CRS Webinar - Understanding
Constituent Problems with the Military
Lawrence Kapp, Specialist in Military Manpower
Policy
Chuck Mason, Legislative Attorney
May 10, 2017
Joining the Military (Recruiting)
• Key Qualifications
• Age
• Citizenship
• Education
• Aptitude
• Medical
• Physical Fitness
• Dependency
• Character/Conduct
• Drugs/Alcohol
See Department of Defense Instruction 1304.26, Qualification Standards for
Enlistment, Appointment and Induction
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Joining the Military (Recruiting)
• Waivers - those not meeting certain standards may stil
qualify if they receive a waiver.
• Medical waiver
• Dependent waiver
• Conduct waiver
• Drug waiver
• Waivers are more common when recruiting is difficult;
less common when recruiting is strong.
• Many qualifications standards cannot be waived
See Department of Defense Instruction 1304.26, Qualification Standards for
Enlistment, Appointment and Induction
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Administrative Separation - Reasons
• Military personnel can be administratively separated for a
variety of reasons, including:
• Changes in Service Obligations
• Convenience of the Government
• Disability
• Unsatisfactory Performance
• Misconduct
• Unsatisfactory Participations (Reserves)
• Some of these separations are at the request of the
individual; others are involuntary
• Involuntary separation of officers are more complicated than
enlisted separations
See Department of Defense Instruction 1332.14, Enlisted Administrative Separations,
January 27, 2014 and Department of Defense Instruction 1332.30, Separation of
Regular and Reserve Commissioned Officers, November 25, 2013.
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Administrative Separation - Characterization
Characterization
of Service
Honorable
General
Other than
Honorable
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Adverse Actions – Non-Judicial Punishment
• Commanding Officers Non-Judicial Punishment (NJP) -
Article 15, UCMJ
• Disciplinary punishments for minor offenses without the
intervention of a court-martial
• Officers and enlisted servicemembers
• except for servicemembers attached to or embarked in a
vessel, NJP may be refused by the servicemember –
commanding officers may elect courts-martial
• Manual for Courts-Martial, Part V – Nonjudicial
Punishment Procedures
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Adverse Action – Courts-Martial
• Summary Courts-Martial – Article 20, UCMJ
• Minor offenses allegedly committed by enlisted
servicemembers
• Maximum punishments:
o 30 days confinement
o Hard labor without confinement for 45 days
o Restriction to specified limits for 45 days
o Forfeiture of two-thirds pay per month for one month
o Reduction to the lowest pay grade
• Composed of one commissioned officer who need not be a
lawyer
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Adverse Action – Courts-Martial
• Special Courts-Martial – Article 19, UCMJ
• Any noncapital offense; general y considered
misdemeanor offenses
• Maximum punishments:
o Confinement for one year
o Hard labor without confinement for up to three months
o Forfeiture of two-thirds pay per month for up to one year
o Reduction in pay grade
o Punitive discharge (bad-conduct discharge)
• Composed of a military judge alone; a jury of at least three
servicemembers; or a military judge and not less than
three servicemembers
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Adverse Action – Courts-Martial
• General Courts-Martial – Article 18, UCMJ
• Serious offenses, including capital crimes
• Maximum punishments:
o Reprimand
o Restriction
o Fines
o Forfeitures of up to al pay and allowances
o Reduction to the lowest enlisted pay grade
o Confinement
o Punitive discharge (bad conduct discharge, dishonorable
discharge, or dismissal)
o For capital offenses, death
• Composed of military judge alone; or a jury of at least five
servicemembers and a military judge
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Post-Service Matters
• Discharge Review Board (DRB)
• Change, correct, modify discharges and dismissals not
issued by a sentence of a general courts-martial
• If error or injustice is more than 15 years in past, the
proper avenue is Board of Correction of Military Records
• 10 USC § 1553
• DoD Directive 1332.31, “Boards for Correction of Military
Records (BCMRs) and Discharge Review Boards (DRBs),”
March 8, 2004
• DoD Instruction 1332.41, “Discharge Review Board (DRB)
Procedures and Standards,” April 23, 2007
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Post-Service Matters
• Board of Correction of Military Records
• Change any military record when necessary to correct an
error or remove an injustice
• 10 USC § 1552
• DoD Instruction 1332.41, “Boards for Correction of Military
Records (BCMRs) and Discharge Review Boards (DRBs),”
March 8, 2004
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QUESTIONS?
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CONTACT INFORMATION
Lawrence Kapp, Ph.D.
Specialist in Military Manpower Policy
lkapp@crs.loc.gov, 202.707.7609
Chuck Mason
Legislative Attorney
rcmason@crs.loc.gov, 202.707.9294
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Document Outline