Moody Air Force Base: Close Air Support and Combat Rescue
In the pine country of South Georgia near Valdosta, Moody Air Force Base is the home of the 23rd Wing, the Flying Tigers, the Air Force's premier combination of A-10C close air support and combat search and rescue, flying the A-10, the HC-130, and the HH-60W Jolly Green II with its rescue crews and pararescuemen. It is a tight aviation and rescue community in Lowndes County, hot and humid, with Valdosta State University in town, "Titletown" high school football on Friday nights, and Tallahassee and the Gulf beaches a short drive away. A wing that owns close air support and the rescue creed 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 Rescue Commander Who Flew His Burning Aircraft Home
The standard for the rescue mission was set by Colonel William A. Jones III, flying an A-1 Skyraider as an on-scene rescue commander near Dong Hoi on September 1, 1968. Attacking a gun position to protect a downed pilot, Jones took a hit that set his cockpit ablaze and badly burned his arms, hands, neck, and face. Rather than bail out, he flew his burning, crippled Skyraider home to pass on the survivor's exact location, and the downed pilot was saved. He held the aircraft together through the fire so another man would live. That is the rescue creed Moody carries, and it is the standard we bring to a case here.
Why Airmen at Moody 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 flies close air support and combat rescue will make an example of an Airman to protect that mission. For a rated A-10 pilot or rescue aircrew there is a second front, because a Flying Evaluation Board can pull you off flying status on a standard far below a conviction, so the criminal case and the aviation career are two fights at once. 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 Moody Air Force Base
The charges below are the ones we see most often at Moody, 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 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 Valdosta ends in a fight, where self defense is a recognized defense.
Larceny and Government Property (UCMJ Articles 121 and 108). A flying wing is issued and signs 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 medical only in Georgia and a positive test is still a court martial offense under Article 112a, and for aircrew a drug allegation 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 Moody 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 Moody 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 Moody. 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 an A-10 pilot or rescue aircrew. If I beat the charge, can I still lose my wings?
Yes, because a Flying Evaluation Board is a separate proceeding on a lower standard than a conviction. You can win the court martial and still lose flying status if the board side is not fought, which is why the underlying allegation has to be defended on both fronts from the start. We handle the criminal case 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 OSI.