Hi. I am new here, and I've never been a part of any forum or discussions before. I joined because I need a better understanding of the military justice system. I've been doing a lot of research to understand the system. My husband is a US servicemember currently serving a sentence of confinement, for various violations of the UCMJ, and his last Court martial was for Article 85, UCMJ. He has an appointed ADC, but his ADC can only do so much. I basically have to research on my own, because prior to this, we lived an ordinary civilian life and so I don't have any idea how the US military system works. I am not even a US citizen. I met my husband when he moved here in my country. I am hoping and praying that somebody can help me so I can help my husband better. I have a lot of questions and concerns. I cannot afford to hire a US civilian or military lawyer, so I rely mostly on research, and that is how I came across this site. Thank you and God bless.

Serendipity, I understand how confusing the UCMJ can be and would be glad to help you if I can. What issues are you trying to research?

Thank you for your willingness to help. Due to time difference, I apologize for the late reply.
Right now, we are waiting to file for clemency. Then, what will happen from there? I guess the UCMJ clearly outlined the punitive charges and all that... maybe what really confuses me right now is the whole military system... right now, they told me we are not entitled to any benefits and all that... I just find the whole situation so unfair and confusing. My husband voluntarily surrendered, they wanted him under their custody, but no one even considered what will happen to his family. There is so much bureacracy in the system. I wish someone from the military will inform me what the situation is, what we are entitled to and not entitled to, why we're not entitled to anything... or if they can at least inform me of other options so I can get help and assistance. This whole situation is so difficult emotionally and financially. :(

OK. If you're waiting on clemency to be filed now, what you are waiting for is the defense counsel to submit to the prosecution all evidence of mitigating factors or circumstances that would increase the likelihood of the convening authority somehow lessening the sentence handed down by the military judge or panel. The process, as I understand it and as it has a bearing here, is for the defense counsel to submit the matters in clemency, the Judge Advocate's office will review and pass up to the convening authority, along with their recommendation as to sentencing. I can't tell you how long it takes, but generally not too long(although I know that any waiting is unbearable). If your husband is sentenced to confinement, he will be immediately confined based on the length of his sentence. I'm not sure of the exact procedure if the sentence doesn't include confinement.

As for you not knowing what benefits you are eligible for at this point, I suggest you contact your husband's attorney and have him refer you to the right office for information. I would think that until the sentencing is final, your husband's pay and benefits continue unchanged. At that point, depending on what the sentence is, (if it includes reduction in rank, discharge, etc.) the benefits would reduce or terminate accordingly. I wish I knew the name of the office you could contact to find this out. Maybe someone else on here will. Is there a Personnel Office, or Family Services Office there? Someone there could tell you which office to contact.

I hope things work out soon for you. Living in limbo is no way to go. Hope my answer, such as it is, helped. Hang in there.

~ Lisa

Ma'am:

thank you for that info. I do not have access to any Family Services or Personnel Office because I am outside the US and no US military installation here. They said they are basically researching the matters at hand, but there is no way for me to know if they really care about it or just trying to pacify my concerns.

Hope someone can still help. Thank you Ms. Lisa.

Depending on whether your husband's discharge has been finalized, you should be entitled to something in the way of benefits. The discharge is usually not finalized until the appeals are completed, and this can take years. The bad news is that the benefits do not include pay, unless that is specifically stated by the Convening Authority (that's the general officer who actually brought the charges and signs off on the sentence after the court martial.) Normally, pay stops when the individual is locked up, but pay can be extended for the benefit of family for up to six months. It is not automatic; it has to be requested and the Convening Authority has to agree to do it. I know it can be done because it was done for my family when I was incarcerated. However, even in the absence of pay, you should still be entitled to medical and other support if your husband's discharge has not been finalized. I have no idea how that works if you are out of the country and away from any US facility, but I would imagine there is some way to do it. The best person to ask is your husband's lawyer.
I have recently started finding publications online that could help in research. I wish I had known about them before my court martial. For example, you can download a copy of the Manual for Courts Martial (MCM), 2000 version. This is the basic military "bible" on how Courts Martial are carried out, what rules they are supposed to use for evidence, that sort of thing. I did a Google search and found this:
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&q=MCM+%22Manual+for+Courts+Martial%22&btnG=Google+Search
I haven't looked at this site extensively, but it appears to contain a bunch of potentially useful stuff, including the MCM and publications on criminal law used in the Judge Advocate General (JAG) course. The MCM can be a little tough to wade through, but it's probably an essential starting place if you want to understand the military justice system.
Research can be a drag. Hopefully, your husband has a good military appeals lawyer, but I wouldn't count on the lawyer to do a lot. Your husband can do some research while incarcerated, but thanks to the Internet, you should have access to more research materials than he will. The people I knew who seemed to have the most active appeals were the ones who did their own research.
Sad to say, my wife's experience was that the military doesn't really care about the families of the people who are locked up. My wife got the feeling they thought she was somehow guilty, too. Keep pushing. Keep asking questions until you get an anwer that satisfies you.

The MCM 2000 is a good starting point; however, it is updated periodically so make sure there are no additions/deletions before you rely provisions you research. Because it is the benchbook used by military judges, it has a lot of explanatory material. Here is another website with really useful links:

http://www.court-martial.com/research_links.htm

It is from Phil Cave's website (a civilian military defense attorney). You can find just about anything you need to know. But dave is right... keep asking questions. I do want to say that my experience as the mother of a servicemember in the military justice system seems quite the opposite from yours. I was treated with the utmost respect and kept informed as to every aspect of my son's case (from detention through incarceration and beyond). Maybe it depends on the TDC. I still hear from him and he's even sent pictures of his new baby!

update: there is a MCM 2002 update available on the Phil Cave website. I'm going to start a new thread with the link posted above just for general information. There is a LOT of information available about the military justice system and various contacts within all of the service branches.

I am right there with you. My husband is going to be going to the brig for desertion among other STUPID things. I dont know what to expect or even how to react. We got married in December, he ran in January and then went back, and ran in February after I flew to Chicago to see him for Valentine's day. It was stupid, but in some strange way, I know he did it because he thought it was necessary. ugh! So complicated.

Danielle,
I'm glad you found the military forum. I'm not familiar with sentencing for Desertion and there are probably other factors that will influence the length of the sentence (the other "stupid things" you referred to, for instance). Generally, Leavenworth is for sentences of five years or more. What to expect? Unfortunately, confusion and misinformation seems to be the norm. Try to stay in contact as much as possible with your husband, and with his defense counsel. Stay involved and ask questions! How to react? Calmly, coolly, and whenever you need to, vent it all right here or to a trusted friend. We try to support each other as much as possible here at PTO and it is a great place to just "let it all hang out" (the good and the bad). I hope things get better for you. We try to answer each other's questions, and are continually looking for answers. Feel free to ask and share.

Take care,
Lisa

I've written about this elsewhere, but do check out the Citizens Against Military Injustice (CAMI) website, www.militaryinjustice.org. CAMI has been around a while, and their site has lots of useful information, including an outline of the military justice system. It's now a subscription site, and costs $19.99 a year if you want full access to all the resources, but well over half are open for free to anyone, including the aforementioned outline of the military justice system.

Hi Danielle. My husband was charged with desertion too and got the maximum of 2 years for it, and reduction in rank and dishonorable discharge. I know it is very difficult. I hardly hear from my husband because overseas phone calls costs too much... $4/minute! I pray that all of us going thru' similar situations can draw strength, hope, and support from each other. Keep in touch. Send me a PM if you wish to talk, I can send you my personal e-mail address.

Take care!