Should the stalker astronaut be court martialed for adultery?

Question

Should the Navy court martial astronaut stalker Captian Lisa Marie Nowak for adultery, attempted kidnapping and attempted murder? Should the Navy also court martial her boyfriend Commander Bill Oefelein for adultery? Should the Air Force also court martial Captian Colleen Shipman for adultery?

Why do you think that none of these officers are being court martialed?

Answer 1

Let's start off with the elements of adultery:

1. That the accused wrongfully had sexual intercourse with a certain person.

2. That, at the time, the accused of the other person was married to someone else; and

3. That, under the circumstances, the conduct of the accused was to the prejudice of good order and discipline in the armed forces or was of a nature to bring discredit upon the armed forces.

Actually, CAPT Nowak most likely won't be court martialed for adultery. If she does in fact admit that she was having sexual relations with Bill Oefelein I seriously doubt she will get court martialed for it. If she has more than 20 years of service she will most likely be retired. Courts martial (the proper way to say it) are VERY expensive for the military, so to waste that money for a charge of adultery is frivolous at best. Also to contradict someone else, adultery falls under Article 134 UCMJ which is a general article and is known within the military as the "catch all article." Articles 77 through 134 are punitive articles and all of the offenses listed therein can be (but not necessarily) prosecuted via court martial. That is why there is a "maximum punishment" listed under all offenses.

CAPT Novak can, however, be court martialed for conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman which is Article 133, UCMJ. Although CAPT Novak is not a gentleman, the term "gentleman" includes both male and female commissioned officers, cadets, and midshipmen.

CAPT Novak cannot be court martialed for attempted kidnapping or attempted murder. She CAN however, be court martialed for aggravated assault provided the elements of proof are met. Additionally, she can be court martialed for Attempts, Article 80, UCMJ for an assault charge which could have caused death or grevious bodily harm.

The Navy and Air Force are generally more forgiving towards their officers than the Army or Marines. The latter would have no problem with stacking charges and getting at least one or two to stick, then dismissing the officers from the service. As stated earlier, these officers probably won't get court martialed due to the expense, but could face a Chapter 10 which is in lieu of a court martial, and allowed to resign their commission. If either of them had 20 years of service, then they could be forced to retire.

Answer 2

Military personnel who are assigned duties to NASA as astronauts are still under the provisions and jurisdiction of the UCMJ. There is no specific charge of Adultery listed in the Punitivie Articles of the UCMJ; however, there is an article for "Conduct Unbecoming an Officer." I would think that Captain Nowak's actions most certainly fit this article to a "T." There is also Article 134, which is a general crimes article used to prosecute offenses for which there is no specific article previously listed. Adultery comes under this article.

So far, there has been no proven instance of adultery on anyone's part. The news media has only said that the three were "in a relationship," and until the Air Force and the Navy conduct their own investigations, you won't hear anything about it from them.

And trust me, there most certainly will be investigations by both the Air Force and the Navy. If the results of the investigations indicate that the officers involved should be court-martialed, then that will most assuredly happen. The only way that these officers can avoid a court-martial is to resign their commissions, and even then the Air Force and the Navy can refuse the resignation and hold them for trial. But I'm guessing that this won't happen; the two services will probobly let them resign.

Captain Nowak will be charged and tried by Florida authorities; once that trial is over, the Navy has the option of putting her on trial as well. If she is sentenced to jail by the civilian court, she will either be charged with AWOL or allowed to resign.

A sticky situation, but I can just about guarantee that the Air Force and the Navy will do what will be in the best interest of the individual services. Any way you look at it, I have a feeling that all three of them are washed up with NASA, and a side effect of that is that their respective military careers are in the toilet as well.

I'd bet that a year from now, all three are out of the service, one will be in jail, and two will be flying commercial airliners.

Time will tell.

Answer 3

I didn't realize that anyone had established that any of these people had an actual "relationship." According to what I read, Ms. Nowak (sp) was separated from her husband, Mr. Oefelein was a single man, and I don't know the status of Ms. Shipman. I have not heard of anyone in recent years being court martialed especially for adultery.

Answer 4

You are jumping to a huge conclusion on the adultery. There has been no proof what so ever of a relationship between Nowak and Oefelein. In fact even in the stuff they found with her, it was e-mails between Oefelein and Shipman, who are dating, that Nowak had taken with her. I believe they will certainly investigate what relationship does or did exist between Oefelein and Nowak, but I doubt it would lead to a court martial for either of them on adultery charges.

I am still wondering why on Earth you think Shipman would be court martialed for anything.

Answer 5

I think that the answer depends on whether the applicable military law considers adultery as grounds for a court martial. All three of the people in question are high ranking, competitive people and neither the Navy nor the Air Force appreciates being embarrassed.The lack of judgment will come back to haunt them in their careers, no matter whether they are legally disciplined or not.

Answer 6

I have not heard that the adultery took place. The guy is single and Nowak is separated, though perhaps not legally. At this point, all we know is that Nowak had a crush on the guy not a full fledged relationship

Answer 7

Umm, you sound confused. She's been charged with attempted murder, adultery is not a crime per se in the eyes of the state. I think court martialing can only take place within military affairs, this is a civilian incident. Would you court martial a soldier over a speeding ticket?

Answer 8

The bigger question is: This story developed with nationally reported details very, very quickly. How and why? To answer the question asked: There should certainly be a thorough investigation!

Also: For all you UFO conspiracy nuts: Isn't Nowak the one who saw the UFO from the ISS last year?lol;)

Answer 9

The situation is only 24 hours old and there hasn't even been any determination as to what, if anything, Shipman and Oefelein have done. Let the investigators do their work before coming up with charges and convictions.

Answer 10

She wasn't court martialed for adultery