I MISS the military legal system!!!!

[Glen Contrarian]

In the Navy, I was a Machinist's Mate and spent most of my time in Engineering or related departments. But I spent several years working with the Master-at-Arms (MAA). When I was first assigned to them, they quickly found out I had a knack for investigations - I soon became lead investigator, then became leading petty officer and then had the honor of being the Chief MAA. In addition to that, I was also the Assistant Legal Officer (not for Courts-Martial, but I handled all Non-Judicial Punishments) - which was probably a conflict of interest, but everyone could see that I refused to take sides and I could be trusted with my duties...and I never, ever heard of any other non-Legalman ever being assigned to that position. So yeah, I'm proud of it - I do have a clue when it comes to how the military administrative legal system works.

That said, right now I'm embroiled in a legal case here in the civilian world. We had a disgruntled employee who staged pictures, laid the blame on us, and the state came in and shut down our business. The state never did - and even refused to - investigate our claim that the disgruntled employee did it, even though the victim's own husband says she admitted to him she did it.

I told the investigators - one of whom is a former NCIS agent - that if I'd ever handed in an investigation so sloppy, I would have been fired from my position in the Navy. But the state investigators are refusing to admit even the least error, even the least shortcoming in their investigation, even when their own notes obviously prove otherwise. It's a grand example of confirmation bias...and I am confident that we will eventually win the case.

The reason this makes me miss the military legal system so badly is because no captain I ever knew would have put up with their evasiveness and their refusal to forthrightly answer questions even for a moment. Every captain I ever worked for would have metaphorically ripped off their heads and **** down their windpipes...and their fitness reports and evals would have reflected their complete lack of honor and professionalism.

The military legal system isn't perfect, but it's a hell of a lot better than it is here on the outside! At least there, most of the time (though certainly not all) we were held to standards of conduct, and honor wasn't just a word, but a real and tangible standard. Damn, but sometimes I miss being on active duty!!!!

 

[Oozlefinch]

The military legal system isn't perfect, but it's a hell of a lot better than it is here on the outside! At least there, most of the time (though certainly not all) we were held to standards of conduct, and honor wasn't just a word, but a real and tangible standard. Damn, but sometimes I miss being on active duty!!!!

Actually, I think the UCMJ is far better then what passes for most of what we have in the civilian sector.

Acquittals in the UCMJ are fairly rare, and those that are done have an amazingly high conviction rate. This is because the justices and those in the AG position do not have to worry about running for office, do not have to appease a constituency. They decide to pursue a case purely on the merit of the case, not to appease some segment of voters. And if they think there is little chance of conviction, they will rarely go further then an Article 15 or Summary Court Martial with some kind of plea bargain.

And they are amazingly short affairs, where what takes place over 2-3 days would take weeks or months in the civilian legal system. A few years ago we had a molestation case that from start to finish (including trial and sentencing) took only 2 days. In a civilian court you can not even have a jury selection in such a short amount of time, let alone the entire process.

And indeed, everybody was held to the same standard. I have often joked that the entire Government should be drafted and have to conduct itself under the UCMJ. If that was to happen, I imagine things like Watergate or Lewinskygate or IRS Gate could never happen (or if they did justice once uncovered would be swift and strong). And I imagine knowing they would serve their sentences at the USDB Fort Leavenworth would be more of a deterrence then knowing that at most they would spend a year or so at "Club Fed".