Civilian Contractor in Iraq to Face Court-Martial

Allegra is it just the courts-martial portion of UCMJ or are some contractors subject to or non-judicial punishment (article 15) aspects of UCMJ also?

Here is some of what I had to sign off on:

"Recently Congress amended the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) to permit the prosecution of civilians accompanying the armed forces during contingency operations such as those ongoing in Iraq and Afghanistan.

This change will have no affect on operations and should have no impact on the performance of your duties. Because our company requires compliance with the highest ethical standards, the law and applicable General Orders such as CENTCOM General Order Number 1, it should have no impact upon you or our operations.

This change, however, does subject you to an additional set of laws and punishment. The UCMJ and its punitive articles can be reviewed at http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/ucmj.htm. You are encouraged to become familiar with its provisions. A court-martial is similar to other trials. With a General Court Martial, there is a pretrial investigation, a trial conducted before a Military Judge who is a senior Judge Advocate, and a panel that consists of at least five military members unfamiliar with the case. Military Regulations currently require that a military defense counsel be appointed to defend any person subject to trial by court martial at no expense to the individual. Individuals subject to trial by court-martial may also hire their own civilian attorney at no expense to the government.

Civilians accompanying the armed forces are also subject to prosecution for violation of US law under the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act (MEJA), and in many cases, can be subjected to prosecution under the laws of the host nation. The addition of UCMJ jurisdiction over civilians accompanying the armed forces during a contingency operation does not change this.

If you are advised that you are under investigation for a possible UCMJ violation, notify your supervisor immediately. Although what you report to your supervisor is not privileged and can be used against you in court, if you simply tell your supervisor that you are under investigation we can assist in requesting the appointment of a Military Defense Counsel to assist you in your defense."

Hope that helps. :)

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