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Legal System

The Legal System of the U.S. Army
The military has its own set of rules and regulations that govern the actions of military personnel. The Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) is the foundation of military law. "UCMJ is a federal law, enacted by Congress" (Powers, April 9, 2005). To enforce these laws, commanders are given the power to charge soldiers with violations of the UCMJ either nonjudicially or through a trial by court-martial. This power allows the military courts to deal with more serious infractions and gives commanders the ability to conduct hearings for minor infractions such as disrespect, missing formations, failure to follow orders, and other such infractions. Throughout this paper, I will discuss my experiences with the military legal system over the past several years detailing the procedures and my analysis of the effectiveness of the legal system.
The Legal Foundation
I was a company commander at my last assignment and with that position came the legal powers and the responsibility to enforce the laws dictated by the UCMJ. With command, I had the power to discipline soldiers that did not warrant severe administrative corrective measures or trial by court-martial through nonjudicial punishment under Article 15 (Powers, April 9, 2005). Major Childress (2005), formally a legal services specialist, states, "The intent of an article 15 is to rehabilitate a soldier not to punish them. Because of this, the recidivism rate in the military is extremely low." The delegation of power to conduct Article 15 hearings allowed me and other commanders to ensure good order and discipline of our units.
Prior to charging my soldiers with an infraction to the UCMJ, I would consult my attorney because
a soldier has the following rights under Article 15, UCMJ: to appear personally before the commander who is offering the Article 15; turn down an Article 15 and demand trial by court-martial; submit matters and have people appear on their behalf; and...