UCMJ Punishments: Article 15, Courts-Martial, and Discharges

Punishments under the Uniform Code of Military Justice run along a wide scale, from a commander’s on-the-spot corrective measures to a court-martial sentence that can include years of confinement, a punitive discharge, or, for a narrow set of offenses, death. Which punishments are on the table in any given case depends on two things: how serious the offense is and which forum handles it.

How a Case Gets Routed

When a commander learns of possible misconduct, they generally have four options: take no action, pursue administrative measures, impose nonjudicial punishment under Article 15, or refer the case for a court-martial.¹ Administrative actions — counseling, written reprimands, or involuntary separation — are corrective and do not create a criminal record. Article 15 sits in the middle. A court-martial is a full criminal trial, and a conviction creates a federal criminal record.

The choice among these paths shapes what punishments the service member can actually receive. A commander cannot send someone to prison through Article 15, and a court-martial cannot be avoided simply because a commander would prefer to handle the matter quietly if the offense is severe enough.

Punishments a Commander Can Impose Under Article 15

Article 15 of the UCMJ lets commanders punish minor offenses without convening a court-martial.² The Army and Air Force call it “Article 15,” the Navy calls it “Captain’s Mast,” and the Marine Corps calls it “Office Hours.” The authority is the same. So is the fact that the punishment ceiling depends on the commander’s rank.

Company-Grade Article 15

A company-grade commander (typically a captain) handling an enlisted member can impose up to 14 days of extra duties, 14 days of restriction, forfeiture of 7 days’ pay, reduction by one pay grade for members at E-4 and below, or a reprimand.³

Field-Grade Article 15

A field-grade commander (major or above) has broader authority: up to 45 days of extra duties, 60 days of restriction, forfeiture of half a month’s pay for two months, 30 days of correctional custody, and reduction to the lowest enlisted grade for members at E-4 and below.²

Officers

Only a general or flag officer can impose the more significant penalties on officers, which include arrest in quarters for up to 30 days, restriction for up to 60 days, or forfeiture of half a month’s pay for two months.⁴

How These Punishments Combine

Article 15 punishments don’t stack freely. Correctional custody cannot run alongside restriction or extra duties, and when restriction and extra duties are combined, the total is capped at the maximum for extra duties alone.⁵ A commander may suspend any punishment except a reprimand for up to six months, which functions as probation: fresh misconduct during that window can trigger the original punishment without a new hearing.⁶

The Right to Refuse Article 15

In most circumstances, a service member can refuse nonjudicial punishment and demand trial by court-martial instead.² The main exception is personnel attached to or embarked on a vessel, who cannot refuse. Refusing is a real choice but a consequential one. If refused, the command decides whether to drop the matter or press forward, and additional charges can be added.⁷ An Article 15 does not create a federal criminal record; a court-martial conviction does.

Court-Martial Punishments

Courts-martial come in three levels, and each carries a different sentencing ceiling.

Summary Court-Martial

The summary court-martial handles minor offenses and applies only to enlisted service members. A single commissioned officer presides. There is no government-provided defense counsel, though the accused may hire a civilian attorney.¹ Maximum punishments are one month of confinement (for E-4 and below only), 45 days of hard labor without confinement, two months of restriction, forfeiture of two-thirds of one month’s pay, and reduction in grade.⁸

Special Court-Martial

The special court-martial is the intermediate level. It may be presided over by a military judge alone or by a judge and at least three panel members, and the accused has the right to free military defense counsel.¹

A special court-martial can impose up to one year of confinement, forfeiture of up to two-thirds pay per month for one year, three months of hard labor without confinement, and a bad-conduct discharge. It cannot impose a dishonorable discharge, a dismissal, or the death penalty. When the case is tried by a military judge alone, the ceiling drops further: no more than six months of confinement, six months of forfeitures, and no punitive discharge at all.⁹

General Court-Martial

The general court-martial is the military’s highest trial court, reserved for the most serious crimes. Charges cannot be referred to a general court-martial until an Article 32 preliminary hearing has been held. The court is presided over by a military judge and at least five panel members, or by a judge alone if the accused elects it, except in capital cases.¹

A general court-martial can impose any punishment authorized by the UCMJ for the offense, up to and including death for certain crimes. That includes lengthy confinement, total forfeiture of all pay and allowances, reduction to the lowest enlisted grade, and the most severe punitive discharges — a dishonorable discharge for enlisted members or a dismissal for officers.¹

For non-capital offenses committed after December 27, 2023, the military judge, not the panel, serves as the sentencing authority under a change made by the FY 2022 National Defense Authorization Act.¹⁰

Punitive Discharges

A punitive discharge is often the most consequential piece of a court-martial sentence. There are three types.

A bad-conduct discharge can be imposed by a special or general court-martial on enlisted members. It results in the loss of nearly all veteran benefits and must be disclosed on job applications.¹¹
A dishonorable discharge is reserved for the most serious offenses, such as murder, sexual assault, and desertion, and can be imposed only by a general court-martial. It strips all military and veteran benefits, bars federal employment, and prohibits firearm ownership under federal law.¹¹
A dismissal is the officer equivalent of a dishonorable discharge. Officers cannot receive a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge; a general court-martial may instead impose a dismissal, which permanently ends the officer’s career, strips retirement benefits, and carries the same legal weight as a dishonorable discharge.¹¹

Consequences That Attach Automatically

Some punishments come with the sentence whether or not the court says so.

Article 58b of the UCMJ triggers mandatory forfeiture of pay when a sentence includes confinement of more than six months, confinement of any length combined with a punitive discharge, or death. At a general court-martial, that means all pay and allowances during confinement or parole; at a special court-martial, two-thirds of pay during that period. If the sentence is later set aside or modified to remove the triggering punishment, the withheld amounts must be returned. The convening authority may waive these forfeitures for up to six months to provide support to the service member’s dependents.¹²

Under Article 58a, enlisted members face automatic reduction to E-1 when a sentence includes a punitive discharge or confinement exceeding 90 days. The convening authority has sole discretion to remit that reduction, but if the convening authority does nothing, the reduction takes effect by default.¹³

Consequences That Follow You Out of the Military

A court-martial conviction can shape a service member’s life long after separation. General court-martial convictions are generally treated as felonies in the civilian world because the potential sentence exceeds 12 months of confinement. Special court-martial convictions are typically regarded as misdemeanors.¹⁰

Convictions may appear on civilian background checks through the FBI’s National Crime Information Center, and they are documented on the DD-214 discharge form that employers can request with the veteran’s authorization.¹⁴ Federal law prohibits individuals convicted of felony-level offenses at court-martial, or of misdemeanor crimes of domestic violence, from purchasing or possessing firearms.¹² Qualifying sex offenses trigger mandatory registration under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, with the individual’s information posted to the National Sex Offender Public Website.¹⁰

Effect on VA Benefits

Eligibility for VA benefits turns largely on the character of the discharge. Honorable and general discharges generally qualify for full benefits. Veterans with other-than-honorable, bad-conduct, or dishonorable discharges may still be eligible for some benefits, but only after a VA “character of discharge” determination, which is separate from the military’s own characterization of service.¹⁵

A final rule that took effect on June 25, 2024, expanded access to benefits for certain veterans with less-than-honorable discharges. The rule established a “compelling circumstances” exception allowing the VA to weigh factors like mental health conditions, trauma from sexual assault, and the overall length and character of service when deciding whether to grant benefits despite a regulatory bar. Even before a formal determination, veterans with other-than-honorable discharges may be eligible for VA mental health care, substance use treatment, and emergency suicide care.¹⁶

Capital Punishment

The UCMJ identifies 15 offenses that can carry the death penalty, though several, including desertion and disobeying a superior officer, are capital only in time of war. Capital cases carry heightened procedural requirements. The accused cannot plead guilty, cannot elect a judge-alone trial, and must be tried before a panel of 12 military members.¹⁷

To impose a death sentence, the panel must unanimously find that the accused is guilty of a death-eligible offense, that at least one specified aggravating factor has been proven beyond a reasonable doubt, that the aggravating circumstances substantially outweigh any mitigating factors, and that death is the appropriate sentence.¹⁸ Even then, the sentence must clear review by the convening authority, the branch’s Court of Criminal Appeals, the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, and potentially the Supreme Court, and the President must personally sign the execution order.¹⁷ The military death chamber is at the United States Disciplinary Barracks, and the authorized method is lethal injection.

1
Victims and Witnesses Assistance Council. The Military Justice System
2
Legal Information Institute. 10 U.S. Code § 815 — Art. 15. Commanding Officer’s Non-Judicial Punishment
3
Florida National Guard. Article 15 Hearings
4
Joint Service Committee on Military Justice. Uniform Code of Military Justice
5
Joint Service Committee on Military Justice. Part V — Non-Judicial Punishment Procedure
6
Barksdale Air Force Base. ADC — Article 15
7
U.S. Army 7th Army Training Command. Trial Defense Service — Article 15 Information
8
U.S. Army Presidio of Monterey. Summary Court-Martial Fact Sheet
9
Legal Information Institute. 10 U.S. Code § 819 — Art. 19. Jurisdiction of Special Courts-Martial
10
Army Judge Advocate General’s Legal Center and School. Collateral Consequences of Court-Martial Convictions
11
Law for Veterans. Military Discharge
12
Legal Information Institute. 10 U.S. Code § 858b — Art. 58b. Sentences: Forfeiture of Pay and Allowances During Confinement
13
U.S. Navy. ALNAV 072/19 — Article 58a Implementation
14
Certiphi Screening. The Legalities in Considering Military Records for Pre-Employment Screening
15
Department of Veterans Affairs. Character of Discharge
16
Federal Register. Update and Clarify Regulatory Bars to Benefits Based on Character of Discharge
17
Death Penalty Information Center. The Military’s Death Penalty System
18
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces. Capital Sentencing Procedures