Commander’s

1 The Judge Advocate General s Legal Center & SchoolMisc Pub 27-8 Legal HandbookCommander s2019iiThis Handbook is designed to assist Com-manders with legal situ-ations by helping them to recognize and avoid issues, or take immedi-ate actions necessary to preserve the situation when legal issues arise. Commanders should always consult their ser-vicing Judge Advocate to discuss specific publication is not meant to replace or supersede the independent legal advice of your servicing Judge 2019 The Judge Advocate General s Legal Center and SchoolComments or Suggestions Should Be Sent to:Office of the DeanThe Judge Advocate General s Legal Center and School600 Massie RoadCharlottesville, VA 22903-1781 PHONE: 434-971-3303E-MAIL: photographs courtesy of changes in this edition: All chapters updated for current law.

2 Military Justice Act of 2016 fully integrated into all relevant chapters (primarily Chapters 1-13.) In addition to the Military Justice chapters, the following chapters were added or had important rewrites because of law or policy changes: -Chapter 17: Line of Duty Investigations -Chapter 25: Soldier and Family Readiness Groups -Chapter 27: Administrative Reprimands -Chapter 40: Law of Federal Employment -Chapter 41: Labor-Management RelationsDISTRIBUTION: This publication is cleared for public I: The commander s Responsibility to Practice Preventive Law ..1 Preface II: Situations Where You Should Immediately Consult Your Servicing JA ..3 Military Justice ..51. Introduction to Military Justice ..72. Misconduct: Options and Duties of the commander ..113.

3 Unlawful Command Influence ..174. commander s Preliminary Inquiry ( 303) ..255. Nonjudicial Punishment (Article 15, UCMJ) ..276. Company Grade Article 15 Script ..417. Search & Seizure ..498. Self-Incrimination, Confessions, and Rights Warning ..659. Punitive Articles of the UCMJ ..7110. Urinalysis ..7511. Fraternization and Improper Senior-Subordinate Relationships ..8112. Proper Responses to Reports of Sexual Assault ..8513. Victim Programs ..99 Investigations ..10314. Administrative Investigations ..10515. AR 15-6 Investigations ..10716. Accident Investigations (AR 385-10) ..11717. Line of Duty Investigations ..12318. Fatal Training / Operational Accident Presentations to Next of Kin ..12919. Financial Liability Investigations (FLIPL) ..133 Standards of Ethical Conduct.

4 14320. Standards of Ethical Conduct in the Army ..14521. commander s Coins ..15122. Support to Non-Federal Entities ..15323. Government Motor Vehicle Transportation ..15724. Accompanying Spouse Travel ..15925. Soldier and Family Readiness Groups ..16326. Annual Filing of Financial Disclosure Forms ..167 AdministrativeLaw & Personnel Actions ..17127. Administrative Reprimands ..17328. Flagging Soldiers from Favorable Personnel Actions ..17729. Enlisted Separations ..17930. Officer Separations ..19531. Bars to Continued Service ..19932. Qualitative Service Program (QSP) ..20533. Removal of Enlisted Soldiers from Promotion Lists ..207 Table of Contentsiv34. Removal of Commissioned & Warrant Officers from Promotion Lists ..21135. Security Clearances - Suspension and Revocation.

5 21336. Sexual Harassment ..21537. Domestic Violence Amendment to the Gun Control Act (Lautenberg) ..21938. Article 138 Complaints ..22339. Relief from Command ..225 Civilian Personnel Law of Federal Employment ..22941. Labor-Management Relations ..233 Medical-Legal Issues ..23542. Impact of Misconduct on the Integrated Disability Evaluation System Process ..23743. Mental Health Evaluations ..24544. Command Access to Soldiers Protected Health Information (HIPAA) ..253 Individual Soldier Rights ..26145. Tattoo, Branding, Body Mutiliation, & Jewelry Policy ..26346. Conscientious Objection ..26747. Extremist Organizations and Activities ..26948. Political Activities by Members of the Armed Forces ..27349. Whistleblower Protection ..27550. Service Member s Civil Relief Act (SCRA).

6 27951. Religious Accommodation ..281 National Security Law ..28552. Rules of Engagement ..28753. Law of Armed Conflict ..293 Claims and Client Services ..30354. Article 139 Claims ..30555. Foreign and Deployment Claims ..30956. Family Support Obligations ..31157. Consumer Protection Law ..315 Government Information Practices ..31958. Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Program ..32159. Privacy Act Program ..323 Contract and Fiscal Law ..32560. Fiscal Law for Commanders ..32761. Government Contract Law for Commanders ..333 APPENDIX: Useful References for Commanders ..3391 Preface IThe commander s Responsibilityto Practice Preventive Law An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. -- Benjamin Proactive, not Just ReactiveThis Handbook is designed to assist you in taking proper immediate action when facedwith a variety of legal issues that might arise during your command.

7 The purpose of your ac-tions should be to preserve the legal situation until you can consult with your servicing Judge Advocate. However, like most aspects of your command responsibilities, you can fail if you just wait for things to come to you. You need to be proactive in preventing problems before they the legal arena, this means establishing and enforcing high standards, ensuring your Soldiers are fully aware of those standards and properly trained to comply with them. You must also properly train your Soldiers on all Army policies and higher level command standards so that they also understand and comply with them. Soldiers must also be well-versed in the Army Values and be able to apply those values to real-world situations, which will usually keep them well within legal Soldiers have seen issues in the news that can occur when we are not proactive about discipline and standards: Abuse of prisoners, desecration of corpses, hazing, and sexual assault to name recent examples.

8 All of these circumstances present serious legal issues. But, fun-damentally, they also represent a breakdown in unit standards, training, and discipline. Your objective as a commander should be to develop solid systems and a command climate that prevents legal issues, rather than just reacting to them. In sum, it is every bit as important to train your Soldiers to maintain a high level of discipline and compliance with law, policy, and military standards, as it is to train them to perform your Mission Essential Task List (METL). In legal circles, we call this effort to prevent legal problems before they arise by properly training Soldiers, preventive law. The responsibility to practice preventive law belongs to the LawWhile responsibility for practicing preventive law remains with the commander , yourservicing Judge Advocate stands ready to assist you in meeting this responsibility.

9 One of the most valuable services a Judge Advocate can provide to a commander is eliminating problems before they ever occur through a robust preventive law preventive law is often contemplated in the context of the legal assistance program, a class on avoiding unscrupulous payday lenders or auto dealers using bait and switch2schemes, the concept of preventive law is central to good order and discipline as well. For example, proper training and emphasis on the standards contained in a General Order #1 prior to entering a Theater of Operations can go a long way toward avoiding the types of problems mentioned above. Your Judge Advocate can help you to properly emphasize these standards in a number of ways. For example, they can help you to cover how previous Soldiers have violated this directive and the administrative and punitive actions that followed the offenses without vio-lating due process, privacy, or practicing unlawful command influence.

10 They can also help you to analyze systems and look at weak points and behaviors in your organization that, while not violating the law now, might lead to legal issues. For example, they can help you to craft policies for barracks living arrangements, curbing abuse of alcohol, and providing security while respect-ing privacy -- all of which can help to prevent sexual , as you read and use this guide, please do not use it as an excuse to avoid your servicing Judge Advocate. We hope that you will reach out to your lawyer, and that they will reach out to you, so that through your relationship with this important member of your personal staff, you can receive the advice and assistance you need to have an exceptional and rewarding command experience. 3 Preface IISituations Where You Should Immediately Consult Your Servicing Judge AdvocateA.