November 2019

Commander's Mast, Administrative Punishment, cf 40.043

evought's picture
Submitted by evought on Wed, 11/20/2019 - 01:49

As noted in RsMO 40.043, the accused may elect to submit themselves to discipline "before the mast", to be judged administratively by their commanding officer. The Commander's Mast will consider the accusation, hear the accused, solicit testimony of those on hand, and determine appropriate action.

Contemptuous words, used against certain officials cf. RsMo 40.280

evought's picture
Submitted by evought on Wed, 11/20/2019 - 01:32

40.280. Contemptuous words, used against certain officials — court-martial.

Court-Martial Composition

evought's picture
Submitted by evought on Wed, 11/20/2019 - 01:14

There shall be no distinction between Special and General Court-Martials. If a volunteer objects to trial by Summary Court-Martial, the matter shall be handled by a court-martial consisting of a judge and three or more jurists (more jurists may be used if command-staff can do so within pragmatic constraints). Regardless of how many jurists present when convened, three shall be the minimum number for purposes of RsMO 40.105.

Dismissal with Cause and Administrative Discharge, General Guidelines, cf. 40.110

evought's picture
Submitted by evought on Wed, 11/20/2019 - 00:59

In the UCMJ, the Commander-In-Chief (President, or, at state level, Governor) may dismiss any subordinate with cause at any time (https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=40.010&bid=1070&hl=). In our service, the Commander-In-Chief is the county Sheriff.

Counsel For Volunteers, No JAG, cf. 40.098

evought's picture
Submitted by evought on Wed, 11/20/2019 - 00:46

No JAG: One of the key differences between ourselves and any larger military or para-military organization is that we do not have any equivalent of a JAG (Judge Advocate General) Office, no dedicated corps of attorneys to act as judges or representatives. Almost all discipline must therefore occur within the chain-of-command, formal process must be simplified, and cannot take volunteers too long away from their regular duties. A year-long General Courts Martial is simply not an option.

Disciplinary Process, UCMJ, simplification

evought's picture
Submitted by evought on Wed, 11/20/2019 - 00:30

As discussed in the CLA/2 class material, internal discipline in the Auxiliary uses the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) as its template. The Auxiliary is not precisely a military unit, but it is a hierarchical structure which sometimes must operate in dangerous circumstances within a chain of command. We are, however, quite a bit smaller than an organization like the US military. The State of Missouri, which is also smaller than the US military, adapts and simplifies the UCMJ for use with its national and state guard units in RsMO 40.