What exactly is "office hours" in the USMC?, is it on record for the length of service?

Question

how close is it to being court martialed?

are previous infractions taken into consideration?

Answer 1

Office hours is an Article 15 hearing under the Uniformed Code of Military Justice. It is officially listed as NJP, or Non-Judicial Punishment, meaning that a court is not involved. You go before your commanding officer, or his or her appointee, and plead your defense. It will basically behave the same as a court, except that there is no jury.

In the Marine Corps, NJP is known as Office Hours, in the Navy, Captain's Mast (from sailing days where the Captain would set up shop at the base of the ship's main mast to dispense justice, give the passdown, issue pay, etc,), I don't know what the army or airforce would call it. It is also reffered to as "Going before the Man".

NJP would be considered a misdemeanor, basically an in-house deal. You always have the option of denying the Article 15 and go before a General Court Martial. The difference is, if the CO decides against you, it goes in your record, but does not show up after you leave the military, where as a court martial finding against you can be a felony conviction, depending on the jury and the offense in question. This can follow you into civilian life, so take your chances with the Man, unless you feel that you absolutely feel that you cannot get a square deal.

I was invited (maybe not the right word) as an observer to several Office Hours proceedings, and we had some real dirtbags up there, but they all got a fair (although the CO did decide against them) deal, and some were given leniency or even dismissed entirely.

I stood Office hours for coming back late from a long weekend. Fortunately, my CO was a lot more lenient than he could have been, and I was allowed to keep my Corporal stripes, allowing me to pick up Sergeant two years later.

Answer 2

Manual For Courts Martial Usmc

Answer 3

"Office hours" is a nonjudicial punishment authorized by Article 15 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ). Non-judicial punishment, or NJP, permits commanders to administratively discipline troops without a court-martial.

The receipt of nonjudicial punishment does not constitute a criminal conviction, but is placed on the service record and can be grounds for denial of a commision.

The process for a nonjudicial punishment is governed by Part V of the Manual for Courts-Martial and by each service branch's regulations.

Nonjudicial punishment proceedings are known by different terms among the services. In the U.S. Army and the U.S. Air Force, nonjudicial punishment is referred to as Article 15; in the Marine Corps it is called office hours. The U.S. Navy and the U.S. Coast Guard call nonjudicial punishment captain's mast or admiral's mast, depending of the rank of the commanding officer.

Answer 4

Office Hours is Non-judicial punishment...similar to a pre-trial intervention. Used for minor infractions and usually has small punishments..It does stay on your record. Courts Martial i\are resrved for more serious infractions

Commander's Tool for Discipline
Nonjudicial punishment (NJP) refers to certain limited punishments which can be awarded for minor disciplinary offenses by a commanding officer or officer in charge to members of his/her command. In the Navy and Coast Guard, nonjudicial punishment proceedings are referred to as "captain's mast" or simply "mast." In the Marine Corps, the process is called "office hours," and in the Army and Air Force, it is referred to as "Article 15." Article 15, of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, (UCMJ), and Part V of the Manual for Courts-Martial, constitute the basic law concerning nonjudicial punishment procedures.

The legal protection afforded an individual subject to NJP proceedings is more complete than is the case for nonpunitive measures, but, by design, is less extensive than for courts-martial.
In the Army and Air Force, nonjudical punishment can only be imposed by a commanding officer. That means an officer who is on actual orders, designating them as a "commander." In the Navy and Marine Corps, nonjudicial punishment may be imposed by an "Officer in Charge." The Term "Officer in Charge" does not mean an "OIC," as a "job title," but rather a specific officer where the flag officer holding general court-martial authority designates the office as the "officer in charge."

"Mast," "Article 15," and "office hours" are procedures whereby the commanding officer or officer in charge may:

Make inquiry into the facts surrounding minor offenses allegedly committed by a member of his command;
afford the accused a hearing as to such offenses; and
dispose of such charges by dismissing the charges, imposing punishment under the provisions of Art. 15, UCMJ, or referring the case to a court-martial.
What "mast," "Article 15," and "office hours" are not:

They are not a trial, as the term "nonjudicial" implies;
a conviction; and
an acquittal if a determination is made not to impose punishment.
Offenses Punishable Under Article 15

To initiate Article 15 action, a commander must have reason to believe that a member of his/her command committed an offense under the UCMJ. Article 15 gives a commanding officer power to punish individuals for minor offenses. The term minor offense" has been the cause of some concern in the administration of NJP. Article 15, UCMJ, and Part V, para. 1e, MCM (1998 ed.), indicate that the term "minor offense" means misconduct normally not more serious than that usually handled at summary court-martial (where the maximum punishment is thirty days' confinement). These sources also indicate that the nature of the offense and the circumstances surrounding its commission are also factors which should be considered in determining whether an offense is minor in nature. The term "minor offense" ordinarily does not include misconduct which, if tried by general court-martial, could be punished by a dishonorable discharge or confinement for more than one year. The military services, however, have taken the position that the final determination as to whether an offense is "minor" is within the sound discretion of the commanding officer.

Nature of offense. The Manual for Courts-Martial, 1998 edition, also indicates in Part V, para. 1e, that, in determining whether an offense is minor, the "nature of the offense" should be considered. This is a significant statement and often is misunderstood as referring to the seriousness or gravity of the offense. Gravity refers to the maximum possible punishment, however, and is the subject of separate discussion in that paragraph. In context, nature of the offense refers to its character, not its gravity. In military criminal law, there are two basic types of misconduct-disciplinary infractions and crimes. Disciplinary infractions are breaches of standards governing the routine functioning of society. Thus, traffic laws, license requirements, disobedience of military orders, disrespect to military superiors, etc., are disciplinary infractions. Crimes, on the other hand, involve offenses commonly and historically recognized as being particularly evil (such as robbery, rape, murder, aggravated assault, larceny, etc.). Both types of offenses involve a lack of self-discipline, but crimes involve a particularly gross absence of self-discipline amounting to a moral deficiency. They are the product of a mind particularly disrespectful of good moral standards. In most cases, criminal acts are not minor offenses and, usually, the maximum imposable punishment is great. Disciplinary offenses, however, are serious or minor depending upon circumstances and, thus, while some disciplinary offenses carry severe maximum penalties, the law recognizes that the impact of some of these offenses on discipline will be slight. Hence, the term "disciplinary punishment" used in the Manual for Courts-Martial, 1998 edition, is carefully chosen.