Airmen court-martialed, face serious consequences Published July 30, 2010 By Brandice J. Armstrong Tinker Public Affairs TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- There are often serious consequences to poor decisions. Five Tinker Airmen recently learned that lesson the hard way. A senior airman was recently convicted of charges of aggravated sexual assault, among other charges, and was sentenced to five years confinement, demoted to airman basic and dishonorably discharged from the Air Force. Four other Airmen, ranging in rank from airman basic to senior airman, were convicted for their involvement in a drug ring. Three of them received confinement and one, a bad-conduct discharge. "These are examples of the military justice system at work," said Capt. Elizabeth Crane, Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center chief of Military Justice. "When you raise your right hand and come into the Air Force, you know that part of your obligation is to abide by the laws set out by Congress." A court-martial is a federal court used by the U.S. military for criminal charges. There are three types of courts-martial. Of them, only one -- a summary court-martial -- does not result in a federal conviction. A summary court-martial is the lowest court level and is used for relatively minor misconduct. However, trial-by-summary courts-martial are increasingly rare. In fact, since January 2008, there have been no summary courts-martial at Tinker. General courts-martial and special courts-martial are the other two levels of courts-martial. A general court-martial is the more serious of the two. Between Jan. 1 and June 30, five general courts-martial happened at Tinker. In addition to the aggravated sexual assault case, there were four additional general courts-martial that were referred, but did not result in a conviction. There were at least eight general courts-martial within Air Force Materiel Command and 87 Air Force wide. At Tinker, there were four special courts-martial in the same period, and there were at least 13 at AFMC and 164 Air Force-wide. The four special courts-martial at Tinker were for the Airmen involved in the drug ring. One of the main differences between a general and special court-martial is the sentence available, Captain Crane said. In general courts-martial, the maximum sentence for a crime under the Manual for Courts-Martial include dishonorable discharge, confinement for life, or death, depending on the crime. None of these three sentences are available in a special court-martial. "A conviction in a general or special court-martial is a federal conviction," Captain Crane said. "A federal conviction is something that is going to follow you for the rest of your life. It's not something that should be taken lightly." If an Airman is accused of a crime worthy of trial by general court-martial, like aggravated sexual assault, the process that leads to the trial is thorough and impartial. Following an investigation, the Airman's commander will review the charges and inform the Airman of them. The Airman will stand before the commander in service dress and at attention as the charges are read. It is called "preferral" of charges. Once charges have been preferred, a pretrial investigation is conducted to determine whether there is enough evidence to support the charges. Known as an Article 32, the investigation is similar to a grand jury investigation in civilian courts. If an Article 32 investigation determines there is enough evidence to support the charges, the commander, who is the general court-martial convening authority, may refer the case to general court-martial. A trial date is then set. Air Force members who face trial in any type of court-martial are entitled to free legal representation by a military defense attorney, who is called an area defense counsel. They can also retain civilian defense counsel at their own expense. In the fall of 2009, a senior airman was charged with aggravated sexual assault of a 14-year-old girl; sodomy with a 14-year-old; adultery; possessing child pornography; sending lewd images of himself; and obstructing justice. At the trial by general court-martial this past June, the senior airman pled guilty and opted to be sentenced by military judge alone. There was no jury in the courtroom. He was sentenced in June to five years confinement, a forfeiture of pay, demotion to airman basic and was dishonorably discharged. In June and July, four Airmen from the same Tinker unit were found guilty after they had used cocaine, marijuana, or a combination of the two drugs. Tried separately, some of them opted for a jury, while others were tried before only a judge during their special courts-martial. Two were convicted in June and two, earlier this month. Punishments ranged up to five months in confinement, and an airman first class received a bad conduct discharge. "This is a perfect example of the military drug testing program at work," Captain Crane said. "Commanders, supervisors and first sergeants can't have their eyes on someone 24 hours a day. That's where the drug testing program comes into play. It exists to ensure we have a healthy military that's ready to respond when our nation calls."