[JoeFromSidney]

All this uproar about commanders overlooks an important consideration. One of the most important reasons for courts martial is to enforce discipline. That reason doesn't exist in civilian courts. Commanders must have the authority to convene CMs, and to review their findings.

I was once the senior officer on what amounted to a CM. Enlisted man was caught in a drug bust by civilian police. His Air Force job was handling bombs. The enlisted guys on the court wanted to hang him, although that wasn't a possibility. The ultimate decision by the court was a dishonorable discharge. Under the regs we didn't have any choice. It was that or a slap on the wrist. The convening commander reduced the punishment to general discharge. I thought it was a good decision on the commanders part. It was a civil crime, and the guy would be punished in a civilian court anyway.

[kimtom]

While I was in, we had High Standards of conduct, our Flight Chief covered our backs, but when it came down to it, they washed out those that could not perform.

tolerance for abuse (drugs or otherwise) was Zero.

The big plus to an all volunteer force was quality (overall)
draftees, didn’t want to be there, so they escaped any way they could.

Nature of the Beast (so to speak)