Bilecki Revokes Sailor’s Waivers and Secures General Discharge in Three-Drug Case

Bilecki Revokes Sailor’s Waivers and Secures General Discharge in Three-Drug Case

July 2022

Naval Air Station North Island, California

Navy Petty Officer First Class | E-6

Allegations: UCMJ Article 112a Wrongful Use of Cocaine, Amphetamine, and Methamphetamine

Facts

A Navy E-6 at Naval Air Station North Island tested positive for cocaine, amphetamine, and methamphetamine. Three substances on one urinalysis is a bad fact. The command moved quickly, put the case on the Article 15 NJP track, and notified him for administrative separation for drug abuse with an Other Than Honorable characterization in play.

By the time he retained Bilecki, the command had already gotten the paperwork it wanted. He had signed the rights election. He had waived his administrative separation board rights. He had waived his right to representation. In a Navy drug case, that is how a Sailor gets processed out before anyone outside the command ever slows the case down.

The first job was not to win a courtroom fight. There was no courtroom yet. The first job was to undo the damage from the uncounseled rights election before the separation package became final.

Bilecki was retained in mid July 2022. The next day, the waivers were revoked in writing. The Sailor was no longer waiving his board rights. He was no longer waiving his right to representation. The defense made clear that it needed time to review the urinalysis package, examine the lab record, prepare written matters, and put mitigation in front of the command. Bilecki also made clear that if the command tried to rush the case forward, the Sailor could refuse NJP and demand trial by court martial.

That mattered because the command's path was simple: positive urinalysis, NJP, drug abuse separation, OTH. Once the waivers were revoked, the case was no longer an uncontested paperwork package. Counsel was in the case. The urinalysis could be reviewed. Written matters could be submitted. Family character letters could be placed in the record. The command now had to make a decision with a defense record in front of it, not just a lab result and a signed waiver form.

The Navy still held NJP. The Commanding Officer awarded punishment. The administrative separation process continued. But the end result was not an OTH.

The Sailor was separated with a General Discharge Under Honorable Conditions. For a Navy E-6 facing cocaine, amphetamine, and methamphetamine positives, NJP, and drug abuse separation after already signing away his rights, that was the save.

Result: General Discharge Under Honorable Conditions. No OTH. No court martial. No federal conviction.

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FAQ

Q: Why did revoking the waiver matter in this Navy drug separation case?
Because the Sailor had already signed away his board rights and his right to representation before retaining civilian defense counsel. In a drug abuse separation with an OTH in play, those rights matter. Revoking the waiver stopped the case from moving forward as an uncontested separation package and put counsel, board rights, written matters, and mitigation back into the case.

Q: Why put refusal of NJP and court martial on the table?
Because NJP is fast and command controlled. Court martial is not. Refusing NJP would require the command to choose whether to pursue a court-martial or another lawful disposition. It would not by itself prevent administrative separation. Bilecki did not need to prove a full toxicology defense that day. The point was to stop the command from treating a three-substance urinalysis as automatic OTH paperwork.

Q: Why was a General Discharge Under Honorable Conditions a meaningful result?
Because an OTH was the danger. In a Navy drug abuse separation, especially after a positive urinalysis and NJP, an Other Than Honorable discharge is often the expected command path. The General discharge avoided an OTH characterization. Separately, the case ended through NJP and administrative separation, without a court-martial conviction.