NAS Jacksonville: The Home of the P-8 on the St. Johns
On the west bank of the St. Johns River in Jacksonville, NAS Jacksonville is the East Coast hub of the P-8A Poseidon, the Navy's maritime patrol and anti-submarine aircraft, and the home of VP-30, the fleet replacement squadron that trains every P-8 pilot, flight officer, and aircrew in the fleet. Unlike the oceanfront fleet at Mayport, this is an inland, riverfront air station, with families settled in Orange Park and Argyle on the west side of the river and Mandarin across the river. A command training the maritime patrol force and flying real missions will protect that mission and move hard against a Sailor or aviator who steps wrong.
Military defense is all Bilecki Law Group does, and Sailors and aviators 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 Aviator Who Turned On His Lights to Finish the Rescue
The standard for a Jacksonville aviator was set by Lieutenant Clyde E. Lassen, a helicopter pilot credited to this city, on the night of June 19, 1968. Making repeated approaches into hostile, tree-covered terrain to rescue two downed aviators, Lassen struck a tree, recovered, and when his flares burned out turned on his landing lights, knowingly lighting himself up for the enemy, to finish the pickup, then flew out with five minutes of fuel left. Both survivors lived. He made himself a target to bring two men home. That is the standard we bring to a case at NAS Jacksonville.
Why Sailors at NAS Jacksonville Bring Us In
We win court martial cases. Military defense is all we do, and Sailors 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 command that trains and flies the maritime patrol force will make an example of a Sailor or an aviator to protect that mission. For a rated aviator there is a second front, because a Field Naval Aviator Evaluation Board can pull your wings on a standard far below a conviction, so the criminal case and the flying career are two fights at once. 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 NAS Jacksonville
These are the most common cases at NAS Jacksonville. 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 in a tight squadron 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 a Navy career because a Sailor has to be able to carry a weapon. We also defend assault under Article 128, the usual charge when a night out ends in a fight, where self defense is a recognized defense.
Larceny and Government Property (UCMJ Articles 121 and 108). An air station full of aircraft, parts, and support equipment is issued and signs for a great deal of controlled material, 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. A Sailor is subject to the UCMJ off duty, so an incident off base comes back to the command, and for an aviator a drug allegation can also end a flying career 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 Sailor who calls us from NAS Jacksonville is innocent. 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 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 NAS Jacksonville, 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
NCIS wants to interview me at NAS Jacksonville. 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, 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 a P-8 aviator or a VP-30 student. If I beat the charge, can the Navy still pull my wings?
Yes, because a Field Naval Aviator Evaluation Board and the court martial are separate tracks with separate standards. The board can act on the same allegation on a far lower standard than a conviction requires, so you can win the criminal case and still lose your flying status if the board side is not fought, and for a student that can mean the end of the pipeline. That is why the underlying allegation has to be defended on both fronts from the start, and we handle the criminal charge and the aviation board 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 NCIS.