Naval Support Activity Naples: The Navy's Headquarters in the Mediterranean
On the Bay of Naples in southern Italy, Naval Support Activity Naples is the headquarters of U.S. Naval Forces Europe and Africa and the U.S. Sixth Fleet, the command that runs American naval power across the Mediterranean. It is split between the administrative site at Capodichino, by the Naples airport, and the main support site at Gricignano, where most of the community lives. This is a senior, joint, heavily cleared headquarters of some fifty commands and thousands of Sailors and their families, most of them out on the Italian economy in the towns around the base, under the shadow of Vesuvius, a long way from home in one of the busiest and most chaotic corners of Italy.
At a senior fleet headquarters a serious case draws real institutional weight, and a Sailor wants counsel who has tried these before, not learned on the job. Military defense is all we do, and Naples is part of an active European practice the firm has built since moving to Tampa. We have come here to try cases ourselves, because for a contested court martial what matters is the lawyer in the room, not the distance he came.
The One-Man Stand on the Road to Naples
The Navy put the Army ashore at Salerno in September 1943 to open the road to Naples, and among the men who fought their way inland was Corporal Charles "Commando" Kelly. In the hills near Altavilla, with his unit's position about to be overrun, Kelly held a forward ammunition store almost single handed. He fought off wave after wave with rifles and grenades, fired bazooka rounds, and when he ran low he armed mortar shells by hand and threw them, covering his comrades' withdrawal before pulling back himself. He became the first enlisted soldier in the European theater to receive the Medal of Honor. That kind of stand, holding the line with whatever is at hand, is the standard we bring to a case at Naples.
Why Sailors at Naples Bring Us In
We win court martial cases. Military defense is all we do, and Sailors fly us in from all over the world because of our trial record. We have traveled to Naples to try cases here ourselves in recent years and won them. The military justice system is not built to find the truth; it exists to preserve good order and discipline, and a senior headquarters command will make an example of a Sailor to show it polices its own. A serious case is investigated by NCIS, 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 detailed counsel from the Defense Service Office may be capable but carries a heavy caseload inside the same system, which is why Sailors serious about winning bring in their own counsel.
UCMJ Charges We Defend at NSA Naples
We defend every kind of military charge. The ones below are simply the most common at NSA Naples.
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 at a headquarters where senior leaders watch how every case is handled. 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 a Navy career because a Sailor has to be able to carry a weapon. We also defend assault under Article 128, where self defense is a recognized defense.
Larceny and Allowance Fraud (UCMJ Articles 121, 124, and 107). Most of the Naples community lives off base on the Italian economy, out in the towns around Gricignano and Aversa, and the overseas housing allowance that pays for it is a favorite target. A lease the government decides was inflated, a side arrangement with an Italian landlord, a dependent or address it claims was misreported, and a routine entitlement turns into larceny stacked with a fraud and false official statement allegation. These cases are built from paperwork, but a disputed allowance is not theft, and a lease, an approval, or a rule can look one way to the government and very different once the rest of the record is on the table.
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 Sailor is subject to the UCMJ off duty, so a night out in the city, a scrape in Naples's notorious traffic, or any incident off base 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
Not every Sailor who calls us is innocent, and we will not pretend otherwise. What matters is how serious the case is, not your rank. If a matter is genuinely minor, your detailed defense 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 clearance, 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 Naples, 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.
Cases Connected to NSA Naples
These cases include trials, hearings, investigations, and administrative matters. A connection to this location does not necessarily mean that the trial occurred here.
- Case connected to this location: Bilecki Walks OSTC Pacific Off Article 120 Sexual Assault Referral on Navy Sailor at NSA Naples; AdSep Board Never Convened, Largo PD Civilian Case Dismissed, Honorable Retention
- Case connected to this location: Bilecki Walks Five-Specification Article 121 / Article 92 GCM at NSA Naples Down to 45 Days, No Dismissal, No Federal Felony for Navy LCDR via Independent Kleptomania Diagnosis
- Case connected to this location: Bilecki Reduces Likely Court Martial to NJP on Driving Misconduct Only on Navy CDR at Naples; No Court Martial, No Show Cause
FAQ
NCIS wants to interview me at Naples. Do I have to talk to them?
No. You are not required to sit for an NCIS 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. NCIS is collecting evidence, not giving you a chance to explain. Decline, ask for counsel, and call a defense lawyer before you give any statement.
I work a cleared joint billet at Naples and I'm under investigation. Can it cost me my clearance even if I beat the charge?
Yes, because your access and the court martial run on separate tracks with separate standards. A command or security manager who learns of a serious allegation can suspend your access before anything is proven, and revoking a clearance is a separate administrative decision that we do not handle. But that process runs on what the criminal investigation finds, so the most important thing you can do to protect your access is to fight the underlying allegation hard from the start, which is what we do.
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.