At Bilecki Law Group, we defend service members from charges related to military property under article 108 of the UCMJ. When it comes to property losses, the military justice system WILL ruin someone’s life, but it doesn’t have to be yours.
What is Article 108 Of The UCMJ?
Article 108 of the UCMJ covers most property offenses within the United States Military. This includes selling, wrongfully disposing of, damaging, destroying, losing, or allowing the loss or damage of U.S. military property. Captured or abandoned property is covered separately by Article 108a.
What is most important for you to understand is that the military will almost always hold someone accountable for missing gear or property and it rarely matters whether that is the person actually responsible. Someone has to pay and if you don’t put up a fight, that might be you.
What Military Property Charges Reside Under Article 108?
Property charges are one of the more common charges that take place under the UCMJ as the military has a misplaced affection for its own property. From the very first day of basic training, they’ll have a new recruit box up every ounce of private property and issue them, right down to their tighty whitey underwear, the property they want them to possess. Should any tragedy befall said property, there is a good chance they’ll be looking to punish someone.
The UCMJ places a myriad of charges under Article 108 and as such, it is best to enumerate each one exactly as it is written. We’ll also show you the max punishments associated with each charge so that you understand what might be waiting for you at the end of an uncontested guilty plea.
The charges are as follows:
Selling Or Disposing Of Military Property – For a service member to be found guilty, the prosecution must satisfy the following four elements:
(1) The accused sold or otherwise disposed of the property alleged.
(2) The sale or disposition was without proper authority.
(3) The property was military property of the United States.
(4) The government must prove the value alleged; an allegation that the property was a firearm or explosive must also be proved where it affects punishment.
Maximum Punishment: Value of $1,000 or less – Bad conduct discharge, total forfeiture of all pay and allowances, 1 year confinement and reduction in rank to E-1.
Value of more than $1,000 or any firearm or explosive comes with a dishonorable discharge, total forfeiture and pay of all allowances, 10 years confinement and reduction in rank to E-1.
Damaging, Destroying, Or Losing Military Property – For a service member to be found guilty, the prosecution must satisfy the following four elements:
(1) The accused damaged, destroyed, or lost the property without proper authority.
(2) It was military property of the United States.
(3) The damage, destruction, or loss was willfully caused or resulted from the accused’s neglect, as charged.
(4) The government must prove the value of the property or amount of damage alleged, along with any firearm or explosive allegation relevant to punishment.
Maximum Punishment for Willful damage, destruction, or loss: $1,000 or less comes with a bad conduct discharge, total forfeiture and pay of all allowances, 1 year confinement and reduction in rank to E-1.
More than $1,000 or any firearm or explosive comes with a dishonorable discharge, total forfeiture and pay of all allowances, 10 years confinement and reduction in rank to E-1.
Maximum Punishment for neglect, damaging, destroying, or losing: $1,000 or less comes with forfeiture of 2/3 pay for 6 months, 6 months confinement and reduction in rank to E-1.
More than $1,000 comes with a bad conduct discharge, total forfeiture of all pay and allowances, 1 year confinement and reduction in rank to E-1.
Suffering Military Property To Be Lost, Damaged, Sold, or Wrongfully Disposed Of – For a service member to be found guilty, the prosecution must satisfy the following five elements:
(1) The military property was lost, damaged, destroyed, sold, or wrongfully disposed of.
(2) It was military property of the United States.
(3) Without proper authority, the accused allowed that result through an omission of duty.
(4) The omission was willful or negligent, as charged.
(5) The government must prove the value or damage amount alleged and any firearm or explosive allegation relevant to punishment.
Maximum Punishment for suffering property to be damaged, lost, destroyed or wrongfully disposed of: $1,000 or less comes with a bad conduct discharge, total forfeiture of all pay and allowances, 1 year confinement and reduction in rank to E-1.
More than $1,000 or any firearm or explosive comes with a dishonorable discharge, total forfeiture of pay and all allowances, 10 years confinement and reduction of rank to E-1.
Maximum punishment for neglect and suffering property to be damaged, lost, destroyed, sold, or wrongfully disposed of: $1,000 or less comes with forfeiture of 2/3 pay for 6 months, 6 months confinement and reduction in rank to E-1.
More than $1,000 comes with a bad conduct discharge, total forfeiture of all pay and allowances, 1 year confinement and reduction in rank to E-1.
Sentencing Guidelines
The confinement ranges below are sentencing parameters, not the maximum punishment for every offense in the category. They apply in noncapital general and special courts-martial when all offenses of conviction were committed on or after 28 December 2023. The lawful maximum for the particular offense and the limits of the court-martial still control. A military judge may depart from a parameter when specific facts justify doing so, and the record must contain a written statement explaining the factual basis. For example, an offense with a six-month maximum does not acquire a twelve-month maximum merely because it falls in Category 1. The charged conduct, property value, and required mental state determine which maximum applies.
| Offense | Maximum confinement | Category or criteria | Confinement range in months |
|---|---|---|---|
| Selling or wrongfully disposing of military property valued at $1,000 or less, except a firearm or explosive | 1 year | Category 1 | 0–12 |
| Selling or wrongfully disposing of military property worth more than $1,000, or any firearm or explosive | 10 years | Category 2 | 1–36 |
| Negligent loss, damage or destruction; value or damage $1,000 or less | 6 months | Category 1 | 0–6 |
| Negligent loss, damage or destruction; value or damage more than $1,000 | 1 year | Category 1 | 0–12 |
| Willful loss, damage or destruction; value or damage $1,000 or less, except a firearm or explosive | 1 year | Category 1 | 0–12 |
| Willful loss, damage or destruction; value or damage more than $1,000, or any firearm or explosive | 10 years | Category 2 | 1–36 |
| Article 108a: failure to secure, report or turn over, or wrongful dealing in captured or abandoned property, value $1,000 or less except a firearm or explosive | 6 months | Category 1 | 0–6 |
| Article 108a: those offenses, value more than $1,000 or any firearm or explosive | 5 years | Category 2 | 1–36 |
| Article 108a: looting or pillaging | Any authorized punishment other than death | Sentencing criteria | No category range |
Reduction to E-1 applies to enlisted personnel. Dismissal, rather than a dishonorable or bad-conduct discharge, is the authorized punitive separation for commissioned officers, including commissioned warrant officers, and cadets and midshipmen. The authorized punishment also depends on the offense date and court-martial forum.
Facing an Allegation?
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How Does Article 108a Cover Captured Enemy Property?
As we mentioned, the US military has a misplaced affection for their own property and this affection extends to property acquired, found, or surrendered by adversaries as well. Did you find a sweet AK in a house you just raided and thought you would add it to your own collection? Not if Article 108a has anything to say about it. You can and will be charged for bringing home “war trophies” if you are found out. Here are the captured-property charges under Article 108a and their corresponding max punishments:
Failing To Secure Public Property Taken From The Enemy - For a service member to be found guilty, the prosecution must satisfy the following three elements:
(1) Public property was taken from the enemy.
(2) The accused failed to take reasonable steps under the circumstances to secure it for the service of the United States.
(3) The government must prove the property’s value and any firearm or explosive allegation relevant to punishment.
Maximum Punishment: $1,000 or less comes with a bad conduct discharge, total forfeiture and pay of all allowances, 6 months confinement and reduction in rank to E-1.
Over $1,000 or any firearm or explosive comes with a dishonorable discharge, total forfeiture of all pay and allowances, 5 years confinement and reduction in rank to E-1.
Dealing In Captured Or Abandoned Property - For a service member to be found guilty, the prosecution must satisfy the following three elements:
(1) The accused bought, sold, traded, dealt in, or disposed of captured or abandoned property.
(2) By doing so, the accused received or expected a profit, benefit, or advantage for himself or herself, or for a person directly or indirectly connected with the accused.
(3) The government must prove the property’s value and any firearm or explosive allegation relevant to punishment.
Maximum Punishment: $1,000 or less comes with a bad conduct discharge, total forfeiture of all pay and allowances, 6 months confinement and reduction in rank to E-1.
Over $1,000 or any firearm or explosive comes with a dishonorable discharge, total forfeiture of all pay and allowances, 5 years confinement and reduction in rank to E-1.
How To Fight And Beat Charges Under Article 108 Of The UCMJ
Once again, if gear comes up missing or destroyed and didn’t happen at the hands of a foreign enemy in combat, you can bet that the military justice system is coming for someone. That’s because the military justice system exists to preserve military order and discipline. For that to work, it requires that someone be made a public example in order to scare the rest of the ranks into compliance.
Never mind that destroyed gear and “tactically acquired” gear runs straight through the heart of military history. Hell, one Marine during WW2 tactically acquired the ANM2 aircraft machine gun off of a crashed bomber, refitted it into a version he called the “Stinger”, and then earned the Medal Of Honor while firing that badboy at the cyclic rate on Iwo Jima.
Never mind that you get busted for losing a set of NVGs, but the supply sergeant could be running an entire ponzi scheme out of the back door. If you are the one that is caught and you don’t put up a fight, they’ll use you as their public “example” with the same effect. You have to put up a fight or your military career, retirement, and maybe even your freedom is over. They will roll over you without so much as acknowledging the sum of your career in pursuit of that example.
Fight Like Hell For What Matters Most
That’s how you win. You give the military justice system the last thing they really want and that is a fight. Namesake and founder Tim Bilecki spent years in the military justice system as a senior defense counsel for the Army and he can tell you firsthand what happens to those who lay down and hope for mercy. It’s not pretty and that’s why he puts together a defense so aggressive, it is almost a sin not to call it an offense.
You have to fight and you can’t allow the prosecution to smell weakness. They don’t want a fight and when they know they have one on their hands, they start looking for the offramp. Look, you might have made a terrible mistake and tried to bring back an AK or sword in your seabag. Sure, you lost your rifle, but was that because of the way it was being transported, causing it to fall off the back of the 5-ton? Whatever the case is, the answer is still the same. You must fight or get rolled over by the military justice system.
If you are facing investigation or court martial for charges under Article 108 of the UCMJ, reach out to us. At this point, a fight is coming your way whether you wanted one or not. Reach out to us and we’ll shoot you straight on exactly what you are facing. We’ll put together our own investigation and we will fight like hell for what matters most to you. Property is damaged, destroyed, and gone missing all the time in the military. You shouldn’t have to sacrifice everything because “this time” they wanted their example. Fight like hell and let them make an example out of the next guy. Give us a call and get us into that fight.