Should the President be subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice?

SGT James Murphy — Sat, 27 Jun 2015 12:23:06 -0400

Response by Capt Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 27 at 2015 12:33 PM

Capt Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 27 Jun 2015 12:33:19 -0400

Not unless he is on active military duty.

Response by SPC Jan Allbright, M.Sc., R.S. made Jun 27 at 2015 12:33 PM

SPC Jan Allbright, M.Sc., R.S. — Sat, 27 Jun 2015 12:33:28 -0400

No - he is an elected officer of the Nation

Response by LCpl Mark Lefler made Jun 27 at 2015 12:34 PM

LCpl Mark Lefler — Sat, 27 Jun 2015 12:34:58 -0400

No, he's a civilian and he's the president.

Response by A1C Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 27 at 2015 12:50 PM

A1C Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 27 Jun 2015 12:50:16 -0400

Yes, I don't think it is right that we as military members are held to the higher standard when our commander in chief doesn't have to maintain the same level of professionalism.

Response by LTC Yinon Weiss made Jun 27 at 2015 1:27 PM

LTC Yinon Weiss — Sat, 27 Jun 2015 13:27:30 -0400

No, fortunately the Founding Fathers already addressed this question. They wanted the President to be subject to the authority of the people's elected officials, not to unelected military leaders. This is why Congress has legal oversight of the President (impeachment powers). Putting our democratically elected leader in front of a trial of unelected military Generals would be strictly against our democratic ideals as a nation.

Response by SFC Rollie Hubbard made Jun 27 at 2015 3:53 PM

SFC Rollie Hubbard — Sat, 27 Jun 2015 15:53:51 -0400

He is the CIC so he should fall under the rules as we did and some still do.

Response by LTC Bink Romanick made Jun 27 at 2015 4:08 PM

LTC Bink Romanick — Sat, 27 Jun 2015 16:08:26 -0400

As he isn't a service member no. Don't try the CinC nonsense, it doesn't float. He's a civilian and has that power by the constitution, a reading of which might benefit you. Really a nonsensical question..

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 27 at 2015 5:33 PM

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 27 Jun 2015 17:33:19 -0400

I believe as the commander and chief of our armed forces the president should also be subject to the same code and laws we have to abide by. The president should be held more accountable than any other soldier and or citizen because of the position they hold.

Response by SSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 27 at 2015 7:01 PM

SSgt Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 27 Jun 2015 19:01:39 -0400

Absolutely not.

Response by SGM Steve Wettstein made Jun 28 at 2015 11:25 AM

SGM Steve Wettstein — Sun, 28 Jun 2015 11:25:07 -0400

No, He is a civilian.

Response by SSG Donald Mceuen made Jun 28 at 2015 2:50 PM

SSG Donald Mceuen — Sun, 28 Jun 2015 14:50:59 -0400

He is the man incharge so that makes him responsable and
that in my mind means yes.

Response by SSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 29 at 2015 2:00 PM

SSgt Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 29 Jun 2015 14:00:58 -0400

As the Commander in Chief of the military this would make sense. I'm sure there are many reasons why this isn't possible, but when acting/making decisions as the CiC why shouldn't they be held accountable this way?

Response by SFC William Swartz Jr made Jun 29 at 2015 3:17 PM

SFC William Swartz Jr — Mon, 29 Jun 2015 15:17:56 -0400

He is a civilian leaders subject to the authorities of the Congress given to them by the people of the nation as per the Constitution. While he is our Commander in Chief, he is not a member of the armed forces and therefore not subject to the UCMJ.

Response by SrA Edward Vong made Jun 29 at 2015 3:46 PM

SrA Edward Vong — Mon, 29 Jun 2015 15:46:21 -0400

I am going to say no, as they are not serving themselves.

Response by CPT Zarin N. made Jun 29 at 2015 4:07 PM

CPT Zarin N. — Mon, 29 Jun 2015 16:07:36 -0400

Apparently you need a lesson in the basics of not only checks and balances, but also of UCMJ. Sadly, Schoolhouse Rock never got around to the latter....

Checks and Balances Constitution Lesson for Kids - Schoolhouse Rock

School House Rock is an animated children's cartoon that teaches about the Constitution, the American Revolution, and other aspects of American politics, civ...

Response by PO1 Rick Serviss made Jun 29 at 2015 8:27 PM

PO1 Rick Serviss — Mon, 29 Jun 2015 20:27:12 -0400

UCMJ is for uniformed personnel so they are not covered. The President is a civilian.

Response by PO1 Louis Green made Jun 30 at 2015 10:19 AM

PO1 Louis Green — Tue, 30 Jun 2015 10:19:17 -0400

He was sworn in as the president not the military.

Response by SPC Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 1 at 2015 9:34 PM

SPC Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 01 Jul 2015 21:34:01 -0400

I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say no. If the founding fathers wanted it that way, I'm sure they would have set it up in that fashion. If America, since 1788, decided it was a good idea, they would have passed an amendment making it that way.
I haven't read any of the replies yet, but I imagine many people are going to bring up the principle of civilian oversight of the military. As far as I'm concerned, that's a good thing, and as a current civilian that's how it should be. As a former soldier, my job wasn't to like it, it was to just do it.

Response by SSG (ret) William Martin made Jul 2 at 2015 9:49 AM

SSG (ret) William Martin — Thu, 02 Jul 2015 09:49:00 -0400

The President should not be subject to UCMJ because he is a civilian.

Response by Sharon Lee made Oct 19 at 2017 11:54 AM

Sharon Lee — Thu, 19 Oct 2017 11:54:38 -0400

He should be held to both. He is Commander in Chief, and President of the people, holding the highest office of the people and of the country.