A sailor who has had a uniform code of military justice violation

Article 92 defines disobeying a direct order as three types of offenses - violations or failures to obey lawful general orders or regulations, failures to obey other lawful orders, and dereliction of duty. Article 92 charges are common in many prosecutions. It does not take very much effort for the government to find an allegation under Article 92 in most cases.

For charges related to violating or failing to obey lawful general orders or regulations, most defenses will focus on defects in the regulation. That particular provision does not require that the accused have specific knowledge of the order or regulation [4]. In that regard, one of the only areas of attack is usually to attack defects in the regulation.

Violation of or failure to obey a lawful general order or regulation:

• That there was in effect a certain lawful general order or regulation;
• That the accused had a duty to obey it; and,
• That the accused violated or failed to obey the order or regulation [1].

Failure to obey other lawful order:

• That a member of the armed forces issued a certain lawful order;
• That the accused had knowledge of the order; and
• That the accused had a duty to obey the order; and
• That the accused failed to obey the order [2].

Dereliction in the performance of duties

• That the accused had certain duties;
• That the accused knew or reasonably should have known of the duties; and
• That the accused was (willfully) (through neglect or culpable inefficiency) derelict in the performance of those duties [3].

As a threshold matter, the regulation must apply to the accused and prohibit the conduct that the accused is alleged to have performed [5]. In many cases, the order or regulation is intended to provide guidance. The regulation should specifically state that it is punitive. Counsel should note that the specification may be defective if it fails to specify the proper regulation or that the order is a general order. Counsel should also be careful to investigate whether any exceptions to the order or regulation exist.

Where the case involves violations of other lawful orders, a person with a status that imposes on the accused a duty to obey the order must have given the order. In that regard, the person giving the order need not necessarily be superior in rank. The key in these cases is sometimes attacking the knowledge element of the order. Cross-examination of government witnesses should frequently focus on the specificity of the order.

Orders are presumed to be lawful. Nonetheless, counsel may attach whether the order had a valid military purpose. That is, all activities reasonably necessary to accomplish a military mission. It can also include activities intended to safeguard or promote the morale, discipline, and usefulness of a unit [6]. The order can involve prohibitions on private activity if they relate to any of the above [7]. Counsel must scrutinize the order to ensure that it is not an overly broad limitation on a personal right.

In dereliction of duty cases, the threshold question is whether the accused had a particular duty. The duty can be imposed by any number of sources, including custom of the service. The key, again, is that the accused must have had knowledge of the particular duty. Ineptitude can be a defense to allegations of willfulness, negligence, or culpable inefficiency. A defense of ineptitude will be largely fact-specific. Examine the duty, the training, and abilities of the client, and the context in which he or she was asked to perform the duty.

Sailors must successfully complete PMK-EE in order to be eligible to take the advancement exam. Additionally, the Sailor's PMK-EE must be completed by the first day of the month in which the advancement exam is administered.

Sailors who advance through the Meritorious Advancement Program are required to complete PMK-EE by the first day of MAP open season. Additionally, Sailors who automatically advance to E-4 upon completion of an A School must successfully complete PMK-EE prior to advancement.

The Professional Military Knowledge Eligibility Exam exam consists of 100 questions covering five topic areas: Leadership and Character, Career Information, Professional Conduct, Naval Heritage, and Seamanship.

Each topic may be taken independently of the other sections, in any order, and not necessarily during the same MNP session. Sailors taking the exam must achieve a passing score of 80 percent or higher in each area to pass the entire exam. Failure to achieve an 80 percent score on a topic will require that topic to be retaken in order to pass.

The PMK-EE app was developed by the Navy's Sea Warrior Program Office (PMW 240) and can be downloaded from the Navy App Locker website.

• PMK-EE app download - provides Sailors a more convenient way of taking the PMK-EE portion of the exam.

Study material can be accessed using one of two methods:

Navy e-Learning: Click on the Course Catalog tab. Search for "PMK-EE" in the title column. Enroll in the applicable PMK-EE. Click on the "My Learning" tab and launch PMK-EE.

MyNavy Portal: Click the Career and Life Events drop-down and select Advancement & Promotion. Select Enlisted Advancement from the left column. Click on the PMK-EE link to view the PMK-EE study material. From the PMK-EE study material page, click on the "Click here to go to Navy e-Learning to take your PMK-EE" link at the top of the screen.

The course numbers in Navy e-Learning are:

• NETPDC-PMK-EE-SM-1.0, PMK-EE Study Material
• NETPDC-PMK-EE-E4-1.0, for E4
• NETPDC-PMK-EE-E5-1.0, for E5
• NETPDC-PMK-EE-E6-1.0, for E6
• NETPDC-PMK-EE-E7-1.0, for E7

For additional information about PMK-EE, go to MyNavy Portal (MNP), select Career and Life Events, Advancement and Promotion page, then scroll down and click on the PMK-EE link. There you can download PMK-EE Smart Sheet detailed supplemental guidance. Also refer to NAVADMINs 201/20 on this page.

The PMK-EE help desk can be reached by e-mail: or by phone: (850) 473-6014, DSN 753.

Members of the military are subject to many rules, regulations and laws. Besides having to obey the laws of the United States and their host countries in times of peace under international treaties, they are also subject to a special set of laws made just for them, the Uniform Code of Military Justice or UCMJ.

The UCMJ is federal law, enacted by Congress which applies to all active duty members as well as activated National Guard and Reserve members and military academy students. Some civilians serving in support of the military during wartime are also subject to the UCMJ.

The UCMJ was enacted in 1951, prior to that each service had their own set of legal regulations which changed during peacetime and wartime. The UCMJ was developed to make the legal system uniform across all services.

Congress created the UCMJ and periodically makes changes to it through legislation, usually as part of the National Defense Authorization Act or NDAA.

As constitutionally mandated, Congress creates the laws contained in the UCMJ. The president with the constitutional power of the execution and enforcement of those laws creates and maintains the Manual for Courts Martial or MCM, which contains the penalties for breaking any of the laws prescribed by Congress.

If a service member commits an offense that involves the civilian or international community, the military may choose to let civilian authorities handle the case. However, a military member may be tried for the same crime in both a civilian and military court under separate charges.

Related: Military Justice Explained

UCMJ Articles

The UCMJ has various "articles" which enumerate the various legal infractions it covers. For example Article 92 is "Failure to Obey an Order or Regulation" while Article 129 concerns "Burglary." 

To cover all crimes not listed, there is Article 134, the "General Article" which lists as a punishable offense "all disorders and neglects to the prejudice of good order and discipline in the armed forces, all conduct of a nature to bring discredit upon the armed forces " - and more.

You can view the UCMJ and MCM online for more details.

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