ANINDEPTHLOOKATUCMJARTICLE92FAILURETOOBEYALAWFULORDEROR

REGULATION

ByCTISNBrown,NathanD.

Whenoneseekstoexplainsomething,firsttheymustdefinewhattheyareexplaining.Inthecaseofa
documentorothermedia,thedefinitionisusuallythethingitself.But,sometimes,the'bythebook'
definitiondoesn'tdoathingfulljustice.So,inordertoinsurefulljustice,asfarastheauthorisableto
provideit,UCMJArticle92isdefinedasthefollowing:

AnypersonservingintheArmedForcesofAmerica,isguiltyofviolatingthisarticleifthey,throughany
meansthatcanbeprevented,disobeyanyordergivenbyasuperior,aslongasthatorderisnotitself
illegal.

Letusbreakthatdownintomoreeasilydigestedterms.

AnypersonintheArmedForces.Thatmeans,anyonewhoiscurrently(currentlybeingatthetimeof
theinfraction)servinginanycomponentoftheArmedForces.Thatmeansactiveduty,readyreserve,
inactivereserve,training,DEP,shipboard,shore,infantry,deployed,onnotificationfordeployment,or
evenwhenattachedtoacivilianjobandnotwearingauniform.Anypersonwhofitsthosecriteriais
eligible,regardlessofrank,duties,timeintheservice,timeremaininguntilretirement,orhistoryof
conduct(eithergoodorbad).

Throughanymeansthatcanbeprevented.Iftheservicememberhasanyreasonablewaytoprevent
thedisobeyalofthatorder,andfailedto,theyareguilty.Unpreventablelapsesaregenerallyexcusable,
unlessthereasonitwasunpreventablewasthefaultoftheservicemember.Example:Orderisgivento
belayalineandyougotoyourbunkinstead:Culpable.Orderisgiventobelayalineandthepylon
breaks:Notculpable,unlesssomethingyoudidledtothepylonbreaking.

Aslongastheorderitselfisnotillegal.Anyorderthat,ifcarriedout,wouldresultinadisobeyalofany
oftheotherUCMJarticles,isillegal.Anyorderthatthesuperiordoesnothavetheauthoritytogive,is
illegal.Example:Tellingaservicemembertocommithazing:illegal.Tellingaservicemembertogoto
anothercommand,whenthatsuperiorgivingtheorderisnotinauthoritytosendservicemember:illegal.

Article92isperhapsthemostimportantarticleintheentiretyoftheUniformCodeofMilitaryJustice.It
laysdownthegroundlaw,theabsolutelinewhichmaynotbecrossed.EverythingelseintheUCMJis
explanationofthevariousformsthatdisobeyinganordercantake.WithoutthesupportgivenbyArticle
92,servicememberswouldbefreetodowhatevertheywant,whenevertheywant,andwouldn'tbeany
moreaccountablethanaciviliancourt.AndtheJudicialsysteminthiscountryhasbeen,sadly,much
pervertedfromthegoalsitwascreatedwith.

However,militarymembersareheldtoahigherstandard.Wearethelinethatprotectsthiscountry,we
arethedefenseagainstthestorm.Withoutus,thiscountrywouldnotexist,couldnotexist.Andforthat,
wemustbestrong,unified,andtogether.Onevoice,cryingoutagainsttheenemy.Oneteam,fightingto
keepourcountrymen'sdreamsuntroubled.Andifonepersonisdissentingagainstthat,itunderminesthe
entiresystem.Ifthecaptainofashipcan'tcountonhisordersbeingobeyed,withoutquestion,right
awayandtothebestabilityoftheservicememberwhoisgiventhem,thenhemightaswellbesittingout
therebyhimself,shootinghissidearmattheenemy.

Themilitarycanonlyfunctioniforders,whengiven,areobeyed.And,asmuchaswewouldliketotrust
inthehonestyandintegrityofthehumanspirit,ofthemenandwomenwhomadethatoath,puttheir
livesonthelinefortheircountry,andfighttokeepourbrothersandsistersfree,thesadtruthisthat
therearemanyouttherethat,ifnotgivenaclearsetofrules,aclearsetofpunishmentsfor
transgressions,willnotfollowtherules,willnotcareaboutthepunishments,willnotbeproductive,
efficientmembersofthemilitarymachine.

ThatiswhyArticle92,andtheentireUCMJ,arenecessary.Theyreinforcethebehaviorofthosewho
dotherightthing,promotingitandpraisingit.Theypunishthosewhodonotdotherightthing,
undercuttingandstampingoutsuchbehaviors.Withsuchasystem,thebadeggs,thosewhoareunable
tofitintothemachine,willbegroundupbyitandspitout.Broken,incomplete,foreverbemoaningthe
lackofforesightandflexibilitythatwouldhavesavedthem.

Whenweallworktogether,wearethemostpowerfulfightingforcetheworldhaseverknown.

Whenwedonot,wearenomorepowerfulthantheleastcohesiveamongus.

Whichwouldyouratherbeapartof?