An Army letter of recommendation comes together quickly once you have the candidate’s packet in front of you. Document Genius walks you through each section with simple questions.

1. Read the Board’s Instructions First

Confirm who is expected to write, how long the letter should be, and how it must be submitted. That shapes everything else.

2. Ask the Candidate for Their Materials

Request their goals, the position sought, and a summary of accomplishments. It saves you time and prevents you from omitting something important.

3. Open With Your Standing and the Endorsement

State who you are and that you recommend them, in the first two lines.

4. Give Two or Three Concrete Examples

Pick the events that best show the qualities the board is selecting for, and describe them briefly.

5. Address Character Directly

Say something specific about conduct and how they treat others, rather than reaching for stock phrases.

6. Close, Sign, and Submit

Reaffirm the recommendation, add your signature block, and submit it the way the instructions require. Start yours now and have it ready to sign today.

Boards expect a professional, conventional presentation. The specifics vary by board and by the programme involved, so treat the published instructions as the authority rather than any template.

A few things hold generally:

• One page, single spaced, in a plain professional typeface.
• Correct rank and full name for both the candidate and yourself.
• Official letterhead where you are authorized to use it.
• A signature block with your contact details.
• The submission method the instructions specify, by the deadline they set.

Give yourself time as well. Candidates often ask late, and a rushed letter shows. If the deadline is too close for you to write something useful, say so early enough that the candidate can approach someone else.

Ask the requesting unit or board what it needs if anything in the instructions is unclear. Confirming the format costs one message and prevents a letter being returned or disregarded.