"Krztalizer" wrote in message
...

Just for giggles I read parts of the Articles of War about 20 years ago.
They
were exceptionally harsh towards enlisteds.


UCMJ was pretty even handed to enlisteds - we all got smacked with the
same
stick, but officers definitely got preferential treatment. Even when
folks got
hurt due to blatant stupidity (USS Kirk, entire deck party injured when
the new
skipper decided to leave port at the insane speed of 22 knots, into
towering
waves that resulted in 8 critical injuries and two medical retirements),
officers don't seem to rate brig time. What about the loon JO in Oki that
kidnapped another officers wife? Still no jail time. But, that's one of
the
perks that go with the job and extra responsibility - I can accept that.

Nor is it always necessarily true. At FT Knox in the late eighties there was
a separation between officers and enlisteds in terms of UCMJ action related
to DUI charges. An enlisted troop getting a DUI would likely get a field
grade Article 15 from his battalion CO. An officer, any officer, got an
immediate trip to the post CG's office for his Art 15--he could expect a
fine, possible restriction, and, unlike his enlisted counterpart (unles he
was a senior NCO, and even then he might have survived the event), an
effective end to his career, in order. Personally, it made sense to
me--officers were supposed to exhibit a bit more responsibility for their
own actions (and it worked--many a time we LT's would get together Saturday
morning to carpool back to the O-Club so the miscreants who having reached
the correct conclusion about their level of impairment from the previous
evening's festivities could retrieve their cars). In fact the only CM I
recall being conducted (I am sure their were others) was for a couple of
LT's who were recalled to the post after having already departed to their
next duty assignment--they had engaged in some dubious financial schemes
involving renting off-post quarters and collection of BAQ. The only CM I
knew of in the Guard (where they are pretty rare--we used the state's
military laws related to AWOL more often than resorting ot the strict UCMJ
side) was also of an officer.

Brooks


v/r
Gordon