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Introduction
Article 138, Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), provides a Soldier with an avenue to complain about the decisions of his commanding officer. This complaint procedure is available to both active duty Soldiers and reserve component Soldiers when in a Title 10 duty status.1 The language of Article 138 is as follows:
Art. 138. Complaints of wrongs
Any member of the armed forces who believes himself wronged by his commanding officer, and who, upon due application to that commanding officer, is refused redress, may complain to any superior commissioned officer, who shall forward the complaint to the officer exercising general court-martial jurisdiction over the officer against whom it is made. The officer exercising general court-martial jurisdiction shall examine into the complaint and take proper measures for redressing the wrong complained of; and he shall, as soon as possible, send to the Secretary concerned a true statement of that complaint, with the proceedings had thereon.
Article 138 complaints are not often sought as a remedy for a perceived wrong.2 As such, many junior Judge Advocates (JAs) are unaware of how to properly counsel a Soldier on submitting an Article 138 complaint or how to advise a commander on how to respond to one. In fact, the procedures for submitting and disposing of an Article 138 complaint are likely frustrating to many and may easily be confused with the more prevalent Article 139 request that seeks payment from a Soldier for his willful damage or theft of another's property.3 This article is written to clarify Article 138 complaint procedure and provides an overview of its provisions to assist in disposing of these complaints in an efficient manner.
Request for Redress
Before filing an Article 138 complaint, a Soldier must submit an initial request for redress.4 A request for redress gives the commanding officer the opportunity to respond to the Soldier's allegations and perhaps resolve issues at a much lower level.5 Defense counsel or legal assistance attorneys can point Soldiers to an example request for redress in Army Regulation (AR) 27-10 and can assist in the preparation of requests for redress.6 Requests for redress may be as short as a one-page memorandum but must "identify the commanding officer against whom it is made, the date and...