Legal Question in Military Law in Oregon

Re: court martial vs captains mass

No. It is much worse. A court-martial is a federal conviction that remains with a person for the rest of his or her life. A Captain's Mast is a non-judicial punishment that is NOT a conviction, and remains in a person's military record, but not in his or her civilian record. A court-martial is like going to court and being convicted of a crime, and perhaps going to jail. A Captain's Mast is like paying a fine for a speeding ticket.

Re: court martial vs captains mass

This is a decision you should make only after talking with a JAG officer. A Captain's Mast is nonjudicial punishment under Article 15 of the UCMJ. There is no trial and no presentation of evidence, the accused accepts that the commander has enough evidence of wrongdoing to bring a summary or general court martial, and elects instead to receive the punishment. The severity of the punishment varies with the rank of the officer imposing the punishment, and a "field grade" Article 15 tends to carry with it more severe punishment. This is still, however, usually less severe than punishment imposed by court martial.

If the case against the accused is weak, and the evidence does not support a finding of wrongdoing, sometimes a court martial might be a better way to go. However, this is something that must be evaluated with assistance from a trained JAG officer because a court martial is not precisely like a civilian jury trial, and convictions occur in even weak cases. A conviction by court martial is a federal criminal conviction which might bar you from civilian employment depending on the nature of the conviction, and which may result in your other-than-honorable discharge. In short, this is a very serious decision.

For these reasons you should seek out assistance from a JAG officer before determining whether to accept a Captain's Mast.