§ Article 89 : Disrespect Toward, and Assault of, a Superior Commissioned Officer

Article 89 of the UCMJ (10 U.S.C. § 889) covers two related but distinct offenses against a superior commissioned officer: behaving with disrespect toward the officer, and striking, drawing or lifting up a weapon against, or offering violence against the officer while the officer is in the execution of office.

Who It Applies To

Disrespect: any person subject to the UCMJ who behaves with disrespect toward their superior commissioned officer.

Assault: any person subject to the UCMJ who strikes their superior commissioned officer, or draws or lifts up any weapon or offers any violence against that officer, while the officer is in the execution of office.

A “superior commissioned officer” is a commissioned officer superior in rank or in command.

What It Covers

Disrespect toward a superior commissioned officer

1. The accused did or omitted certain acts, or used certain language, to or concerning a certain commissioned officer.
2. The behavior or language was directed toward that officer.
3. The officer was the accused’s superior commissioned officer.
4. The accused then knew that the officer was the accused’s superior commissioned officer.
5. Under the circumstances, the behavior or language was disrespectful to that officer.

Striking or assaulting a superior commissioned officer

1. The accused struck, drew or lifted up a weapon against, or offered violence against, a certain commissioned officer.
2. The officer was the accused’s superior commissioned officer.
3. The accused then knew that the officer was the accused’s superior commissioned officer.
4. The officer was then in the execution of office.
5. Where alleged: the offense was committed in time of war.

Scope rules

• Without knowledge that the person was the accused’s superior commissioned officer, there is no violation of this article.
• Disrespect can be by acts or language and need not occur in the officer’s presence, but the Manual states that a person ordinarily should not be held accountable under this article for what is said or done in a purely private conversation. Truth is no defense.
• An officer whose own conduct toward the accused departs substantially from the standards required of that officer’s rank or position loses the protection of this article.
• “Strikes” includes any intentional offensive touching, however slight. A threat made only in words is not an “offer of violence” under this article.
• An officer is in the execution of office when engaged in any act or service required or authorized by treaty, statute, regulation, a superior’s order, or military usage.

Maximum Punishment

Maximum authorized punishment.

• Disrespect toward a superior commissioned officer in command: bad-conduct discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and confinement for 1 year.
• Disrespect toward a superior commissioned officer superior in rank: bad-conduct discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and confinement for 6 months.
• Striking or offering violence to a superior commissioned officer in the execution of office, in time of war: death or such other punishment as a court-martial may direct.
• The same conduct at any other time: dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and confinement for 10 years.

Sentencing parameters.

• Disrespect (in command or in rank): Category 1 (0–12 months); for disrespect toward an officer superior only in rank, the recommended maximum is 6 months.
• Striking or offering violence, other than in time of war: Category 2 (1–36 months).
• Striking or offering violence in time of war: a sentencing-criteria offense (no numbered category).

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 89 is distinct from Article 90, which covers willfully disobeying a superior commissioned officer’s lawful command — a failure to comply, rather than disrespect or violence directed at the officer. It is also distinct from Article 91, which covers analogous disrespect, disobedience, and assault directed at warrant officers, noncommissioned officers, or petty officers rather than commissioned officers.

What the Provision Does

Article 89 covers two offenses against a superior commissioned officer: disrespectful behavior, and striking, drawing or lifting up a weapon against, or offering violence against the officer while the officer is in the execution of office. The maximum punishment depends on the form, and death may be adjudged for striking or violence in time of war.

History

The statutory language traces to the original 1950 Uniform Code of Military Justice, re-enacted in 1956. The 2016 National Defense Authorization Act (Pub. L. 114-328), effective January 1, 2019, restructured the statute to consolidate assault provisions against a superior commissioned officer — formerly addressed together with willful disobedience — into this article, leaving willful disobedience as a separate offense under Article 90.

Sources

• 10 U.S.C. § 889 (Article 89, UCMJ)
• Manual for Courts-Martial, United States, 2024 edition, Part IV, ¶ 15
• Manual for Courts-Martial, United States (2024 ed.), Appendix 12B and Appendix 12C
• Manual for Courts-Martial, United States (2024 ed.), Appendix 12D