Another Chapter In GO/FO Breaking Bad

All of the services follow the UCMJ. No member "has" to accept Article 15 punishment. However...the way it plays out is this: you are standing tall in front of me (the CC) and I go through the litany (with a JAG there to make certain I dot all the i's and cross all the T's) and then offer you the Article 15 paperwork. Right there you know what I intend to do: take a stripe or two, dock your pay, etc.

At that moment you have a choice: accept non-judicial punishment under Article 15 or say "uh, no."
Actually there is something called the "Vessel Exemption" that states that a servicemember who is embarked on a ship can not refuse NJP . This has been a great bone of contention within the Navy but has stood up so far.
 
Actually there is something called the "Vessel Exemption" that states that a servicemember who is embarked on a ship can not refuse NJP . This has been a great bone of contention within the Navy but has stood up so far.
Really?

I did not know that.

Interesting.
 
Really?

I did not know that.

Interesting.
Oh yes. The CO has full NJP authority at sea, and declining is not an option. I think we inherited that exclusion from the Royal Navy. Good order and discipline had to be maintained thousands of miles and hundreds of days from a CM authority. Decisions, justice and any punishment had to be swiftly decided and the routine of the ship at sea returned to, nothing left hanging.
 
Oh yes. The CO has full NJP authority at sea, and declining is not an option. I think we inherited that exclusion from the Royal Navy. Good order and discipline had to be maintained thousands of miles and hundreds of days from a CM authority. Decisions, justice and any punishment had to be swiftly decided and the routine of the ship at sea returned to, nothing left hanging.
Pity you lost the use of the cat...

I had a member or two that could have used a few stripes at the grating....
 
Pity you lost the use of the cat...

I had a member or two that could have used a few stripes at the grating....
I would have withheld daily rum ration and assigned extra duties. Cleaning the forward head, etc.
 
If you say "uh, no." Then the ball is back in MY court. I can say "drat...oh well...he/she gets away with it" and let it die. OR...I can refer it to court-martial. The charge(s) go to the convening authority for review, then there's a review and if it's all "cut and dried" there will most likely be a court.

And that can hit you a LOT harder than I can as a commander.

> Yep, I was Squadron Legal Officer in an earlier life. For young JO's in a Squadron with 60 officers, it was a good way for the Skipper to get to know you (on the other hand, he was never really happy dealign with the Discipline issues. I think I've posted my story about the young E-3 that just couldn't adapt to the Military -- she exercised her right to Court Martial, and the Skipper obliged. Last we heard of her was she wrote a letter to her Congressman -- the open line was " I am being held in the Philadelphia Naval Brig against my will." Of course, the inquiry from the Congressman's office triggered a very detailed response explaining the whole process. That's why the Skipper gets the big bucks -- this young JO wanted to respond to the Congressman's office with a very simple "Most people are in the Brig against their will..." ;)
 
Oh, a softie...I get it... :biggrin:

Me? The cat, withhold the grog...you know, all those fun things!

(Okay...keelhauling is probably a bit much...)
A sailor in the rack recovering from corporal punishment is not a working sailor. Port and starboard watches plus worst jobs on the ship plus no rum, if I were way back in the day. Head down scrubbing the pooper on a windy day back in the days of sail, ugh.
 
Decisions, justice and any punishment had to be swiftly decided and the routine of the ship at sea returned to, nothing left hanging.

nothing left hanging, except for the sailors hanging from the yards.....


lossy-page1-1920px-Somers,_starboard_side,_under_sail,_1842_-_NARA_-_512981.tif.jpg
 
nothing left hanging, except for the sailors hanging from the yards.....


View attachment 7827
The infamous Sumers mutiny. Midshipmen Spencer along with two others was found guilty of mutiny and hanged. Problem was, Spencer was the son of the Secretary of War.
The captain was exonerated and the story was turned into a novella and later made into a movie, "Billy Budd".
 
A good JAG can make a huge difference. My first JAG was very weak and would never prosecute. Soldiers learned this and started turning down Article 15s. This lead to some serious issues.
We finally got a prior service JAG officer and with his help, we turned things around. Soldiers quickly learned not to turn down Article 15s and, after we sent a barracks thief off to a tour of Leavenworth things settled down. No more discipline issues.
 
I don't think anyone actually lived through a keel-hauling did they? With the barnacles and the length of time underwater from one gunwale to the other, it seems like living through it would be a 50/50 proposition.
 
Oh, a softie...I get it... :biggrin:

Me? The cat, withhold the grog...you know, all those fun things!

(Okay...keelhauling is probably a bit much...)
Are/were you aware that an afloat CO could sentence someone to three days bread and water? This was still in effect until 2019
 
I don't think anyone actually lived through a keel-hauling did they? With the barnacles and the length of time underwater from one gunwale to the other, it seems like living through it would be a 50/50 proposition.
I'll have to watch Master and Commander - Amazon Prime has the Russell Crowe movie streaming. It seems there was also a PBS series as well, but I forget the name.
 
Are/were you aware that an afloat CO could sentence someone to three days bread and water? This was still in effect until 2019
My ship in Hawaii had a lot of captain's masts. Sailors would ask for three days bread and water in the brig which they said was much easier than 45 and 45.
 
Gosh, I don't have any personal knowledge of this, but I recall that Marine Commanding Officers (at some level) could confine someone to quarters with the bread and water for sustenance.
 
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