When you are employed in the military, there are many additional rules and regulations that you must follow that civilians are not privy to. One of the most important things in the Armed Forces is the chain of command between superior officers and their subordinates. This regulated chain of command ensures that each person does their job and is aware of who they answer to during the course of their duty. When this order is compromised, criminal charges may arise.
What is fraternization?
Fraternization concerns prohibited officer-enlisted relationships under the applicable offense. Other relationships can violate service regulations, but rank difference alone does not answer the question. We examine the ranks, duties, chain of command, actual conduct and rule the government says was violated.
Examples of fraternization include:
- Close, personal friendships
- Romantic and sexual relationships
- Business transactions
- Gambling
When Can the Military Charge You?
For the listed Article 134 fraternization offense, the government must prove that the accused was a commissioned or warrant officer who fraternized on terms of military equality with an enlisted member, knew that person’s enlisted status, and violated the service custom against such fraternization. It must also prove prejudice to good order and discipline or conduct of a nature to bring discredit upon the armed forces. A relationship between people of different ranks does not, by itself, prove all of those elements.
The listed Article 134 offense carries a maximum of two years of confinement and forfeiture of all pay and allowances. A commissioned officer, including a commissioned warrant officer, may face dismissal; an uncommissioned warrant officer may face a dishonorable discharge. The offense is Category 1, with a confinement range of 0–12 months when the current parameter system applies. A separate charge for violating a service regulation requires its own maximum and category analysis.
For noncapital general and special courts-martial, the sentencing parameter system applies when every offense of conviction occurred on or after 28 December 2023. The military judge must use the applicable confinement range unless specific facts justify a departure, which requires a written statement in the record explaining the factual basis. A category range does not increase the offense’s lawful maximum or the court-martial’s jurisdictional limit. An offense assigned sentencing criteria instead of a category requires consideration of those criteria. These are current rules; the date of the alleged conduct determines which offense definition and maximum punishment apply. Earlier conduct requires checking the earlier law. Confinement ranges are separate from authorized discharge, forfeiture and other punishments. Reduction to E-1 applies to enlisted personnel, not officers. Punitive separation also depends on military status. Dismissal applies to commissioned officers, including commissioned warrant officers, cadets and midshipmen. A dishonorable discharge applies to enlisted members and uncommissioned warrant officers; a bad-conduct discharge applies only to enlisted members.
UCMJ Defense Lawyer
If you have been accused of fraternization, you must work with a military defense lawyer that knows how to use emphatic legal defenses to such accusations. At Bilecki Law Group, we represent military clients in fraternization cases around the world- call today!