The re-attestation of servicemen is an instrument of personnel management on which the appointments, advancement in service, and further service use of a serviceman depend.
BlueBird Tech prepared this material for servicemen in order to clearly explain what re-attestation in the AFU means in practice, in which cases it is applied, and how the procedure looks according to the current rules.
What the Re-Attestation of Servicemen Is and Why It Is Conducted
In the system of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, re-attestation is part of the overall process of the attestation of servicemen. Its goal is to ensure the correct selection and placement of personnel, objectively assess the professional level, the business and moral qualities of the military, as well as determine their correspondence to the occupied position and the prospects of further service.
More simply put, attestation gives answers to several key questions: whether a serviceman corresponds to his position, whether he is ready for more complex tasks or higher responsibility, whether it is expedient to include him in the personnel reserve for advancement in service.
Normatively, the system of attestation includes the annual assessment of the results of service and periodic attestation, which is used as a basis for personnel decisions.
In Which Cases Re-Attestation Is Needed in the AFU
In practice, the question of re-attestation most often arises when the command needs to make a personnel decision.
Firstly, this concerns the change of position or conditions of service. Before the appointment of a serviceman to another, in particular a higher position, his professional level, experience, and ability to carry out new tasks are assessed. Attestation in this case makes it possible to avoid subjective decisions and to rely on a recorded assessment of service.
Secondly, attestation is directly connected with the questions of the correspondence of the military rank to the occupied position and the prospects of further growth. It is precisely the results of assessment that often become the basis for the formation of the personnel reserve, recommendations regarding advancement, or, on the contrary, conclusions about the limited possibilities of further use in certain positions.
More about the order of conferral and confirmation of military ranks during the period of martial law can be read in the material «Conferral of military ranks during martial law: clarification and procedure».
It is separately important to take into account the conditions of martial law (a special period). During this time, attestation in the classic form is not conducted. Instead, if a need arises for appointment to a higher position, awarding, or the conferral of the next military rank, service references are processed. This is a fundamental point that often causes misunderstanding, but it is clearly defined in the current rules of personnel work of the AFU.
How the Procedure of Re-Attestation of Servicemen Takes Place
At the normative level, the procedure of attestation is built according to a clear logic. First, the results of service are recorded within the limits of the annual assessment, then — if needed — periodic attestation is conducted, which is used for the making of personnel decisions.
The detailed order, terms, forms of documents, and organization of the process are determined by the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine. That is precisely why concrete mechanisms can differ depending on the unit, the position, and the current conditions of service. At the same time, the basic principle remains unchanged: personnel decisions must be based on an objective assessment of the execution of service duties, and not on random or purely formal grounds.
In conditions of martial law, the procedure has a substantial limitation: attestation is not conducted, and all personnel decisions are accompanied by service references that reflect the real contribution of the serviceman and his execution of tasks in combat conditions.
Conclusion
The re-attestation of servicemen is an instrument that makes it possible to make personnel decisions on the basis of real skills, experience, and the results of service, and not only formal indicators, ranks, or length of service.
An understanding of when and how re-attestation is applied helps servicemen to better orient themselves in their own professional prospects, realize the logic of appointments, and treat personnel changes more calmly, especially in conditions of martial law, when classic procedures are replaced by an assessment of the actual work in the position.
