Military Lawyers

Yes. Military defense attorneys regularly represent service members who have been accused in a sexual harassment complaint, and the stakes have grown considerably in recent years. What was once handled almost entirely as a command and personnel matter can now carry criminal exposure under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. This article explains the legal landscape, what defending such a complaint involves, and the role both detailed and civilian counsel play.

Sexual harassment is now a distinct UCMJ offense

For most of the military’s history, sexual harassment was addressed through command policy and equal opportunity programs rather than as a crime. That changed when Executive Order 14062, signed in January 2022, amended the Manual for Courts-Martial to establish sexual harassment as a separately enumerated offense under Article 134 of the UCMJ, codified at 10 U.S.C. 934. This step implemented a directive in the Fiscal Year 2022 National Defense Authorization Act. The maximum punishment for the offense includes a dishonorable discharge, total forfeiture of pay and allowances, and confinement for two years.

Because the conduct can now be charged criminally, a sexual harassment complaint is not something to treat lightly or to handle alone. Even when a complaint does not become a court-martial charge, it can drive administrative action that ends a career.

What the government must prove

For the Article 134 sexual harassment offense, the prosecution must establish each element beyond a reasonable doubt. In general terms, the elements require that the accused knowingly made sexual advances, demands or requests for sexual favors, or knowingly engaged in other conduct of a sexual nature; that the conduct under the circumstances would cause a reasonable person to believe that submission or rejection would affect their job, pay, career, or working environment, or that it created a hostile or offensive environment; and that the conduct was prejudicial to good order and discipline, service-discrediting, or both. Each of those pieces is contestable, and a defense lawyer’s job is to test all of them.

How a complaint is investigated and processed

A complaint typically triggers an inquiry. In the Army, the Sexual Harassment/Assault Response and Prevention (SHARP) program structures how the service responds, and in recent years the Office of the Special Trial Counsel has assumed authority over decisions to prosecute certain covered offenses, which has shifted prosecutorial discretion away from the immediate chain of command. The investigation may produce a finding that an allegation …

Yes. A military attorney can help at every stage of a Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) violation, and early involvement often has the largest effect on the outcome. The UCMJ is the federal statute that defines military offenses and the procedures for handling them, and it applies to members of all the armed services. A violation can be addressed in several different ways, ranging from a quiet administrative correction to a full general court-martial, and the protections available to the accused vary with each. Understanding those options, and exercising the right ones at the right time, is exactly where a military attorney adds value. This article explains how.

What a UCMJ violation can lead to

Not every alleged UCMJ violation results in a court-martial. Commanders have a range of responses available, and the choice among them dramatically affects a member’s rights and risks.

At the lower end are administrative measures and nonjudicial punishment. Nonjudicial punishment, often known by the Article 15 process or as captain’s mast or office hours depending on the service, lets a commander impose limited punishment for minor offenses without a criminal trial. A member generally has the right to consult an attorney before deciding whether to accept nonjudicial punishment or instead demand trial by court-martial, and that decision can be pivotal.

At the higher end are the three levels of court-martial. A summary court-martial handles minor misconduct through a simplified procedure. A special court-martial resembles a misdemeanor-level criminal trial. A general court-martial tries the most serious offenses, the rough equivalent of felonies, and can impose the heaviest punishments, including a punitive discharge and confinement. Following the Military Justice Act of 2016, which took effect in 2019, a general court-martial panel ordinarily has eight members and a special court-martial panel four, with twelve members for capital cases, and conviction requires the agreement of three-fourths of the panel.

The rights an attorney helps protect

The UCMJ surrounds an accused with important protections, and a military attorney makes sure they are used.

The most critical early protection is Article 31, which guarantees the right against self-incrimination. This right is broader than the civilian Miranda warning because it applies whenever a person subject to military authority who suspects the member of an offense questions that member, including members of the chain of command and not only law enforcement investigators. Notably, Article 31 does not require that a member be …

Yes. A military attorney can help a service member whose promotion has been blocked because of financial issues, but the right approach depends on understanding exactly what is causing the block. Financial problems by themselves do not automatically stop a promotion. Usually, a promotion gets blocked because the financial situation has triggered some other action, such as an administrative flag, a security clearance problem, or an adverse personnel action. An attorney can help identify the true cause, address it through the proper channel, and clear the way for the promotion to proceed.

How a Promotion Actually Gets Blocked

In the Army, the most common mechanism that stops a promotion is a suspension of favorable personnel actions, commonly called a flag. A flag is an administrative tool that prevents a soldier from receiving favorable actions while the soldier is in an unfavorable status. A flag stops promotions. If a soldier is in a promotable status when flagged, the promotion orders should not be processed. Flags also block other favorable actions such as awards, reenlistment, reassignment, schooling, and certain payments.

The key point is that the flag, or some similar adverse action, is usually what blocks the promotion. The financial issue is the underlying reason, but the block itself runs through the flag or related action. To fix the promotion problem, the underlying action has to be understood and addressed.

Do Financial Problems Alone Block a Promotion?

Not necessarily. It is a common misunderstanding that any money trouble automatically halts a career. In fact, certain financial events do not by themselves trigger a flag. For example, the initiation of a financial liability investigation of property loss does not, on its own, result in a flag. This shows that financial problems and promotion blocks are not automatically linked. There usually has to be a connecting action.

That is why the first job of a military attorney is to pin down what is really happening. Is there a flag in place, and if so, what kind. Is the issue tied to a security clearance. Is there an adverse administrative action driving the problem. The answer determines the path forward.

When Financial Issues Lead to a Clearance Problem

One of the most common ways financial issues block a promotion is through a security clearance. Financial considerations are a recognized area of concern in clearance adjudications because significant debt or financial irresponsibility can raise questions about …

A court-martial is a federal criminal trial conducted under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, and a conviction can mean confinement, a punitive discharge, and a lifelong federal criminal record. Because the stakes are so high, the question of who represents the accused is one of the most important decisions a service member facing charges will make. The phrase court-martial lawyer refers to the attorneys who defend service members in this distinct system, which has its own rules, courts, and procedures separate from civilian criminal law. This article explains who these lawyers are, the rights service members have to counsel, the difference between detailed military counsel and retained civilian counsel, and what these attorneys do at each stage of a case.

The military justice system is its own world

Military criminal law is governed by the Uniform Code of Military Justice and applied through courts-martial. The system has three levels of trial: summary, special, and general courts-martial, each with different procedures and different ranges of potential punishment. The rules of procedure and evidence are tailored to the military, and appeals run through the service courts of criminal appeals and ultimately the United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces. A lawyer who handles these cases needs to understand this framework, which differs in important ways from civilian state and federal practice. That is why experience specifically in military justice matters when choosing counsel.

The right to military defense counsel

A service member facing a general or special court-martial has the right to be represented by a qualified military defense counsel at no cost. This detailed defense counsel is a judge advocate, that is, a military attorney, assigned to represent the accused. Under Article 27 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, codified at 10 U.S.C. 827, counsel detailed for a general court-martial must meet defined qualifications, including being a graduate of an accredited law school or a member of the bar of a federal court or the highest court of a state, and being certified as competent by the Judge Advocate General of the relevant service. These military defense attorneys typically serve in an independent defense organization within their service so that they can advocate for the accused free from the influence of the command bringing the charges.

The right to civilian counsel and to request a particular military lawyer

Under Article 38 of the Uniform Code of Military …

The offense commonly known as “noncompliance with procedural rules” punishes those responsible for the fair and timely administration of military justice when they cause unnecessary delay in a case or knowingly fail to enforce or comply with the procedural rules that govern courts-martial. For decades this offense was numbered Article 98 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. An important point of accuracy must be made at the outset: the Military Justice Act of 2016, which took effect on January 1, 2019, renumbered this offense. The “noncompliance with procedural rules” provision is now Article 131f, codified at 10 U.S.C. 931f. The article number 98 (10 U.S.C. 898) was reassigned to a different offense, “misconduct as prisoner.” The questions and answers below explain the substance of the noncompliance offense and address the renumbering directly so that no one relies on an outdated citation. This is general information, not legal advice.

The Renumbering and Current Citation

Why does this article carry the historic number 98?

Before the 2019 reforms, the offense of noncompliance with procedural rules was the punitive article numbered 98 in the UCMJ. Many older references, opinions, and resources still use that number. The label remains familiar, which is why it persists in common usage.

What is the current, correct article number and citation?

After the Military Justice Act of 2016 took effect on January 1, 2019, the noncompliance with procedural rules offense was renumbered Article 131f of the UCMJ and is codified at 10 U.S.C. 931f. Anyone citing the offense in a current legal document should use Article 131f, not Article 98.

What offense now occupies the Article 98 / 10 U.S.C. 898 slot?

The current Article 98, at 10 U.S.C. 898, is titled “misconduct as prisoner.” It addresses a service member in the hands of the enemy who, to secure favorable treatment, acts improperly to the detriment of others, or who mistreats fellow prisoners while in a position of authority. That is a different offense entirely from noncompliance with procedural rules.

Does the renumbering change the substance of the noncompliance offense?

The renumbering is principally a reorganization of the code. The core conduct the offense targets, unnecessary delay and knowing failure to enforce or comply with the rules governing courts-martial proceedings, carries forward. The most important practical effect is the change in the correct citation.

Why does getting the citation right matter so much?

Citing the wrong article …

A performance evaluation can shape an entire military career. It influences promotion, assignments, retention, and how a member is perceived for years after it is written. When an evaluation is inaccurate, unfair, or improperly prepared, the harm can be lasting. The answer to the question is yes. A military attorney can help with a wrongful performance evaluation by analyzing whether it is substantively or procedurally defective, helping the member respond before it becomes final, and pursuing appeal or correction afterward to remove or amend the report. This article explains how military evaluations work and the specific ways an attorney can assist.

Understanding Military Performance Evaluations

What Evaluations Are and Why They Matter

Each service uses a formal evaluation system to document a member’s performance and potential, recorded in reports that go by different names across the branches. These reports become part of the member’s official record and are relied on by promotion boards, assignment officers, and retention authorities. Because so many decisions flow from them, an inaccurate or unfair evaluation can quietly steer a career off course.

How Evaluations Are Prepared

Evaluations are typically prepared by designated rating officials in the member’s chain of supervision, following the governing service regulation. Those regulations set out who may rate, what standards apply, what procedures must be followed, and what rights the member has, including, in many cases, the right to acknowledge or respond to the report. The rules matter because a report that does not follow them may be defective regardless of its content.

When an Evaluation Is Referred

Some evaluations contain comments or ratings adverse enough that the governing regulation requires the report to be referred to the member, giving the member an opportunity to comment before it is finalized. A referred report is a signal that the evaluation could carry significant career consequences and that the member’s response window is important.

What Makes a Performance Evaluation Wrongful

Factual Inaccuracy

An evaluation can be wrongful because it is simply wrong on the facts: it credits the member with failings that did not occur, omits significant accomplishments, or rests on events that have been mischaracterized. A report built on inaccurate facts does not reflect the member’s actual performance.

Unfairness or Bias

An evaluation may also be wrongful because it is unfair, for example when it reflects bias, retaliation, or improper motive, or applies a standard inconsistently. An evaluation that punishes a member …

Article 92 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice is one of the most frequently charged offenses in the military justice system. It covers three distinct kinds of misconduct: violating or failing to obey a lawful general order or regulation, failing to obey other lawful orders, and being derelict in the performance of duties. Because so much of military life is governed by orders and regulations, Article 92 reaches a wide range of conduct, from disobeying a specific instruction to neglecting an assigned duty. The questions and answers below explain the three theories, the elements of each, the all-important requirement that an order be lawful, the defenses that may apply, and the consequences a service member can face.

The Three Theories

1. What does Article 92 prohibit?

Article 92 prohibits three things: violating or failing to obey a lawful general order or regulation, failing to obey any other lawful order, and dereliction in the performance of one’s duties. A single article thus covers three separate ways of committing an offense.

2. Where is Article 92 codified?

Article 92 is codified at 10 U.S.C. 892. It sets out the three theories of liability and provides that a person found guilty shall be punished as a court-martial may direct.

3. Why does Article 92 cover so much conduct?

Military operations depend on orders and regulations being followed and duties being performed. Article 92 gives commanders a means to enforce that framework across a wide variety of situations, which is why it is charged so often and in so many different contexts.

Violation of a General Order or Regulation

4. What are the elements of violating a general order or regulation?

The government must prove that a lawful general order or regulation existed, that the accused had a duty to obey it, and that the accused violated or failed to obey it. Notably, knowledge of the order is presumed for general orders and regulations.

5. What is a “general” order or regulation?

A general order or regulation is one that applies broadly and is issued by authority competent to make it apply throughout the command, service, or armed forces, rather than a specific instruction directed at one person. Service-wide regulations and broadly applicable command policies are typical examples.

6. Does the government have to prove the accused knew about a general order?

For a general order or regulation, the law treats the accused …

A fraternization allegation in the Army rarely arrives as a formal criminal charge on day one. It usually surfaces first as a rumor, a commander’s inquiry, a counseling statement, or a sworn complaint. Because of that slow build, many soldiers assume they can talk their way through it without legal help. That assumption is where careers are lost. Whether it is worth involving a military attorney depends on understanding what fraternization actually is under Army rules, how quickly an informal matter can harden into something permanent, and what a defense attorney can do at each stage that a soldier acting alone usually cannot.

What fraternization means in the Army

In the Army, improper officer-enlisted relationships are addressed both as a potential criminal offense and as a violation of Army policy. As a punitive matter, fraternization is charged under Article 134 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, the general article. To obtain a conviction, the government must prove a defined set of elements: that the accused was a commissioned or warrant officer; that the accused fraternized on terms of military equality with one or more enlisted members; that the accused then knew the person to be an enlisted member; that the fraternization violated the custom of the service that officers shall not fraternize with enlisted members on terms of military equality; and that, under the circumstances, the conduct was prejudicial to good order and discipline or service discrediting.

Separately, the Army regulates personal relationships through Army Regulation 600-20, which governs command policy. AR 600-20 prohibits certain relationships between officers and enlisted soldiers, and it also reaches certain relationships between soldiers regardless of rank when they compromise the chain of command, create the appearance of partiality, or undermine good order, morale, or discipline. This dual structure matters because a soldier can face administrative action under AR 600-20 even where a criminal fraternization conviction would be difficult, and the two tracks demand different defensive strategies.

Why the early stage is the dangerous stage

Fraternization cases turn heavily on facts that are easy to misstate and hard to take back. Was the relationship social, romantic, financial, or merely professional? Did it cross a rank boundary in a way that custom forbids? Did it actually compromise the chain of command, or only create gossip? Each of those questions has a factual answer that the soldier under suspicion will be asked to address, often in …

Article 100 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice is one of the small group of wartime offenses that Congress made punishable by death. It is codified at 10 U.S.C. 900, and its formal heading is “Subordinate compelling surrender.” The article reaches members who force, or try to force, a commander to give up a command, vessel, aircraft, or other military property to an enemy, and it also reaches anyone who strikes the colors or flag to an enemy without authority. The questions and answers below explain the statute, its elements, the available defenses, and how a charge under this article actually moves through the military justice system. The answers describe general legal principles and are not legal advice for any specific case.

Statute and Scope

What does Article 100 actually prohibit?

The statute prohibits three related acts. First, compelling the commander of a place, vessel, aircraft, or body of armed forces members to give it up to an enemy or to abandon it. Second, attempting to compel that surrender or abandonment. Third, striking the colors or flag to an enemy without proper authority. Each of those is a distinct theory of liability with its own proof requirements.

Where is the offense codified?

It is found in Title 10 of the United States Code at section 900, within the punitive articles of the UCMJ. The full statutory text reads that any person subject to the chapter who compels or attempts to compel the commander of any place, vessel, aircraft, or other military property, or of any body of members of the armed forces, to give it up to an enemy or to abandon it, or who strikes the colors or flag to an enemy without proper authority, shall be punished by death or such other punishment as a court-martial may direct.

Why is the article titled “subordinate compelling surrender”?

The heading reflects the core scenario Congress had in mind: a service member who is not the lawful decision maker forcing the person who does hold command authority to capitulate. The article protects the commander’s lawful discretion over whether to fight, hold, or yield, and it punishes those who usurp that decision through coercion.

Who can be charged under Article 100?

Any person subject to the UCMJ can be charged. That includes active duty members of every branch, and others brought within the code’s jurisdiction. The accused does not need to …

Yes. A military attorney can help a service member who has been denied reenlistment understand why the denial happened, identify whether it can be challenged, and pursue the available remedies. A reenlistment denial can end a career and affect a member’s reentry eligibility if they later want to return to service, so it is worth understanding the mechanisms involved and how counsel can assist. This article explains the common forms a reenlistment denial takes and the concrete ways an attorney adds value.

What a Reenlistment Denial Looks Like

A reenlistment denial is not a single procedure. It can arise through several different mechanisms, and the right response depends on which one is in play.

A bar to reenlistment is an action a commander imposes to prevent a service member from reenlisting, typically based on a pattern of conduct or performance problems. It is described in policy as a rehabilitative tool rather than a punishment, intended to signal that the member must correct deficiencies. In the Army, a separate mechanism called the Qualitative Management Program, or QMP, uses a centralized selection board to identify senior enlisted soldiers whose records contain negative information indicating they should be separated rather than retained, on the reasoning that the negative information would block future promotion.

A reenlistment denial may also be reflected in a reentry code, often called an RE code, recorded on the member’s separation documents. These codes indicate eligibility to return to service. Some codes allow reenlistment with a waiver, while others indicate ineligibility without an exception to policy. Because the RE code follows a member after separation, an incorrect or unduly harsh code can block a later return even when the member has resolved the underlying issue.

How These Processes Work

Each mechanism has its own procedure, and the procedures share a common theme: the member usually has a limited window to respond, and the strength of the response, especially the support of the chain of command, heavily influences the result.

For an Army QMP bar, once the bar is imposed it is forwarded with a statement of options to the soldier’s battalion-level commander, and the soldier has a short period to select an option. The options generally include appealing the bar in an effort to have it removed, electing separation, or, for soldiers with sufficient service, requesting immediate retirement or being scheduled for retirement. A soldier who appeals must return the …