offenses being prejudicial or destructive to good order and discipline.
Both are
necessary to preserve the military.
(2) Civil-type offenses.
Under the UCMJ, the Armed Forces takes punitive
jurisdiction over certain military personnel.
Included are those who commit
criminal offenses which have always been punished by civilian authorities.
These
offenses are made punishable by Article 118 through Article 131. As enacted in the
UCMJ, these provisions represent little or no change in the common-law provisions
of these crimes as found in civilian jurisdictions. The result of this enactment
is: the Armed Forces may not exercise court-martial jurisdiction over persons
subject to the UCMJ who commit civil-type offenses.
c. The general articles.
These offenses are classed separately.
This
is
because they can pertain to either military-type or civil-type offenses.
(1) Conduct Unbecoming an Officer and a Gentleman--Article 133.
(a) This
governs
the
conduct
of
commissioned
officers,
cadets,
and
midshipmen.
(b) An officer can violate this provision by conduct in EITHER his official
or private capacity. The conduct must be found, however, to be unbecoming BOTH to
an officer and a gentleman.
(c) One example of violation of Article 133 is knowingly making a false
official statement.
Another example is being grossly drunk and pointedly
disorderly in public.
(2) The General Article--Article 134.
This article makes punishable all
disorders and neglects to the prejudice of good order and discipline in the Armed
Forces.
Included is all conduct that brings discredit upon the Armed Forces.
Crimes and offenses not capital are punishable also. Capital crimes and offenses
are those deemed so by Congress or under the authority of Congress. These classes
cannot be considered rigid. Many offenses will fit equally well under At least two
classes. Reported cases seldom make a distinction as to which.
(a) Disorders and Neglects.
Conduct falling within this class occurs in
the service community.
It does not occur in the eye of the general public.
Examples of this are impersonating an officer, and drunkenness during off-duty
hours. Another case is making oneself unfit for duty by heavy use of intoxicants
or drugs.
(b) Discreditable Conduct. Conduct in this class would harm the reputation
of the Armed Forces.
It causes injury by offending the sensibilities of the
average person. Such conduct normally involves a moral deviation without regard to
the effect on public opinion. No actual injury to public reputation is required.
Examples of this are aggravated cases of failure to pay disputed debts, bigamy, and
adultery.
MP0018
3-4
Previous Page
