§ Article 95 : Offenses by Sentinel or Lookout

Article 95 of the UCMJ (10 U.S.C. § 895) punishes a sentinel or lookout who is drunk or sleeping on post, who leaves post before being regularly relieved, or who loiters or wrongfully sits down on post. A separate provision, Article 95a, punishes disrespect toward a sentinel or lookout.

Who It Applies To

Any person subject to the UCMJ serving as a sentinel or lookout who is drunk on post, sleeps on post, or leaves post before being regularly relieved; or who loiters or wrongfully sits down while on post.

What It Covers

Drunk or sleeping on post, or leaving post before being relieved

1. The accused was posted, or on post, as a sentinel or lookout.
2. The accused was drunk while on post, was sleeping while on post, or left post before being regularly relieved.
3. Where alleged: the offense was committed in time of war, or while the accused was receiving special pay under 37 U.S.C. § 310.

Loitering or wrongfully sitting on post

1. The accused was posted as a sentinel or lookout.
2. While so posted, the accused loitered or wrongfully sat down on post.
3. Where alleged: the accused was so posted in time of war, or while receiving special pay under 37 U.S.C. § 310.

Scope rules

• The article does not cover an officer or enlisted member of the guard, or of a ship’s watch, who is not posted or performing the duties of a sentinel or lookout, or a person whose duties as a watchman or attendant do not require constant alertness.
• A “post” is the area where the sentinel or lookout must be to perform the duty, including any surrounding area the duty requires. Going an immaterial distance from the post is not leaving it, unless the distance impairs the ability to perform the duty fully.
• A sentinel or lookout is “on post” once lawfully ordered on post and formally or informally posted; not being posted in the regular way is not a defense.

Maximum Punishment

Maximum authorized punishment.

• Drunk or sleeping on post, or leaving post before being relieved, in time of war: death or such other punishment as a court-martial may direct.
• The same, while receiving special pay under 37 U.S.C. § 310: dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and confinement for 10 years.
• The same, in all other places: dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and confinement for 1 year.
• Loitering or wrongfully sitting on post, in time of war or while receiving special pay under 37 U.S.C. § 310: dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and confinement for 2 years.
• Loitering or wrongfully sitting on post, other cases: bad-conduct discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and confinement for 6 months.

Sentencing parameters.

• In time of war, or while receiving special pay under 37 U.S.C. § 310: a sentencing-criteria offense (no numbered category), for both forms.
• Drunk or sleeping on post, or leaving post, in all other places: Category 1 (0–12 months).
• Loitering or wrongfully sitting on post, other cases: Category 1, 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 95a addresses the reverse situation: disrespect by another person toward a sentinel or lookout in the execution of duty.

What the Provision Does

Article 95 applies to a sentinel or lookout who is drunk or sleeping on post, leaves post before being regularly relieved, or loiters or wrongfully sits down on post. The maximum punishment depends on the form and circumstances, and death may be adjudged for drunkenness, sleeping, or leaving post in time of war.

History

Misbehavior of a sentinel or lookout appeared as Article 113 of the original 1950 UCMJ, later codified at 10 U.S.C. § 913. The Military Justice Act of 2016 (Pub. L. 114-328) renumbered and rewrote it as Article 95, effective January 1, 2019, adding the special-pay aggravator and bringing loitering or wrongfully sitting on post, previously charged under Article 134, into the article. The former Article 95 (resistance, flight, breach of arrest, and escape) is now Article 87a.

Sources

• 10 U.S.C. § 895 (Article 95, UCMJ)
• Manual for Courts-Martial, United States, 2024 edition, Part IV, ¶ 22
• Manual for Courts-Martial, United States (2024 ed.), Appendix 12B and Appendix 12C
• Manual for Courts-Martial, United States (2024 ed.), Appendix 12D