Non-Judicial Punishment Article 15

What actually is Non-Judicial Punishment Article 15, Code of Military Justice ?

Non-Judicial Punishment under the provisions of Article 15, Uniform Code of Military Justice is designed to permit a Commanding Officer to summarily dispose of minor disciplinary infractions. If the person is assigned to a sea going command, there is no right to refuse Mast. When the option to refuse NJP does exist, a lot of thought and reasoning must be put into the decision. There is rarely a clear-cut answer and frequently consideration must be given as to what may happen after Mast. Once Non-Judicial Punishment has been imposed, in many cases the Commanding Officer can direct that the service member be processed for administrative separation. In certain cases, such as drug abuse and sexual harassment, administrative separation processing is mandatory.