How common is a Field Grade Article 15 for first offenses (minor)?

Not knowing case particulars no one has to accept an ART 15-But refuse and the commander can either drop it or court martial you. so your choices are discuss it with the commander it is your Right. When presented the ball is in your court. Accept or reject-Then the commander has to drop or court-martial. I would assume a field grade officer is not bluffing. JAG has some requirements to assist at least a little. Talk to a JAG officer he is a lawyer all Enlisted in the office are clerks or one sort or another

If my memory serves and things have not changed all NJP is run by the legal office for approval.

Overall is very uncommon. But there are some mitigating factors, like the severity of the first offense for example

I will share with you my tale of beating a field grade Article 15. The short of it was I pushed back by gathering sworn statements showing my innocence, then I presented my evidence to my O6 prior to the actual scheduled NJP. I stated that under no circumstances what so ever would I sign an Article 15, so if the COC wanted to go forward it would be by court martial. I KNEW I was in the right, and knew how to play my COC to get the result I wanted because I had help from my BN CSM. In your case your only option is seek private council because JAG is probably too busy with real crime to step in and represent you.

Bottom line is NEVER sign an Article-15 if you are innocent. If you sign that you disagree you are still signing off on your acceptance of punishment under Article 15. If you are really innocent it would have been worked out by your COC, and the NJP wouldn't be necessary.

First of all, ARE YOU GUILTY of the the "Charges"? If yes and the Ltc. has the proof,you may want to sign it and move on. Keep in mind that he has retained the advice if the JAG to guide him. Normally one would not charge one unless they were damn sure they could get a conviction by a Court Marshal. I think the JAG advised you correctly

I think a public forum is the best place to discuss this! There should be no secrets when it comes to UCMJ proceedings. The Command should have nothing to hide! If you’re innocent, ALWAYS take the Court Martial. It costs the Army a lot of money to convene aCourt Martial; and, if the charges are frivolous, they will throw it out before it even goes to trial.

By putting your case out for public consumption, you have alerted the legal profession. If you have a Senior NCO on your side, ask them to approach your CO on your behalf. Punishment based on gender. race, etc, is taboo. Are sure you're giving us all the facts?

PFC Cas Bailey; it seems that wherever you go, there may be somebody that would like to make an example of you.. good or bad..
I entered the Regular AF, transferring from a Reserve Unit. I entered as an A1C, the rank I earned vraduating from BMT.
In BMT I did a by-pass test for my 3 skill level.. scored a 99% out of a 100.. Anyway when I reported in I was issued
6 sets of Cook Whites and nametape blanks and AF Tapes, command patches..& rank chevrons . I went to the
Riggers parachute shop and got e’thing put on in a matter of a couple hours.. Pockets on shirts are supposed to be serviceable(to be able to put stuff into)
I. Had them get the patches on quick as possible.. that meant putting them on without removing the pocket and sewing on outside the pocket and sewing it back on.. I got my shirts a lot faster that way. I would of had to return in a couple days.
I had enough excess material I got extra back pocket and flaps on all the trousers..
for a while nobody said anything about the extra pockets or sewing the command patches right on the shirts. I could still
Put a couple pens and a thermometer in the pocket.. I was on a deploy to Labrador.. and somebody noticed I had the bottoms of my trousers sewn.. no rolling up the cuffs.. and noticed the command patch was sewn Through the
Pocket.. and the extra back pocket and pocket flaps. By that time I had Velcro to hold the flaps down. .. Every morn I showed for work and inspection great haircut, clean uniform, how’d I pull that?
Scotch guard. It wasn’t called that then ..
S’thing else.. it was great, I didn’t need
Starch for creases. Well their SSGT had a jealous streak and I made his cooks look like slobs.. he wrote me up for the pocket flaps and extra pocket and command patch unserviceable pocket, a daily occurance. Illegal material protection
Chemical. No, it wasn’t flammable.. it would smolder and go out.. grease, oil ran off like water.. At the end of our deploy I had enough negative points to equal e’thing I done positive.. when I got back the Commander had me in his office.. in the end he decided none of it was my fault.. He blamed it on the Airmen’s Dining Facility NCOIC and the former Sqdn Cmdr. I got to keep the trousers the way they were.. they lasted
Several years .. that military grade scotch guard wore out with washing a lot.. it was for the coveralls the mechanics wore.. I got more eventually and put it in the rinse.. So there can be a solution to your prob.. just get the right person that’ll represent you and stay away from barracks lawyers,

Take it off the internet this is a grenade waiting to go off. In theory discoverable by legal beagles I would assume. Coming from an E4 that had a lawyer save my ass because I made a phone call to JAG because an overzealous junior grade leader because he did not believe me when I insisted brigade staff was in the loop. Later wrote the statements that helped throw him under bus. Sorry to the awesome leaders this may accidentally offend. Brigade commander went on rampage to back me up. You need to relax and STHU. If possible be contrite

1. A field grade is not minor, Company grades are- a field grade is just 1 step from a court-martial. Outside of a training unit- many would consider a field grade to be a show stopper- with a possible chapter just down the road. It is up to the commander to decide- but he will run it thru JAG, and if JAG will not back him, then it will probably disappear. If it doesn't you may still appeal it to the next higher command- who will again consult with JAG.