Questions on Army Laws & Army Rules

The Army is the land based branch of the military. Soldiers in the Army provide a large portion of the Armed Force numbers and are often the most commonly approached branch when people choose to enlist. Listed below are a few of the most commonly asked legal questions about the Army laws, rules and regulations.

What can happen to a soldier who failed to do a walk through before signing off on an inventory? There were items missing after the soldier was deployed, out of their control.

It may be possible for you to receive a charge of "dereliction of duty". In order to receive the charge, the military has to prove that it was your responsibility to perform a walk through before signing off on any items. You could be given an Art 15 or a letter of reprimand. You should speak to JAG and see what your options are. If command chooses to give you a letter of reprimand, you will need to prepare yourself for a rebuttal. You will have to make the determination to accept or fight an Art 15 if command chooses to charge you.

If a soldier is facing a Chapter 14 for receiving 3 DWI's in 11 years, can the Army Chapter them out and what type of discharge would they receive?

There is a possibility that you could be Chaptered out of the Army based on these facts, per Army regulations:

a. Action will be taken to separate a Soldier for misconduct when it is clearly established that—
(1) Despite attempts to rehabilitate or develop him/her as a satisfactory Soldier, further effort is unlikely to succeed.
(2) Rehabilitation is impracticable or the Soldier is not amenable to rehabilitation (as indicated by the medical or personal history record).

Because of these factors, you could possibly face an Other Than Honorable Conditions Discharge. However, you could request a General Discharge, which by Army regulations read like this:

General Discharge.
b. A pattern of misconduct. A pattern of misconduct consisting of one of the following:
(1) Discreditable involvement with civil or military authorities.
(2) Discreditable conduct and conduct prejudicial to good order and discipline including conduct violating the accepted standards of personal conduct found in the UCMJ, Army regulations, the civil law, and time-honored customs and traditions of the Army.

Commission of a serious offense. Commission of a serious military or civil offense, if the specific circumstances of the offense warrant separation and a punitive discharge is, or would be, authorized for the same or a closely related offense under the MCM. You should seek someone in your command who is willing to support you and who will offer to enter you into a program for your issues. This may help you from being discharged.

My father resigned from the Army in lieu of a trial by general court martial. AR 605-275 was given as the specific cause. How can I find out what AR 605-275 involves?

It is possible that AR 605-275 was the equivalent to a Chapter 10 in the Army regulations on discharge. What this means is that your father was probably being charged for violating Army regulations. However, it would be hard to know exactly what the charges were without seeing your father's military records. Usually, when a person tries to avoid a trial, it's because there is a very good chance of prosecution, so they opt for a discharge. If his records still exist, you request a copy of the records by going here: www.nara.gov

When dealing with army laws, rules and regulations, there can be uncertainty because the army laws can be significantly different from civilian laws. When you are not sure of how the army laws and rules apply in your circumstances and need clarification, it's always best to ask an Expert in Military Law to evaluate your case details and provide you with legal insight.