Seymour Johnson Air Force Base: Strike Eagles and the Schoolhouse
In Goldsboro, in the coastal plain of eastern North Carolina, Seymour Johnson Air Force Base is the home of the 4th Fighter Wing and its F-15E Strike Eagles, and it runs the Air Force's only F-15E formal training unit, so the population is part operational squadron and part student aircrew learning the jet. The wing carries a lineage that runs back to the RAF Eagle Squadrons and the 4th Fighter Group of the Second World War. Families settle in and around Goldsboro in Wayne County, midway between Raleigh and the coast, in tobacco and barbecue country. A wing that flies and trains the Strike Eagle force will protect that mission and move hard against an Airman who steps wrong.
Military defense is all Bilecki Law Group does, and Airmen fly us in from our office in Tampa because a contested court martial is decided by trial experience, and we bring it wherever the case is.
The Sabre Ace Who Pressed the Attack
The standard here is set by Major George A. Davis Jr., who flew with the 334th Fighter Squadron, a squadron of this wing, in Korea. On February 10, 1952, leading just two Sabres against a formation of about a dozen MiGs near the Yalu River, Davis dove in, downed two, and then, rather than use his speed to escape, slowed to press a third attack to protect the fighter-bombers below. His Sabre took a direct hit and crashed. He is the only F-86 pilot ever to receive the Medal of Honor, and that willingness to press the fight for the men below is the standard we bring to a case at Seymour Johnson.
Why Airmen at Seymour Johnson Bring Us In
We win court martial cases. Military defense is all we do, and Airmen fly us in from all over the country 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 wing that trains the Strike Eagle force will make an example of an Airman or a student to protect its standards. For a rated pilot or weapon systems officer, and for a student in the schoolhouse, there is a second front, because a Flying Evaluation Board or an elimination from training can end the aviation career on a standard far below a conviction. A serious case is investigated by the Office of Special Investigations, 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. The Area Defense Counsel may be capable but carries a heavy caseload inside the same system, which is why Airmen serious about winning bring in their own counsel.
UCMJ Charges We Defend at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base
The charges below are the ones we see most often at Seymour Johnson, not the only ones we defend. If you are facing a different UCMJ allegation, we handle that too.
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 tight squadron or schoolhouse where word of an allegation travels 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 can mean confinement and a federal record, with registration required for a covered sex offense under the applicable federal and state law.
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 Air Force career because an Airman has to be able to carry a weapon. We also defend assault under Article 128, the usual charge when a night out in Goldsboro ends in a fight, where self defense is a recognized defense.
Larceny and Government Property (UCMJ Articles 121 and 108). A fighter wing and a schoolhouse are issued and sign for a great deal of aircraft parts, weapons, and equipment, and accountability is taken seriously. The government treats missing gear, an item that cannot be reconciled, or property that walked off as larceny under Article 121 or wrongful disposition of military property under Article 108, but a shortage on an inventory is not the same as theft, and the government still has to prove 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.
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. Marijuana is illegal in North Carolina, so a positive test can support an Article 112a allegation, and the underlying conduct can also create state-law exposure if the evidence establishes the applicable state offense, and for aircrew it can trigger a suspension of flying duties and a separate review of flight status on top of the criminal case. A positive test is evidence the government may use to argue knowing, wrongful use, not an automatic finding of guilt, so the collection, the chain of custody, and whether any use was knowing all remain the government's to prove.
A Career and a Reputation Worth Defending
We do not pretend that every Airman who calls us from Seymour Johnson is innocent. What matters is how serious the case is, not your rank. If a matter is genuinely minor, the Area 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 wings, your retirement, your good name, and your freedom. A court martial conviction is a federal criminal conviction, and the applicable sentencing parameters tie a confinement range to the offense, two and a half to ten years for sexual assault and ten to twenty for rape, that a judge can depart from only by stating specific facts in writing, 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 Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, reach out for a free, confidential 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
OSI wants to interview me at Seymour Johnson. Do I have to talk to them?
No. Under Article 31b of the UCMJ you have the right to remain silent and to a lawyer, and you can invoke both before the interview begins. OSI is gathering evidence, not offering a chance to explain, and a statement can drive both the criminal case and an action against your flying status. Decline, ask for the Area Defense Counsel or your own lawyer, and say nothing until you have one.
I'm a student in the F-15E schoolhouse. Can one allegation end my career before I reach an operational squadron?
It can. A student facing an allegation risks not only the criminal case but elimination from training and a Flying Evaluation Board, both of which run on a far lower standard than a conviction, so the path to an operational F-15E squadron can close even if the criminal case does not stick. That is why the underlying allegation has to be defended on every front from the start, and we handle the criminal charge, the board, and the training action together.
I'm under an Article 120 investigation. Will I have to register as a sex offender if I'm convicted?
A court martial conviction for a covered Article 120 offense triggers registration duties under the applicable federal and state law, with requirements and duration determined by the covered conviction and jurisdiction. The entire defense is aimed at defeating the charge or reducing it to an offense that carries no registration, and the investigation and the charging decision are where these cases are most often turned. Get your own counsel involved before you ever sit down with OSI.