CHAPTER 2
MILITARY CONDUCT AND JUSTICE
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Upon completion of this chapter, you should be able to do the following:
1. Describe how to conduct a preliminary investi-
3. Describe the content of the Standard Organiza-
gation of offenses.
tion and Regulations of the U. S. Navy.
2. Recognize the purpose and content of U.S.
4. Explain the Status of Forces Agreement
Navy Regulations.
concerning members of the armed forces in
foreign countries.
The topics in this chapter deal primarily with
regulations that senior enlisted personnel should
be aware of to perform their job with consistency.
We will first examine the procedures for con-
ducting a preliminary investigation of offenses.
Then we will introduce you to the purpose and
content of both U.S. Navy Regulations and
Standard Organization and Regulations of the
U.S. Navy. We will close the chapter with a
discussion of the Status of Forces Agreement
(SOFA).
THE PRELIMINARY
INVESTIGATION
At some point in your career, the legal officer
may assign you to serve as a preliminary inquiry
officer (PIO). As the PIO you will conduct an
investigation of offenses before a captain’s mast
takes place. You will only investigate relatively
minor offenses that are not under investigation
by the Naval Investigative Service (NIS) or a fact-
finding body.
REPORT AND DISPOSITION OF
OFFENSE(S) (REPORT CHIT)
Naval personnel may be reported for offenses
involving military conduct or justice. A complaint
against someone goes through a series of steps
from the time it leaves the initiator to the time
of the preliminary inquiry.
The legal officer receives the complaint and
drafts charges and specifications against the
accused on a locally prepared report chit form.
Following the guidelines of part IV of the Manual
for Courts-Martial, 1984 (MCM), the legal officer
writes the charges and specifications using court-
martial language. The charges and specifications
are then typed on the NAVPERS 1626/7, Report
and Disposition of Offense(s) form (figs. 2-1
and 2-2). The accused’s service record supplies
the information required on the front of the
report chit. The legal officer or the person who
submitted the complaint then signs the report.
The legal officer conducts a personal interview
with the accused to inform, the person of his
or her rights under article 31(b) of the Uniform
Code of Military Justice (UCMJ). When the
accused acknowledges he or she understands
his or her rights, he or she then signs the
ACKNOWLEDGED block and the disciplinary
or legal officer signs the WITNESSED block.
THE ACCUSED SHOULD NOT BE INTER-
ROGATED AT THIS TIME. The legal officer
should determine and recommend to the com-
manding officer or executive officer what
restraint, if any, should be imposed at this time.
2-1
