who does not have to be an attorney, is assigned to serve as Judge, Jury, Prosecutor, and Defense Counsel. As I was not an attorney, I recessed the court and sent the Soldier to speak with Area Defense Counsel before having him make a plea.
Special and General Courts Martial includes a full-time professional military judge who determines the law. Assigned court members may not be junior to the accused and are the jury that determines facts, including guilt or innocence. Except in wartime, only a General Court Martial may dismiss an officer - dismissal is the officer equivalent of a Dishonorable discharge.
Courts Martial implement the Uniformed Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), a unique military law passed by Congress and signed by the President. USMJ procedures are the Manual for Courts-Martial, promulgated by the President. The UCMJ applies to uniformed service personnel: Army, Marines, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, Coast Guard, NOAA, and the Commissioned Corps of the Public Health Service. The UCMJ does not apply to civilians like Presidents or Secretaries of departments that include uniformed services,
Consider these factors: The Joint Chiefs of Staff have no command authority. The officers in command, e.g., the Commander of USCENTCOM, were executing lawful orders from the Secretary of Defense. SECDEF received his orders from the President, and neither is subject to the UCMJ for actions in those roles. While a court could be convened, a conviction is improbable.
If they wanted to be particularly vindictive, they could direct the appropriate individual service secretary to consider administratively reducing an officer's retired rank to the last rank where the officer's service was satisfactory. This isn't uncommon.
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