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1162. Alcoholic Liquors
The personal possession of any alcoholic
liquors aboard any ship is prohibited. The
transportation aboard ship of alcoholic liquors
for personal use ashore is authorized subject
to the discretion of, and under regulations
established by, the commanding officer.
UNIFORM CODE OF
MILITARY JUSTICE
Until 1951 the various branches of our armed
forces operated under different military codes.
The Army and Air Force were guided in the
administration of discipline and in legal processes
by the Army’s Articles of War. The Navy was
guided by the Articles for the Government of the
Navy (“Rocks and Shoals”); and the Coast
Guard, by the Disciplinary Laws of the Coast
Guard. Not surprisingly, then, an act considered
an offense in the eyes of the Navy may not have
been judged so by the Army. Even if an act was
a breach of discipline in all branches of the armed
forces, the type of trial and severity of punish-
ment awarded varied.
A standardized code of military justice was
recognized as a logical and necessary unification
measure. Therefore, then Secretary of Defense,
James Forrestal, appointed an interservice com-
mittee to study the measure. After an intensive
study, the committee drafted what is now known
as the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ).
The UCMJ was passed by Congress on 5 May
1950, signed into law by the President, and
became effective 31 May 1951.
The Manual for Courts-Martial, United
States, 1951 (MCM) consolidated and stan-
dardized varying military legal procedures.
Effective 31 May 1951, the same date as the
original UCMJ, it became the new touchstone of
military justice. Case decisions of the Court of
Military Appeals and changes in courts-martial
procedures have made necessary several changes
to the original manual. The current edition is the
Manual for Courts-Martial 1984.
ARTICLES TO BE EXPLAINED
Congress and the Navy have taken steps to
ensure you will know the disciplinary laws and
regulations most likely to affect your daily life.
Article 137 of the UCMJ states that certain
articles of the Code must be explained carefully
to every enlisted person at certain intervals. They
must be explained at the time the person enters
on active duty, after 6 months of active duty, and
when the person reenlists. In general, these articles
concern the following topics:
Article
2
3
7-14
15
25
27
31
37
38
55
77-134
137
138
139
Subject
Persons subject to the Code
Right to try certain persons even
though they have been separated from
service
Apprehension and restraint
Nonjudicial punishment (captain’s
mast)
Membership of courts-martial
Appointment of counsel to courts-
martial
Compulsory self-incrimination pro-
hibited
Unlawful influence on the court
Duties of counsel
Certain punishments prohibited
Punitive articles
Articles that must be explained
Complaints of wrongs
Payment for injury or loss of property
Navy Regulations supplements article 137 of
the UCMJ by requiring each command to post
the text of those articles in the preceding list in
a conspicuous place. Navy Regs also requires each
command to include these and other appropriate
articles of Navy Regulations in the command’s
training and education program. Copies of the
complete UCMJ (140 articles), Navy Regulations,
and other general orders are available to any
person desiring to read them.
EXCERPTS FROM THE UCMJ
The purpose of this section is not to make you
an expert on the Uniform Code of Military
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