Shaw Air Force Base: F-16s and a Joint Headquarters
Near Sumter in the South Carolina Midlands, Shaw Air Force Base is the home of the 20th Fighter Wing and its F-16CM Fighting Falcons, which carry the Air Force's Wild Weasel mission, the suppression of enemy air defenses, and it is also the headquarters of U.S. Army Central and Ninth Air Force (Air Forces Central). That makes Shaw a split-service base, with Air Force fighter squadrons and a large Army population running the CENTCOM ground component, families across Sumter and into Columbia about forty-five minutes west. A base that owns the Wild Weasel mission and headquarters for combatant command components will protect its standards and move hard against an Airman or a Soldier who steps wrong.
Military defense is all Bilecki Law Group does, and service members 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 Wild Weasel Who Killed the Defenses
The standard for the Wild Weasel mission was set by Major Merlyn H. Dethlefsen, flying an F-105 against the Thai Nguyen steel complex in North Vietnam on March 10, 1967. With his flight lead crippled and his own aircraft badly hit, Dethlefsen made repeated close-range passes through surface-to-air missiles, heavy flak, and MiG interceptors to silence the defenses so the strike force could hit the target without loss. He went back into the missiles, again and again, to clear the way for everyone else. That is the Wild Weasel creed Shaw carries today, and it is the standard we bring to a case here.
Why People at Shaw Bring Us In
We win court martial cases. Military defense is all we do, and service members 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 fighter wing under headquarters for combatant command components will make an example of someone to protect its image. For a rated F-16 pilot there is a second front, because a Flying Evaluation Board can pull you off flying status on a standard far below a conviction. A serious case is investigated by the Office of Special Investigations for the Air Force or Army CID for the Soldiers of Army Central, 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 free defense counsel, the Air Force Area Defense Counsel or the Army Trial Defense Service, may be capable but carries a heavy caseload inside the same system, which is why those serious about winning bring in their own counsel.
UCMJ Charges We Defend at Shaw Air Force Base
These are the most common cases at Shaw. They are examples, not limits, and we defend service members against the full range of UCMJ offenses.
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 appearances matter. 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 a military career because a service member has to be able to carry a weapon. We also defend assault under Article 128, the usual charge when a night out in Sumter or Columbia ends in a fight, where self defense is a recognized defense.
Larceny and Government Property (UCMJ Articles 121 and 108). A fighter wing and an Army headquarters are issued and sign for a great deal of weapons, gear, 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 fully illegal in South 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. 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 service member who calls us from Shaw is innocent. What matters is how serious the case is, not your rank. If a matter is genuinely minor, your free military 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 if you fly, 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 Shaw 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 or CID wants to interview me at Shaw. 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. Investigators are gathering evidence, not offering a chance to explain, and a statement can drive both the criminal case and, for aircrew, an action against your flying status. Decline, ask for the Area Defense Counsel or the Trial Defense Service or your own lawyer, and say nothing until you have one.
I'm assigned to Army Central, not the fighter wing. Is my case handled by the Army or the Air Force?
It follows your service. A Soldier of U.S. Army Central is investigated by Army CID and defended for free by the Army Trial Defense Service, while an Airman of the 20th Fighter Wing is investigated by OSI and defended by the Air Force Area Defense Counsel. The processes, the investigators, and the defense offices differ, which is one more reason to bring in counsel who handles both Army and Air Force courts.
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 investigators.