Camp Darby: The Army's Prepositioning Depot on the Tuscan Coast
On the Tuscan coast between Pisa and Livorno, Camp Darby is the Army's great prepositioning and ammunition depot in the Mediterranean, the Leghorn Army Depot, where the equipment, vehicles, and ammunition that let American forces surge across three combatant commands are stored, maintained, and moved out when the call comes. Its signature units are the 839th Transportation Battalion and Army Field Support Battalion Africa, which support the depot mission, a couple thousand Soldiers, civilians, and families. The base sits in a coastal pine forest near the beaches of the Tyrrhenian, the Leaning Tower of Pisa fifteen minutes up the road and Florence and the Tuscan wine country beyond.
A serious case at a depot in Tuscany is still a federal criminal matter, and it deserves counsel who tries these cases for a living. Court martial defense is the firm's whole practice, and Europe has become a steady part of it since the move to Tampa. We fly in and try the case, because for a charge that can cost you everything you want the trial record, not the nearest office.
The Lieutenant Who Did the Work and Waited Half a Lifetime for the Credit
The ground these depots sit on was fought over not far from here, and one of the men who fought for it was First Lieutenant Vernon Baker. On April 5, 1945, in the assault on the German Gothic Line near Viareggio, up the coast from Camp Darby, Baker led his platoon against a fortified hill. He personally destroyed machine gun nests, an observation post, and a dugout, drew the enemy's fire so the rest could move, and led the breakthrough that took the position. He was one of the few Black soldiers of that war whose valor was recognized, and recognized late. The Army gave him the Distinguished Service Cross, and only in 1997, more than fifty years on, was it finally raised to the Medal of Honor. He did the work and waited half a lifetime for the credit. That refusal to be counted out is the standard we bring to a case at Camp Darby.
Why Soldiers at Camp Darby Bring Us In
We win court martial cases. Military defense is all we do, and Soldiers fly us in from all over the world because of our trial record. The military justice system is not built to find the truth; it exists to preserve good order and discipline, and a depot command will make an example of a Soldier to show it keeps tight control of what it holds. A serious case is investigated by Army CID, and for sexual assault and other covered offenses the decision to refer charges to a court martial no longer belongs to your command but goes to an independent Special Trial Counsel. Your Trial Defense Service counsel may be capable but carries a heavy caseload inside the same system, which is why Soldiers serious about winning bring in their own counsel.
UCMJ Charges We Defend at Camp Darby
Do not read the list below as a menu. These are the most common charges at Camp Darby, and we defend any UCMJ offense a service member can face.
Property Accountability, Larceny, and Supply Fraud (UCMJ Articles 121, 108, and 124). A depot built around prepositioned equipment, vehicles, and ammunition runs on tight accountability, and that makes property cases the signature exposure here. The government treats missing gear, an item that cannot be reconciled, or property that walked off as larceny under Article 121, wrongful disposition of military property under Article 108, or, where a record was altered, fraud against the United States under Article 124. But a shortage on a hand receipt or a record that will not reconcile in a warehouse this size is not proof of a crime, and the government still has to show the state of mind required by the charged offense: intent for larceny or fraud, or negligence where Article 108 permits it, not just that something cannot be found.
Sexual Assault and Sex Offenses (UCMJ Article 120 / Article 134). These allegations route to an independent Special Trial Counsel now, and the command treats a report as established before the investigation is finished, all the more so in a small, close community where a case draws attention fast. These cases demand counsel who will run an independent investigation and contest the case rather than let the allegation stand in for proof, because a conviction means confinement, a federal record, and a place on a sex offender registry.
Domestic Violence and Assault (UCMJ Articles 128b and 128). Domestic violence under Article 128b is charged as aggressively as any offense in the UCMJ since the Office of Special Trial Counsel took these cases over. It covers a spouse, an intimate partner, or a family member, and it treats strangulation or suffocation as its own charge that the government can bring even with no visible injury. A qualifying conviction also triggers the federal Lautenberg firearms bar, which can end an Army career because a Soldier has to be able to carry a weapon. We also defend assault under Article 128, where self defense is a recognized defense.
Drugs and Off Duty Conduct (UCMJ Articles 112a and 134). Drug cases often turn on the chain of custody and the government's burden to prove any use was knowing and wrongful. A Soldier is subject to the UCMJ off duty, so a night out in Pisa or Livorno or anywhere off base that ends badly comes back to the command. A serious off base matter in Italy can also be taken up by the Italian carabinieri and prosecuted in an Italian court, on a separate track from your command, so get counsel involved before you talk to anyone.
A Career and a Reputation Worth Defending
Some of the Soldiers who call us are guilty, and we say so honestly. What matters is how serious the case is, not your rank. If a matter is genuinely minor, your Trial Defense Service counsel can handle it, and we will tell you so honestly. But when the case is serious, everything is on the line at once: your career, your retirement, your good name, and your freedom. A court martial conviction is a federal criminal conviction, and where the sentencing parameters apply the judge sentences within confinement ranges fixed by the offense, two and a half to ten years for sexual assault and ten to twenty for rape, with specific facts in writing required to support a departure, on top of any required or adjudged punitive discharge and, on a covered sex offense, sex offender registration. That is why you fight. The court’s jurisdiction and the convicted offense determine which sentencing rules apply; some offenses use separate sentencing criteria rather than these ranges.
If you are facing an investigation or court martial at Camp Darby, reach out for a free defense strategy session. We will tell you exactly what you are facing and how we would defend it. The government is already building its case. The only question is whether anyone is building yours.
FAQ
Army CID wants to interview me at Camp Darby. Do I have to talk to them?
No. You are not required to sit for a CID interview or answer their questions. Under Article 31b of the UCMJ you have the right to remain silent and to a lawyer, and you can invoke both at any point, including before the interview begins. CID is collecting evidence, not giving you a chance to explain, and it takes very little to be titled as a subject, a label that follows you for years. Decline, ask for counsel, and call a defense lawyer before you give any statement.
I'm under investigation over missing property or an accountability discrepancy at the depot. Is that really a court martial?
It can be. The government charges a shortage or an item that cannot be reconciled as larceny or wrongful disposition of military property, and at a depot this size an accountability gap can look damning on paper. But a discrepancy is not the same as theft, and the records have context the government leaves out. It still has to prove you intended to steal, not just that a count did not add up, which is why how the paperwork is explained decides the case. Get counsel involved before you talk to investigators.
Something happened off base in Italy. Could the Italian authorities get involved too?
They can. Under the agreement that governs U.S. forces here, the Italian authorities can claim jurisdiction over off base conduct, so a serious matter can be investigated by the carabinieri and prosecuted in an Italian court on a separate track from the UCMJ case your command is pursuing. Investigations in the two systems may overlap, and what you say to one can affect the other, so do not give a statement to anyone until you have talked to a defense lawyer. The SOFA allocates primary jurisdiction and limits a second trial for the same offense; overlapping investigations do not mean that both countries may freely try the same charge.