[/caption]GHN Staff - The phrase “Military Justice is an Oxymoron” has become common vernacular amongst soldiers in the Army. Men and women are continually put through frustrating catch 22 situations from their Chain of Command that uses and abuses the Unifrom Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) to perform CYA operations. CYA Operations being actions and paperwork used to cover your “assets.”
One of the most common abuses foisted upon soldiers is the slipshod fashion in which Article 15’s are passed out. An article 15 charge is covered under Article 15 of the UCMJ in a long disjointed group of regulations that seem to be the only regulations many people in a Chain of Command know by heart. Article 15's used to be reserved for serious actions in which the commanding officers elected to handle in a non-judicial setting as a way of correcting service members within the military where their offenses were understood. However, in today’s military you can be handed an Article 15 if you sneeze incorrectly.
Using an Article 15 for a frivolous or false charge is not unheard of, but what is truly concerning is that a soldier faced with an Article 15 has little true recourse for justice. To properly demonstrate the way this process is used to abuse and intimidate soldiers into accepting punishments that they may not be guilty of read the following hypothetical situation.
PVT Smith has joined the Army. While he attended boot camp the drill sergeants pushed the men to the point that their immune systems could not fight off bronchial infections that began popping up in the area. The soldiers were not treated properly in a medical facility because they needed to “Suck it up and be real men.” PVT Smith and others develop pneumonia which hinders their ability to function properly. They are treated with antibiotics but not given time to recuperate.
PVT Smith passes basic training and is sent to an infantry unit where the platoon sergeant notices he is falling behind during Physical Training. He is breathing heavily due to the weakened state of his lungs. Platoon SGT dislikes guys who cannot keep up with the rest of the group, and instead of sending PVT Smith to get checked out because of the pneumonia he pushes him harder and PVT Smith falls further behind. Platoon SGT then starts to complain about PVT Smith and says he cannot cut it in the military. He tells PVT Smith if he falls behind on the battalion run tomorrow he will give him an Article 15 for failure to obey an order. PVT Smith cannot keep up and falls behind, and then is given an Article 15.
Clearly PVT Smith is not at fault and seeks legal counsel. The counsel recommends that he accepts the Article 15 because if it goes to a summary court martial and he is found guilty he will have it attached to his permanent record and his career would be ruined. PVT Smith is intimidated into taking the punishment for something he did not do to avoid having the possibility of his permanent record sullied. He is instructed by his Chain of Command that they will chapter him out of the Army and he would lose any chance at VA benefits if he refuses the Article 15 in favor of a Summary Court Martial.
The fictitious story of PVT Smith is not entirely made up as the writer has heard these claims and others from many a soldier. The pressure to not rock the boat and to accept a non-judicial punishment that is unwarranted seems to be the modus operandi of many in leadership who cannot win the loyalty of their men and instead abuse the UCMJ to intimidate and coerce them into obedience. This practice is so common that even decent leadership has been conditioned to accept the status quo.
The threat of an Article 15 does not end after a soldier is punished as long as that soldier stays in the same unit. The accepted Article 15 could be added to negative counseling statements, which are also abused or used improperly, to establish a pattern of misconduct. Enlisted Personnel can be “Chaptered” or kicked out of the Army with an other-than-honorable or a dishonorable discharge due to that pattern of misconduct.
If anyone has ever wondered why men in the military often do not stand up for their rights or against illegal orders it is because of the culture that has led to a constant threat of an Article 15 or similar retaliatory actions. How can you stand up for your rights when you are subject to an approved part of the United States Code that allows this type of abuse of civil liberties? It is important to note that the UCMJ is part of the United States Code as legislation approved by Congress. Therefore there is always the excuse that anything done under the UCMJ is legal. With no recourse for justice many soldiers fall to the wayside and either bitterly accept their lot or lash out and become targets for the military, the government, and the parts of the American public who worship the military with some sort of Stockholm syndrome that excuses the system and its abuses.
