Commander’s Options

A wide spectrum of options for disposing of criminal allegations is available to Commanding Officers/Generals. During the initial investigative stages, a Commanding Officer/General must weigh the seriousness of the misconduct with other factors, such as:

• military character of the accused
• length of service of the accused
• inconvenience to the command
• military necessity
• operational tempo
• the good order and discipline of the unit

For example, the Commanding Officer/General may decide not to prefer charges because the alleged misconduct is not overly serious and would be disproportionately disruptive to the command.

Typically, a Commanding Officer/General has four options when disposing alleged misconduct:

1. Court-martial (e.g., general court-martial, special court-martial);
2. Administrative hearing (e.g., Article 15, summary court-martial, discharge board);
3. Formal counseling placed in the service record book of the accused;
4. No action at all, if the allegations seem warrantless.

Contact our military lawyers today to get help.