Section 888, Article 88, titled “Contempt Toward Officials” applies only to Commissioned Officers. There are primarily two (2) provisions of the UCMJ that relate to contemptuous statements against leaders, the first, 10 U.S.C. military, reading this article before your next “Tweet” or “Facebook” posting could be the only thing separating you from a promotion, and a bad conduct discharge. However, service does impose a set of very specific standards that do not otherwise apply when in the civilian world. Men and women who serve their country in the armed forces do not check their First Amendment rights at the door when they take the Oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States. In particular, military personnel must be especially careful in how they publicly express their views of various elected and appointed civilian leaders, including but not limited to the President, Vice President, members of Congress and the Secretary of Defense. Violations of these rules and standards can result in a court martial proceeding with quite severe penalties, including but not limited to confinement, forfeiture of pay and even dishonorable separation from the service. politics, but constant connectivity to a never-ending news cycle, combined with new forms of communication technology by way of social media presents new challenges for active duty and reserve service members.Īs any Soldier, Airman, Sailor or Marine knows, the Uniform Code of Military Justice (“UCMJ”) sets forth various rules and standards of etiquette and decorum when publicly expressing opinions, views and political affiliation and/or ideology. A heated, emotional and bellicose climate is certainly not new to U.S.
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