Monday, December 02, 2019

UNITED STATES - Military Justice System

COMMENT:  I am 22yr retired Navy and Viet Nam Vet so I speak from a first hand view.  I even served as a member of a Courts-Martial Board as a Chief.

Also, Under Article 15 of the Code [UCMJ] (Subchapter III), military commanders have the authority to exercise non-judicial punishment (NJP) over their subordinates for minor breaches of discipline.  These punishments are carried out after a hearing before the commander, but without a judge or jury.  Punishments are limited to reduction in rank, loss of pay, restrictions of privileges, extra-duty, reprimands, and, aboard ships, confinement.  The accused has the option to go before to a Courts-Martial Board on the charge.  This is what happened in Gallagher's case.

Disciplinary matters, for all branches, are governed by "Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ)" which specifies and governs all matters of behavior and disciplinary matters.  It is totally wrong for ANY President to interfere in this area.

"The fallout from Trump’s intervention in Navy SEAL discipline case" PBS NewsHour 11/25/2019

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  President Trump and U.S.  military leadership clashed this weekend over the case of Chief Petty Officer Edward Gallagher, a highly decorated Navy SEAL accused and acquitted of war crimes but convicted of posing in a photograph with a dead militant’s body.  The controversy ultimately led to the firing of the secretary of the Navy.  William Brangham talks to The Wall Street Journal’s Nancy Youssef.



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