These include mild administrative remedies, such as informal counseling, formal counseling, Executive Officer Inquiry, and non-judicial punishment under Article 15 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. However, when proposing improvements to the military justice system, Congress must realize that the military is fundamentally different from the civilian world.Ĭommanding officers in the military have a wide range of tools available to enforce good order and discipline. It is not perfect, but neither is the civilian criminal justice system, which has many flaws and must be continually improved. In almost all of these cases the system works to ensure justice is done. The military justice system is a well-developed, unique, and integrated criminal justice system, which handles thousands of criminal cases per year, ranging from minor violations to major felonies. The facts also demonstrate that the military has done an admirable job training and mentoring military prosecutors and defense counsel-training that is on par with the best practices in large city district attorney and public defender offices. Over the past few years, the military services have made huge strides with regard to addressing the issue of sexual assault, including mandatory general military training for all personnel, specific training for select individuals, and many more specific programs aimed at the uniformed military lawyers responsible for prosecuting and defending sexual assault charges. However, before Congress enacts additional legislation to address the issue of sexual assault in the military, it should take stock of the facts. Sexual assault in the military destroys that trust, which can detract from the readiness of America’s armed forces. Service members are trained for situations in which it is essential to trust both enlisted members of the unit and the chain of command completely. Incidents of sexual assault are detrimental to morale, destroy unit cohesion, show disrespect for the chain of command, and damage the military as a whole, both internally as well as externally. While studies suggest that the number of sexual assaults in the military may be less than the number in civilian society, sexual assault has a uniquely greater damaging effect on the military, such that even one incident is unacceptable. Incidents of sexual assault are a real and recognized problem, both in the military and in civilian life. Ultimately, it is structured to fight and win wars. It is structured so that those in charge, commanding officers, can carry out the orders of their civilian leaders. Unlike the civilian justice system, which exists solely to enforce the laws of the jurisdiction and punish wrongdoers, our military justice system exists in order to help the military to succeed in its mission: to defend the nation. The United States military justice system is integral to the military’s mission. Maintaining good order and discipline in the armed forces is essential to accomplishing the mission. To accomplish that mission, leaders must ensure that those who serve under them are combat ready, and once ordered into armed conflict, combat effective. The military exists to defend the nation.
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