Are there system issues with completion of paperwork and filing procedures for substandard service members?

2017-11-08T07:37:03-05:00

Botched Air Force handling of Texas shooter's criminal history may be 'systemic' issue

The latest report on the Texas shooter cites systemic issues and laziness/apathy regarding procedural requirements.

Response by CW4 Guy Butler made Nov 8 at 2017 8:00 AM

2017-11-08T08:00:25-05:00

I suppose it could be characterized that way. The systemic is easy - there is no charge characterization in Article 128 that ties directly to domestic violence (for example, the word “spouse”). The lazy/apathy might fit into the clerk not reading the entire proceedings to determine whether or not the Lautenberg Amendment applies. While it does include assault on a child under 16, there’s still no tie-in to whether it’s domestic.

Link to Article 128:

https://www.thebalance.com/punitive-articles-of-the-ucmj-3356842

What Article 128 Says About Assault and Why You Need to Know

Articles 77 through 134 of the UCMJ are known as the punitive articles, specific offenses which can result in punishment by court-martial.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 8 at 2017 8:03 AM

2017-11-08T08:03:51-05:00

Somewhere the Air Force dropped the ball on this loser, and maybe this tragedy could've been prevented.

Response by SMSgt Thor Merich made Nov 8 at 2017 11:24 AM

2017-11-08T11:24:52-05:00

This is a huge DOD wide issue that has been going on for years. The problem mostly lies with translation of UCMJ crimes into civilian world crimes. On the civilian side there are misdemeanors and felonies. The UCMJ does not have such a distinction. There are volumes of actions that can lead to punishment in the military that do not exist in the civilian world.

Many crimes and incidents that happen while in the military never get reported outside of military channels. To be honest, most of them never should be reported. The military and civilian worlds are two different worlds.

However, some crimes committed by military folks need to be reported and documented properly so that record follows the person just as it would in the civilian world. Until now, the military has been lazy about documenting such incidents as its really not important to them. What happens to someone after they get out doesn't concern the DOD. Also, there is only so much time and money in the budget. Making sure someone's military crimes get documented in the civilian record system is simply not a priority.