What Happens If You Assault an Officer or NCO in the Military
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Striking a superior commissioned officer who is in the execution of office is an Article 89 offense under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. The peacetime maximum is 10 years of confinement and a dishonorable discharge, and in time of war the maximum is death. Striking or assaulting a warrant officer, NCO, or petty officer in the execution of office falls under Article 91, with maximums of five, three, or one year depending on the victim’s status. If the government cannot prove that the victim was in the execution of office, or that the accused knew the victim’s status, the conduct is charged as assault under Article 128. Several Article 128 tiers still increase the punishment because of the victim’s rank.
Article 89: Striking a Superior Commissioned Officer
The Manual for Courts-Martial, United States (2024 ed.), Part IV, paragraph 15, lists the elements:
- The accused “struck, drew, or lifted up a weapon against, or offered violence against, a certain commissioned officer”
- “That the officer was the superior commissioned officer of the accused”
- “That the accused then knew that the officer was the accused’s superior commissioned officer”
- “That the superior commissioned officer was then in the execution of office.”
“Strikes” means “an intentional contact and includes any offensive touching of the person of an officer, however slight.” No injury is required. On weapons, the Manual says: “The drawing of any weapon in an aggressive manner or the raising or brandishing of the same in a threatening manner in the presence of and at the superior is the sort of act proscribed.” Raising a firearm in a threatening manner, “whether or not loaded,” counts as lifting up a weapon.
The 2016 Military Justice Act moved this offense into Article 89 alongside disrespect toward a superior commissioned officer, effective January 1, 2019. Older material that discusses striking an officer under Article 90 describes the same conduct under the former structure.
“In the Execution of Office”
Paragraph 15 says an officer is in the execution of office “when engaged in any act or service required or authorized by treaty, statute, regulation, the order of a superior, or military usage.” It adds: “any striking or use of violence against any superior commissioned officer by a person over whom it is the duty of that officer to maintain discipline at the time, would be striking or using violence against the officer in the execution of office.” Some officers are covered at all times. “The commanding officer on board a ship or the commanding officer of a unit in the field is generally considered to be on duty at all times.”
The test is the officer’s role at that moment, not the clock or the location. An officer maintaining discipline over the accused at an after-hours unit event can still be in the execution of office.
Article 91: Warrant Officers, NCOs, and Petty Officers
Paragraph 17 sets out the elements for striking or assaulting a warrant officer, noncommissioned officer, or petty officer:
- the accused was a warrant officer or enlisted member;
- the accused “struck or assaulted a certain warrant, noncommissioned, or petty officer”;
- the act was “committed while the victim was in the execution of office”; and
- the accused “then knew that the person struck or assaulted was a warrant, noncommissioned, or petty officer.”
For the higher tier involving a superior NCO or petty officer, the government must also prove the victim was the accused’s superior and that the accused knew it.
When the Status Elements Fail: Article 128
If the victim was not in the execution of office, or the accused did not know the victim’s status, Article 89 or 91 does not fit. The conduct becomes assault under Article 128. Paragraph 77 still increases the punishment for some victims who were not in the execution of office.
| Offense | Maximum punishment (MCM 2024) | App. 12C category |
|---|---|---|
| Art. 89, striking etc. a superior commissioned officer in execution of office | dishonorable discharge, total forfeitures, 10 years; in time of war, death or other punishment | Category 2; time of war "Criteria" |
| Art. 91, striking or assaulting a warrant officer in execution of office | dishonorable discharge, total forfeitures, 5 years | Category 2 |
| Art. 91, striking or assaulting a superior NCO or petty officer | dishonorable discharge, total forfeitures, 3 years | Category 2 |
| Art. 91, striking or assaulting another NCO or petty officer | dishonorable discharge, total forfeitures, 1 year | Category 1 |
| Art. 128, assault on a commissioned officer not in execution of office | dishonorable discharge, total forfeitures, 3 years | Category 2 |
| Art. 128, assault on a warrant officer not in execution of office | dishonorable discharge, total forfeitures, 18 months | Category 2 |
| Art. 128, assault on an NCO or petty officer not in execution of office | bad-conduct discharge, total forfeitures, 6 months | Category 1 |
| Art. 128, assault consummated by a battery (any victim) | bad-conduct discharge, total forfeitures, 6 months | Category 1 |
The categories apply to offenses committed after December 27, 2023. Appendix 12B sets Category 1 at 0 to 12 months and Category 2 at 1 to 36 months, capped by the offense’s own maximum. Where death may be adjudged, as for some offenses in time of war, R.C.M. 925(b) sends sentencing to R.C.M. 1004. Aggravated assault under Article 128, such as with a dangerous weapon or causing grievous bodily harm, carries higher maximums of its own.
Knowledge and Other Defenses
- Knowledge of status. For Article 89, the Manual says that if the accused “did not know that the person against whom the acts or words were directed was the accused’s superior commissioned officer, the accused may not be convicted of a violation of this article.” Knowledge “may be proved by circumstantial evidence.”
- The superior’s own conduct. Paragraph 15 says it is a defense “that the accused acted in the proper discharge of some duty, or that the victim behaved in a manner toward the accused such as to lose the protection of this article.” Its example: “if the victim initiated an unlawful attack on the accused, this would deprive the victim of the protection of this article, and, in addition, could excuse any lesser included offense of assault as done in self-defense, depending on the circumstances”.
Consequences Beyond Confinement
A dishonorable discharge from a court-martial is a firearms disability under 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(6), which covers a person “discharged from the Armed Forces under dishonorable conditions”. Short of court-martial, the command can use nonjudicial punishment under Article 15, which a member not attached to or embarked in a vessel may refuse, or administrative action. Before a person subject to the UCMJ questions a member suspected of the offense, Article 31(b) requires a warning about the nature of the accusation and the right not to make a statement.
Duty, Knowledge, and Who Struck First
- What was the victim doing at the moment of the contact, and was it an act “required or authorized” by regulation, order, or military usage?
- Did the accused know the victim’s status, and what shows that knowledge?
- Who started the physical confrontation? The answer can remove the article’s protection and support self-defense.
- Was any weapon involved, and was anyone injured? Those facts move the case into aggravated assault.
Sources
- 10 U.S.C. 889, Article 89, Disrespect toward superior commissioned officer; assault of superior commissioned officer (Cornell LII)
- 10 U.S.C. 891, Article 91, Insubordinate conduct toward warrant officer, noncommissioned officer, or petty officer (Cornell LII)
- 10 U.S.C. 928, Article 128, Assault (Cornell LII)
- 18 U.S.C. 922, Unlawful acts (Cornell LII)
- 10 U.S.C. 815, Article 15, Commanding officer’s non-judicial punishment (Cornell LII)
- 10 U.S.C. 831, Article 31, Compulsory self-incrimination prohibited (Cornell LII)
- Manual for Courts-Martial, United States (2024 ed.), Part II, R.C.M. 925(b); Part IV, para. 15 (Article 89), para. 17 (Article 91), para. 77 (Article 128); Appendix 12B; Appendix 12C.
This guide explains how assaults on superiors are charged and punished under the UCMJ and the 2024 Manual for Courts-Martial. It is general information, not legal advice about a particular incident.