§ Article 106 : Impersonation of Officer, Noncommissioned or Petty Officer, or Agent or Official

Article 106 of the UCMJ (10 U.S.C. § 906) punishes wrongfully and willfully impersonating an officer, noncommissioned officer, petty officer, an agent of superior authority of one of the armed forces, or a government official — with separate, more serious treatment when the impersonation is done with intent to defraud.

Who It Applies To

Any person subject to the UCMJ who, wrongfully and willfully, impersonates an officer, a noncommissioned officer, or a petty officer; an agent of superior authority of one of the armed forces; or an official of a government. A separate, more serious provision applies when the impersonation is done with intent to defraud. A third provision addresses impersonating a government official without intent to defraud, where the accused commits an act that exercises or asserts the authority of the claimed office.

What It Covers

1. The accused impersonated an officer, noncommissioned officer, or petty officer, an agent of superior authority of one of the armed forces, or an official of a certain government, in a certain manner.
2. The impersonation was wrongful and willful.
3. With intent to defraud: the accused acted with intent to defraud a certain person or organization in a certain manner.
4. Impersonating a government official without intent to defraud: the accused committed one or more acts that exercised or asserted the authority of the office the accused claimed to have.

Key rules

• The offense does not depend on the accused gaining a benefit or on anyone actually being misled, although either is an aggravating factor.
• “Willful” means with knowledge that one is falsely holding oneself out as such a person.
• “Officer” has the meaning given in 10 U.S.C. § 101(b)(1).

Maximum Punishment

Maximum authorized punishment.

• With intent to defraud: dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and confinement for 3 years.
• All other cases: bad-conduct discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and confinement for 6 months.

Sentencing parameters. With intent to defraud, Category 2 (1–36 months). All other cases, Category 1 (0–12 months), with a recommended maximum of 6 months.

The newer sentencing rules apply, subject to the capital-case rules, when the accused is convicted only of offenses committed after 27 December 2023. See How UCMJ Sentencing Rules Apply. The maximum authorized punishment and the applicable sentencing framework do not predict the sentence in a particular case.

Related and Distinguished

Article 106 is defined by falsely holding oneself out as a particular kind of officer, agent, or official. Wearing insignia or decorations one is not authorized to wear is addressed by Article 106a, falsified documents by Article 105 and Article 105a, and obtaining services by false pretenses by Article 121b.

What the Provision Does

Article 106 covers impersonating an officer, a noncommissioned or petty officer, an agent of superior authority, or a government official. The maximum confinement increases from 6 months to 3 years when the impersonation is done with intent to defraud.

History

Article 106 was added to the UCMJ by the Military Justice Act of 2016 (Pub. L. 114-328, § 5417), effective January 1, 2019. Before then, impersonating an officer, noncommissioned or petty officer, or agent or official was charged as an enumerated offense under Article 134. The Article 106 designation previously belonged to spying, which is now Article 103.

Sources

• 10 U.S.C. § 906 (Article 106, UCMJ)
• Manual for Courts-Martial, United States, 2024 edition, Part IV, ¶ 39
• Manual for Courts-Martial, United States (2024 ed.), Appendix 12B and Appendix 12C