Bilecki Contests Guard First Sergeant’s Prosecution; Summary Court-Martial and GOMOR Withdrawn

Bilecki Contests Guard First Sergeant’s Prosecution; Summary Court-Martial and GOMOR Withdrawn

Proceedings during 2024–2025

El Paso, Texas (alleged conduct) / Florida National Guard (disposition)

Army National Guard First Sergeant – E-8

Allegations: UCMJ Article 92 Sexual Harassment; UCMJ Article 134 Indecent Conduct

Facts

A Florida Army National Guard First Sergeant on Operation Lone Star border mission rotation was facing an AR 15-6 substantiated sexual harassment finding, an Article 15, a Summary Court-Martial, and a GOMOR. In that order. Maximum exposure across the disposition cascade: potential punishment under the applicable military justice system, a permanently filed GOMOR threatening promotion and continued service, and AR 135-178 administrative separation with an Other Than Honorable characterization.

The Government's case was built on an AR 15-6 investigation under AR 600-20 paragraph 7-7 with a substantiated finding of unwanted touching of a junior Specialist's shoulder and underwear waistband during a Whataburger run in a Government Chrysler Pacifica. The Investigating Officer recommended a court-martial and an administrative separation. Our client was not interviewed during the AR 15-6.

Our client retained Bilecki shortly after the AdSep notification.

Tim Bilecki challenged each proposed disposition as the command moved from nonjudicial punishment to court-martial and then to a reprimand.

The Government first offered Article 15 NJP. Our client refused NJP and demanded trial by court-martial. The Government then referred the charges to a summary court-martial under the UCMJ. We filed an R.C.M. 1303 objection in early December 2024. The Government withdrew the summary court-martial referral after the objection.

After that withdrawal, the Government issued a GOMOR with intent to permanently file in the AMHRR. We filed the GOMOR rebuttal in mid-2025.

The rebuttal collapsed the underlying allegation.

We submitted a top-down diagram of the Government Chrysler Pacifica showing that the alleged groping of a junior Specialist in a middle-row captain's chair from across the center console was physically implausible. We surfaced the alleged victim's own conduct on the documentary record, while testing the allegation against the vehicle layout and the available statements. We surfaced that the alleged victim had never produced a sworn statement to the AR 15-6 Investigating Officer. We also used an MFR from the alleged victim's MSG to challenge the command's treatment of the two parties and the fairness of the investigation. Character statements from a Company Commander and other officers and senior NCOs in the unit corroborated our client's leadership record across multiple NCOERs.

The Convening General withdrew the GOMOR after the defense rebuttal.

Result: Article 15 refused. Summary Court-Martial withdrawn on R.C.M. 1303 objection. GOMOR withdrawn. No court-martial.

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FAQ

Q: What did the vehicle diagram show the general?
It let Bilecki test the allegation against the actual seating arrangement. The defense asked how the claimed contact could have occurred from the positions described inside the Pacifica. Bilecki paired that diagram with the available statements and the absence of a sworn statement from the complainant. A sworn statement is not invariably required to support an administrative finding; the point was to examine the evidence supporting this one.

Q: Did refusing NJP end the matter?
No. Bilecki had to respond to a summary court-martial referral and then a proposed permanent reprimand. The summary referral was withdrawn after the defense objection. The general later withdrew the GOMOR after receiving the rebuttal. Those were separate decisions, each requiring a defense response.