Posted on Feb 24, 2014

Should we stop ART-15 UCMJ from being a career killer to use it effectively?

SGM Mike Bachini

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Should we allow company grade and lower ART15 UCMJ to be what it was intended to be? Conviction, Punishment and REHABILATIVE administrative actions. If we stopped ART 15s from being a career killer and the first step to a Chapter, would discipline and morale in the Army get better? What if all company grade or lower ART15 never showed up on your records or NCOER? A Soldier could do the punishment, recover and be better for it.

* Field grade and above would remain the same, a negative bullet on your NCOER and more than likely the first step to a chapter.

You could give an ART15 to a Soldier or an NCO without destroying his/her career but still making it sting (time and money are valuable) and they become better Soldiers/Leaders and LEARN that they can make a mistake, pay the price and Soldier on and GET BETTER.

For the record I thought that the legal proceedings used to review ART15s downrange were excellent. The Soldier watches the video and it is signed off that he/she did and then UCMJ proceedings happened, right then and there. No waiting for weeks to get a lawyer to brief the Soldier.

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Edited 11 y ago

Posted 11 y ago

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1SG (Join to see)

Posted 11 y ago

As a product of multiple Article 15's as a young pup, I know that the threat of getting kicked out was much more severe than the punishments levied. At the time, I couldn't have imagined going home to explain to my family that I couldn't cut it in what (at the time pre 9-11 and as a Private) was considered to be an easy job. Nowadays, I wouldn't refer to a Company-below ART 15 punished violation on an NCOER as rater or have a field grad put in a E4 and below's iperms unless I was persuing an inefficiency reduction or a chapter. You have no option with an NCO and a Field Grade, you can only pick restricted or non-restricted, but it's going in there and it's getting reviewed at your promotion board. BLUF: Art15s make a bad Soldier worse or a good Soldier better.

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SGT James Elphick

11 y

This was always my understanding of how the process worked. I knew guys who got company grade ART 15's as junior enlisted and by the time they went to the E-5 board there was no permanent record.

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SFC Ronald Bowers

Posted >1 y ago

I "earned" my 1st AR-15 right out of the gate! I hadn't even left Basic yet. My 2nd AR-15 came just three years later when I droped my rifle out of the truck. 3rd was awarded for leaving (a deserted) motorpool on Command Maintenance Day. 4th was for Failure to Report (read that as Missed Formation) followed closely by #5 for being out of uniform. The last, 6th was taken by me for an offense by my soldier. I had not properly instructed him and therefore it was My fault.

I still made it to SFC, but I really think those issues stood out on the MSG board.

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SFC (Join to see)

Posted 11 y ago

MSG Bachini,

I don't think that Summarized or Company Field Grade Article 15s should automatically initiate chapter paperwork. I think that these should be rehabilitative in nature and meant to get the Soldier back on the right track. I also don't think that an Article 15 should be the go-to form of punishment either. Good order and discipline starts with NCOs enforcing standards, mentoring junior Soldiers, and setting a good example for others to follow. Article 15s should be used as a tool for more severe infractions, or for when corrective training proved ineffective and a Soldier repeatedly chooses to not adhere to the standards. Ultimately, an Article 15 should result from an escalation of efforts to counsel and mentor the Soldier.

Punishing a Soldier under Article 15 gives them a real wake-up call. It should motivate them to do the right thing and correct their prior deficiencies. If they choose not to, and their misconduct leads to more UCMJ action, or if there is serious misconduct, then it would be appropriate to consider initiating chapter separation paperwork. Sometimes the chapter initiation is the eye-opener for the Soldier too.

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SGM Mike Bachini

11 y

Thanks for your input and view on this subject!

But, I will again ask, even though you have stated that "Ultimately, an Article 15 should result from an escalation of efforts to counsel and mentor the Soldier", should our efforts to build the ART15 up, effectively making it a career ending event stop? If an ART15 was processed, the same way, as a speeding ticket. BAM, a fine and some extra duty was put in place. Quick easy and not career ending.

I believe that sometime we get so caught up in telling Jonny and Suzy Soldier how horrible it is going to be to their career if they get an ART15 we lose sight and ultimately the value of the entire process. Soldiers today rarely want a career in the Army, I think we waste our breathe in trying to warn them of the "career" repercussions of getting an ART15.

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1SG David Williams

9 y

SGM Mike Bachini -
Sometime Junior Officers and NCO's want to use it as a way out an not retain the Solider for minor items.
I know that more than once I did not forward a Art 15 request from my NCO if After discussing it with them, retaining was what was need and not ART 15 . A learning experance for both the NCO, and Soldier I what their job was an how to take care of the Solider with out ending career. This was also done by the Comander with the. Junior Offers.

1SGT Retired David Williams

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Should we stop ART-15 UCMJ from being a career killer to use it effectively?

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