2-6 explains the rights of the accused. The legal office personnel will complete the remainder of the form. The next step in the processing of a report chit is for the commanding officer to assign a junior officer or senior petty officer to conduct a preliminary inquiry of the alleged offense(s). The results of the preliminary inquiry then go to the executive officer’s inquiry (XOI), also  known  as  a  screening  mast.  At  the  XOI,  the executive officer will either dismiss the report chit or forward it to the commanding officer for captain’s mast. At captain’s mast, the commanding officer will review the report chit, the results of the preliminary inquiry, the statements of the witnesses and the accused, and any evidence connected with the case. The commanding officer then will dismiss the case, award nonjudicial punishment, or refer the case to a court-martial. If the preliminary inquiry, XOI, or captain’s mast involves you in any way, your participation will be as a witness. The reverse side of the form concerns disposition of the case, preliminary investigation results and recommendations,    actions    of    the    executive    and commanding officers, and final administrative action (appeal, service record entry, etc.). Rights of the Accused One area deserves special caution: preservation of the subject’s rights. Under article 31, UCMJ, an official must inform all suspects of the charges against them and of their right to remain silent. That official must advise suspects that anything they say may be used as evidence against them at a trial by court-martial. Under other provisions of law, a suspect also may have a right to legal counsel before and during any  interview.  The official must advise suspects of those rights and provide them with the opportunity to exercise those rights before questioning them. Failure to do so could prevent the use of self-incriminating statements made by suspects in disciplinary pro-ceedings. That could result in the loss of the entire case. You should not question any suspect, but should leave that task to personnel with proper training, such as legal  or  law  enforcement  personnel.  In  some  cases though, you may have to question the person you are placing on report about the offense(s) he or she allegedly committed. If this situation does occur, make sure you properly advise that person of his or her rights under article 31 of the UCMJ. Remember that the report chit you start—the act of placing someone on report for violating the UCMJ— could eventually lead to a court-martial of that person. Courts-Martial Based on article 16 of the UCMJ, courts-martial are of three types—summary, special, and general. The captain decides the type of court-martial to award based on the nature, time, and place of the offense. A summary court-martial (SCM) consists of one commissioned officer. If there is only one commissioned officer with the command, that officer acts as the summary court officer. A summary court can award any sentence that may be given at mast. It also can award the additional punishments of confinement for 1 month, hard labor without confinement for 45 days, restriction for 2 months, or forfeiture of two-thirds pay per month for 1 month. A special court-martial (SPCM) consists of not less than three members. The accused can request that enlisted personnel serve on the court. In that event, enlisted personnel make up at least one third of the court membership. The accused has the right to consult with a defense counsel and to request that the court consist of only the military judge. A SPCM may award a more severe punishment than a SCM. For example, it can award a bad-conduct  discharge,  confinement  for  6 months, loss of two-thirds pay per month for 6 months, and hard labor without confinement for 3 months. A  general  court-martial  (GCM)  consists  of  a military judge and not less than five members. As in a special court-martial, the accused may request that enlisted  personnel  serve  on  the  court.  Under  the conditions described for a SPCM, the accused may request that the court consist of only a military judge. A GCM can award any punishment not forbidden by the UCMJ, including death when specifically authorized for the offense. All accused persons have the right to be represented before special and general courts-martial by defense counsel. This counsel may be a civilian attorney, at the expense of the accused, or a military attorney detailed to represent the accused.