Article 15 - Commander’s Investigation & Hearing

This is the Document Release Information
Article Number:	7CAV-R-044
Scope:	Article 15 - Commander’s Investigation & Hearing
Version:	1.0
Effective Date:	26NOV20
Last Modified Date:	15DEC20
Approving Authority:	Regimental Commanding Officer
Point of Contact:	Regimental Executive Officer

Introduction

Article 15 Investigations are a measure used to investigate (independently where possible) any alleged infraction upon legal request. A Hearing is the subsequent review of that investigations findings and the provision of summary judgement or dismissal from a Command Authority on the matter.

Initiation, Process and Requirements

It will typically be necessitated from repetitive issuing of Letters of Reprimand, but may be initiated by any Command Authority at will within their scope of command. In addition, any Officer within the 7th Cavalry can request an Article 15 Commander’s Investigation on any matter they have evidence or witness testimony to provide against any trooper regardless of seniority to be referred to the Battalion Commander or Department OIC. The Battalion Commander or Department OIC or independent delegate appointed by the aforementioned shall perform an investigation, by obtaining any and all evidence and witness testimony. The Battalion SGM or Department NCOIC shall be responsible for overseeing the investigator’s efforts to accomplish this. Delegates must be Commissioned Officers within the 7th Cavalry. The Investigator must produce a report of their findings, along with a recommendation which may be enacted or overruled by the Battalion Commander or Department OIC through the Right of Review policy. When interviewing the accused, in any legal proceeding (PHASE 3 or 4) the accused is entitled to the representation of a qualified Officer to offer (7th Cavalry) Legal Counsel in the capacity of their defense.

Investigation Report Content

The investigating officer will provide a report of the findings within 14 days of the investigation initiation and provide recommendation to the Battalion Commander or Department OIC:

1. An executive summary (intended to summarize in no more than 4 sentences/bullet points.)
2. The evidence gathered to include:

   A. Facts

   B. Witness testimony

   C. Recordings / Logs (if applicable)

3. Whether any lines of inquiry were not explored, and if so, why not?
4. A recommendation to the Battalion Commander or OIC as to what action they should take. Recommendations could include:

   A. Dismissal of the case due to lack of evidence

   B. Further investigative work beyond the scope of this officer’s jurisdiction.

   C. Recommendation to proceed to sentencing at Commander’s Hearing.

   D. Recommendation to proceed to a General Court Martial (Phase 4- Pre-trial investigation [Article 32 Investigation])

Commander’s Hearing

This is the mandatory process disciplining authorities must follow to execute a Commander’s Hearing:

1. Pursuant to a referral by the investigating officer during the Commander’s investigation, the accused is served the report produced previously via Private Message.
2. The accuses has 7 days from the date of the message was sent to concur or dispute the content notwithstanding Leaves of Absence when pre-booked before the message is delivered.
3. In the event that the Accused disputes the findings, the matter is immediately referred to Court Martial. (Phase 4 - Pre-trial investigation [Article 32 Investigation])
4. The Battalion Commander or Department OIC shall act as the presiding authority for any proceeding within their command.
5. Once the hearing has been completed, the sentence shall be passed by the Battalion Commander or Department OIC with the accused.
6. Limits of sentencing are included later in this SOP.
7. In the event of an appeal against the severity of the punishment of the Battalion Commander or Departmental or OIC, the Battalion Commander or Departmental OIC shall submit a report detailing all findings and summary judgment of the case to the JAG OIC who shall independently review the facts of the case and ensure that a fair process has been followed, and either reaffirm or commute the sentence.

   A. For clarity, the actual Commander’s Hearing cannot be appealed as it is based upon fact.

   B. For clarity, the severity of the punishment is defined as the consequences listed under the limitations of Section 6.

8. In a Commander’s Hearing, the Commanding officer may only reduce the rank of those who occupied a primary billet directly or indirectly reporting to himself, additionally, the Commander may only remove a member from a billet that he oversees directly or indirectly.

   A. For clarity, it is not intended that a Departmental OIC may be able to reduce the rank of a trooper within their department unless that billeting is Primary in nature.

Repeat / Multiple Article 15 Commander’s Investigations & Hearings

It is not anticipated that any repetitions of an Article 15 investigation will occur due to the severity of the offences they are typically aligned to (such as gross misconduct or willful disobedience demonstrated over a period of time). That being said it should be expected that any repeat Article 15 investigation performed for the same reason on the same individual shall be grounds for immediate escalation to an Article 32 investigation.

Article 15 Commander’s Investigation and Hearing Record-Keeping

Record of a Commander’s Hearing must be kept indefinitely by reference on the troopers MILPAC. These are likely to become part of an integrated feature of the forum in due course in order to remove the administrative burden of PDF management in Google Drives.

Form Template

The Article 15 Command Hearing Template may be found here:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/14TT2LExL3SWlATQ6AFkPNOeiWZHpL3p6/view?usp=sharing

The Command Investigation Template may be found here:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1K3WAnR-tYsS4easfWdBbFMjXqpTLWyV1/view?usp=sharing

The Investigative Nature of an Article 15 Commander’s Investigation

An Investigation is non-punitive. This means specifically that the Investigation itself is not a consequence of a troopers actions. It is a process designed to enable discovery of the facts in order to identify whether guilt may or may not be ascribed. No record of an Investigation alone shall appear on a trooper’s MILPAC.

The Punitive Nature of a Commander’s Hearing

A Commander’s Hearing, unless the case is dismissed, is punitive. This means specifically that the Hearing itself is a consequence of a troopers actions and even if not inclusive of additional measures, is a record of disciplinary action to be annotated unconditionally for future reference upon a troopers MILPAC.

Command Authority

Authorities for an Article 15 include:

• The General of the Army
• The Chief of Staff
• Battalion Commanders
• Departmental OICs

Consequences

There is a documented limit of authority in order to prevent abuse. Limits of Sentencing are uniform for Officers and NCOs, and include:

• Notation on MILPACS
• Assign 30 days NFA
• Reduce by 1 or more grade for Enlisted Members in accordance with Commanders hearing subsection 8.
• Reduce by 1 grade for Offices or NCOs in accordance with Commanders hearing subsection 8.
• Remove from Billet anyone at Platoon Level or below in accordance with Commanders hearing subsection 8..

Regimental Disciplinary Process
Counseling	Developmental Counseling Statement (DCS)
Repeated Minor Offences or Serious Offences	Letter of Reprimand (LOR) • Article 15 - Commander's Investigation and Hearing
Repeated Serious Offences or Gravely Serious Offences	Article 32 - Pre-Trial Investigation and Court Martial