AUTHORITY AND RESPONSIBILITY

Authority is tied directly to your duties and responsibilities. The exercise of authority is linked to your acceptance of responsibility and is granted only to support you in carrying out your assigned duties and responsibilities. You have general authority as a petty officer by virtue of your position in the Navy organization, and you have organizational authority by the particular billet you are now holding.

General Authority

Your general authority stems from Article 1110 of Navy Regulations which sets forth the qualities of all officers and petty officers. Article 1020 of Navy Regulations gives you the right to exercise authority over all persons subordinate to you and the subordinates are charged, in Article 1132, to obey their superiors.

Organizational Authority

Your organizational authority stems from your assignment to a specific billet in a ship or station. Articles 1021 and 1029 of Navy Regs give officers, warrant officers, and petty officers necessary authority to perform their duties.

Lawful Orders

All your orders must be lawful. You cannot impose punishment outside the framework of the UCMJ. What has caused some confusion among petty officers is what measures can be taken to correct minor infractions that do not merit punishment under Article 15 of the UCMJ, to correct deficiencies in a phase of military duty in which one of your personnel may be deficient, or to direct completion of work assignments that extend beyond regular working hours. The following paragraphs explain those nonpunitive measures available to you and guide you in preventing the misuse of other corrective measures.

EXTRA MILITARY INSTRUCTION

To establish consistency within the Navy and to remove uncertainty now existing, the following policy is established.

EMI is instruction in a phase of military duty in which an individual is deficient and is intended to correct that deficiency. EMI is an administrative measure authorized under R.C.M. 306(c)(2) and Part V, Manual of Courts-Martial (MCM), 1984, as a bona fide training device intended to improve efficiency of a command or unit and must, therefore, be genuinely intended as such. It must not be used as a substitute for punitive action appropriate under the UCMJ. Extra instruction assigned must be logically related to the deficiency to be corrected.

Implementation

EMI within the Navy should be implemented, when required, within the following limitations:

. EMI will not normally be assigned for more than 2 hours per day.

. EMI may be assigned at a reasonable time outside normal working hours.

EMI will not be conducted over a period that is longer than necessary to correct the performance deficiency.

EMI should not be assigned on member's sabbath.

EMI will not be used as a method of depriving normal liberty. A member who is otherwise entitled to liberty may commence normal liberty upon completion of EMI.

Authority

Authority to assign EMI to be performed during working hours is not limited to any particular rank or rate. It is an inherent part of that authority over subordinates that is vested in officers and petty officers in connection with duties and responsibilities assigned to them. Authority to assign EMI to be performed after working hours rests in the CO or OIC but may be delegated to officers and petty officers in connection with duties and responsibilities assigned to them. Administration of EMI within the Navy should be monitored by superiors in the chain of command as part of their normal supervisory duties. Authority should not be delegated below the lowest level of competence. Authority to assign EMI during working hours may be withdrawn by any superior if warranted. Authority to assign EMI after working hours may be withdrawn as provided in delegation of authority of the CO or OIC.

Duties and responsibilities should also be withdrawn if withdrawal of authority is considered appropriate. Delegation of authority to assign EMI outside of working hours to responsible officers and senior petty officers is encouraged. Ordinarily such authority should not be delegated below the chief petty officer level. However, it is emphasized that delegation is the prerogative of the CO and he or she is expected to exercise his or her independent judgment in determining the appropriate level, based on the situation prevailing in his or her command.

WITHHOLDING OF PRIVILEGES

Temporary withholding of privileges is authorized under R.C.M. 306(c)(2) and Part V, MCM, 1984, as another administrative corrective measure that may be employed by superiors to correct infractions of military regulation or performance deficiencies in their subordinates when punitive action does not appear appropriate due to the minor nature of the infraction or deficiency. A privilege is a benefit, advantage, or favor, provided for the convenience or enjoyment of an individual. Examples of privileges that may be temporarily withheld as administrative corrective measures are special liberty, exchange of duty, special pay, special command programs, base or ship libraries, base or ship movies, base parking, and base special services events.

Final authority to withhold a privilege, however temporary, must ultimately rest with the level of authority empowered to grant that privilege. Therefore, authority of officers and petty officers to withhold privileges is, in many cases, limited to recommendations via the chain of command to the appropriate authority. Officers and petty officers are authorized and expected to initiate such actions when considered appropriate to remedy minor infractions as necessary to further efficiency of the command. Authority to withhold privileges of personnel in a liberty status is vested in the CO or OIC. Such authority may, however, be delegated to the appropriate level, but, in no event, may the withholding of such privileges either by the CO, OIC, or some lower level be tantamount to a deprivation of liberty itself.

EXTENSION OF WORKING HOURS

Deprivation of normal liberty as a punishment except as specifically authorized under the UCMJ is illegal. Therefore, except as the result of punishment imposed by Article 15, UCMJ, or by a court-martial, it is illegal for any officer or petty officer to deny to any subordinate normal liberty or privileges incident thereto as punishment for any offense or malperformance of duty. However, lawful deprivation of normal liberty may result from other actions such as authorized pretrial restraint, or deprivation of normal liberty in a foreign country or in foreign territorial waters, when such action is deemed essential for the protection of the foreign relations of the United States, or as a result of international legal hold restriction. Moreover, it is necessary to the efficiency of the naval service that official functions be performed and that certain work be done in a timely manner. It is, therefore, not a punishment when persons in the naval service are required to remain on board and be physically present outside of normal ^{working hours,} or for the accomplishment of additional essential work, or for the achievement of the currently required level of operational readiness. Good leadership and management practice requires that the impact of readiness requirements and work requirements on normal liberty be kept under continual review. It is expected that supervisory personnel will keep their immediate supervisors informed when they intend to direct their subordinates to work beyond normal working hours.