Page 71 - NAVAL SCIENCE 3 TEXTBOOK

76 NAVAL h:NOWLEDGE

Initiating and Preferring Charges oral or written rebukes to military trials called courts-martial in the
In the Na,'y the uSlwl procedure for initiating and preferring more serious Ctlses. The following sections will go into the conduct
charges against enlisted personnel consists of submitting a writ- of these disciplintlr)' procedures, including the milkeup and conduct
ten report detailing the alleged offense to the executive officer, or of military tritlls, the punishments that Cilll be awarded by them,
other officer designated by the commanding officer. The forl11 lit i- and the infractions of the UCMJ that l11il)' lead to such nwards.
lized is called a Report flllri Dispositioll of OftellSes Slip. It (ontains
tlll the necessary information to process the case, including names
Disciplinary Actions
of witnesses. An)1 commissioned officer or petty officer who sees tl
breach of discipline afloat or ashore Illtly place naval personnel all There are two bilsic classes of official nnval disciplinary action:
report. For example, in the case of lateness in returning to the ship nonjudicial punishment, better known as cnpt(lilJ's /1/lIst, and
rrom libert)" the officer or the deck would pbcc the ofte nder on courts-martial. Captain's mast, often simply referred to as "mast,"
report as that person came aboard. is i\ name that has come down from earl)' sailing days. At that time,
The formnl written report consists of two pnJ'ts: the technical the usual setting for nnval justice was on the wcather deck, at the
charge and the specification(s). The charge tells what artide or the toot of the ship's mainmilst. Often the whole crew was tlssembled
UCMJ the accused is alleged to have viobted. The specifications to hetlr the proceedings ilnd to observe the punishment, some-
set forth the specific filCts and circulllstances involved with the times flogging with a cat-o'-nine-tails. In the ~'Iarine Corps, cap-
violation. The executive officer (XO) must check the charges and tain's mast procecdings ilrc referred to as "office hours."
specifications to ensure they tlre legally correct. The XO advises Commanding officers (Ca s) may impose nonjudicial punish-
the accused of all particulnl's in the Clse, including the charges, ment for minor ofiellses upon subordinate officers and enlisted per-
witnesses, accuser, constitution;.\1 rights under the UCI\'I), and sonnel. This authority canllot be delegated unless COs are generals
rights concerning possible nonjudicial punishment (NJP) or or flag officers or have unique senior responsibility in which they
court-mnltial proceedings. exercise general coul't-nlartial jurisdiction. Captain's nlast is the cor-
After the executive officer reviews the charges, a preliminary Ilerstone of the ,,,hole structure of Iltlval justice nnd discipline.
investigation of the charges is begun, either by the executive offi- Military offenses, as distinguished from cOlllmon misdemean-
cer or by nn investigating officer he or she appoints. If the facts in ors or minor crimes, may be di,'ided into two classes: those involv-
the case nre found to warrant disciplinary action, the investigat- ing neglect of duty, and those involving delibernte violations of
ing officer will fill out a charge sheet. If the investigating ofllcer instructions, orders, or regulations. Offenses classified as neglect of
feels that a court-martial is not wilrranted, as is the case for most duty ma), result in punishment ranging from loss of liberty to Ihnt
reported offenses, the facts arc reported to the executive officer, awarded by a court-martial. Deliberate violations of instructions,
tlnd the accused is brought to nonjudicial punishment (captain's orders, or regulatiolls arc lIsually tried by court-martial. Such an
mast) ror the alleged oftense. offense is often of concern more tor the defiance of authority it dis-
plays than lor the consequences of the act itself Offenses involving
1ll0raltl1l'pitude, such as theft, forgery, 01' seriolls <lcts agilinst oth-
Preliminary Inquiry ers, invariably result ill tldjudicatioll by court-martial.
Before taking any kind of disciplin<1I'}' action, it is tllways necessary Military courts are conducted with the same Ctlre and formnlity
tlnd wise to review all the f..1ctS. A step somewhnt beyond the pre- as civiJian courts. Great responsibility rests upon the officers or petty
liminary investigtltiolliending to a captain's mast is the prelilllinary officers tlssigned court duties. The court must be conducted with dig-
in(juily. Essentially, the inquiry is an informal investigation con- nity nlld ensure swifi. efficient administration of justice. Being dealt
ducted tor the purpose of determining whether or not an offense with fairly and forthrightly in all matters brought before a court is the
chargeable under the UCMJ hns been cOlllmitted) and whether right of each person accllsed under the Constitution, the Uniform
rensonable grounds exist to support the n!legation that the accused Code of Military Justice, nnd the JHanu(l/ jor Courts-1Hnrt;nl.
committed the oficnse. The officer Illilking the preliminary inquiry
collects nnd examines all evidence that could bear 0 11 the guilt or
Nonjudicial Punishment
innocence of the accused. The officer also looks for facts in mitiga-
tiOl1 or extcllIU1tioll, that is, circulllstances that might tend to pro- Prior to a captnin's mast, the executive officer (XO) will normally
vide some plausible rensoll for the oftense or lessen the punish- hold a preliminary mast. Otten called the screening II/list, it is usu-
ment imposed. ally conducted tllmost eXilCll}' like Glptain's mast, except that the
If naval personnel are found to have violated either Nm')' execllti,'e officer's purpose is to determine the gravity of the case
Rcgll/ntiOlls Or the UCM], they may then be subject to appropriate nnd to ascertain th" facts so that tlction may be recolllmended to
disciplinal'}' procedures. Such procedures Gill I'ange li'om inlormtll the cOlllmanding ollieer. XOs may not assign punishment, but if
cOllditions justil)', the}' ma}, dismiss the charges, since Ihey have