§ Article 84 : Breach of Medical Quarantine

Article 84 of the UCMJ (10 U.S.C. § 884) punishes leaving the limits of a medical quarantine before being released by proper authority, once the person knows they have been placed under quarantine and knows its limits.

Who It Applies To

Any person subject to the UCMJ who has been ordered into medical quarantine by someone authorized to issue that order, and who — knowing of the quarantine and its limits — goes beyond those limits before being released by proper authority.

What It Covers

1. A certain person ordered the accused into medical quarantine.
2. That person was authorized to order the accused into medical quarantine.
3. The accused knew of the medical quarantine and its limits.
4. The accused went beyond the limits of the medical quarantine before being released by proper authority.
5. Where charged in its aggravated form: the quarantine was imposed in reference to a quarantinable communicable disease, as defined in 42 C.F.R. § 70.1.

Being placed “on quarters,” or otherwise excused from duty because of illness, is not by itself a medical quarantine.

Maximum Punishment

Maximum authorized punishment.

• Quarantine imposed for a quarantinable communicable disease (42 C.F.R. § 70.1): dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and confinement for 1 year.
• All other cases: bad-conduct discharge, forfeiture of two-thirds pay per month for 6 months, and confinement for 6 months.

Sentencing parameters. Both forms are Category 1 (0–12 months). Because the maximum authorized confinement for a breach not involving a quarantinable communicable disease is 6 months, that shorter period is the recommended maximum for that form.

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

Breach of medical quarantine is distinct from Article 87b, which addresses escape from or breach of correctional custody and breach of restriction — forms of restraint that are not medical quarantine.

What the Provision Does

Article 84 applies once a person knows they have been placed in medical quarantine and knows its limits, and it punishes going beyond those limits before release by proper authority. The maximum confinement is 6 months, or 1 year when the quarantine is for a quarantinable communicable disease.

History

This article was added to the UCMJ by the 2016 National Defense Authorization Act (Pub. L. 114-328), effective January 1, 2019. A different offense — relating to unlawful enlistment, appointment, or separation — previously occupied the Article 84 designation and now appears under Article 104a and Article 104b.

Sources

• 10 U.S.C. § 884 (Article 84, UCMJ)
• Manual for Courts-Martial, United States, 2024 edition, Part IV, ¶ 8
• Manual for Courts-Martial, United States (2024 ed.), Appendix 12B and Appendix 12C
• 42 C.F.R. § 70.1