Appellant's Letter (Grounds for Appeal)

The letter of appeal from the accused should be addressed to the appropriate appeal authority via the commander who imposed the punishment and other appropriate COs in the chain of command. The letter should set forth the obvious features of-the NJP (date, offense, who imposed it, and punishment imposed) and detail the specific grounds for relief.

There are only two grounds for appeal--the punishment was unjust or the punishment was disproportionate to the offense committed. The grounds for appeal are broad enough to cover all reasons for appeal. Unjust punishment exists when the evidence is not enough to prove the accused committed the offense; when the statute of limitations prohibits lawful punishment; or when any other fact, including a denial of substantial rights, calls in question the validity of the punishment.

Punishment is disproportionate if it is, in the judgment of the reviewer, too severe for the offense committed. An offender who believes that his or her punishment is too severe, appeals on the ground of disproportionate punishment, whether or not his or her letter artfully states the ground in precise terminology. A punishment may be legal but excessive or unfair considering circumstances such as (1) the nature of the offense, (2) the absence of aggravating circumstances, (3) the prior record of the offender, and (4) any other circumstances in extenuation and mitigation. The grounds for appeal need not be stated artfully in the accused's appeal letter, and the reviewer may have

Accused's Endorsement

The last endorsement should be from the accused to the CO holding the records of the NJP. See figure 5-13, section C. The endorsement will acknowledge receipt of the appeal decision and send the package back for filing.

POSTMAST ACTIVITY

The LN may have duties in several distinct areas at the completion of NJP. The LN must make sure all necessary entries are made in the service record of the member being punished and must provide reports for entries in the POD and the ship or station logbook. Finally, the LN maintains the UPB.

EXECUTION OF NJP

When punishment is imposed as a result of CO's mast, that punishment must be recorded in the accused's service record. Additionally, depending on the type of punishment imposed, certain forms and/or letters must be prepared in conjunction with standard service record entries. The following discussion is provided to help you better understand the procedures for preparing these forms and letters used in conjunction with enlisted service record entries.

Confinement Order

When a member is awarded punishment that includes confinement on bread and water or confinement on diminished rations, a Confinement Order, NAVPERS 1640/4, must be prepared indicating the offense(s) committed, the time and date the confinement was directed, by whom and when the accused was given a medical examination, and who authorized the confinement. A sample of a completed confinement order is shown in figure 5-14.

TEMADD Orders for Correctional Custody

TEMADD orders must be prepared transferring the accused to the correctional custody facility under the provisions of the Manual for the Administration of Correctional Custody, OPNAVINST 1640.7C. There are other administrative matters that must be completed when transferring an accused to a correctional custody Facility and the specific requirements can be found in OPNAVINST 1640.7C and in SECNAVINST 1640.7. Both instructions outline the requirements for placing a person into correctional custody and procedures for administering the same.

Letter of Censure

As previously discussed in this lesson, a CO may award as punishment an admonition or a reprimand to the accused. These can be either oral or written in the case of enlisted personnel, and in writing only in cases of commissioned and warrant officers. If the admonition or reprimand is to be written, the format shown in the JAGMAN should be used. When either of these types of letter of censure is prepared, careful attention to the requirements outlined in the JAGMAN should be followed. When the admonition or reprimand is given orally, as in the case of enlisted personnel, the proper notation must be made on the NAVPERS 1626/7 and recorded in the Punishment Awarded section of the service record page being used to record the results of CO's mast.

NJP of Officers

Before we look at the procedures for making service record entries for enlisted personnel, a brief discussion of the procedures involved when an officer receives NJP as a result of CO's mast is needed.

Whenever NJP is imposed upon an officer, the authority imposing the punishment immediately notifies PERS-82 by letter us soon as the results are final;

Figure 5-14.-Confinement Order, NAVPERS 1640/4.

for example, when the officer declines to appeal, does not appeal within the required time, or after the appeal has been decided. If the officer imposing NJP is not a flag officer, the letter report must be submitted via the first flag officer in the administrative chain of command. These required reports are separate and distinct from any reported NJP that maybe contained in investigations or other correspondence. Refer to the MILPERSMAN for the format of the report.

ENLISTED SERVICE RECORD ENTRIES

Upon completion of NJP you will, in all probability, be responsible for making (or causing to be made) a number of record entries to record the action taken at mast.

The manner in which service record entries must be made depends upon the nature of the offense and of the action taken by the CO. Since most service record entries must be prepared using optical character recognition (OCR) forms for inclusion into the Joint Uniform Military Pay System (JUMPS), you should become familiar with the use of OCR typewriters and procedures for preparing the OCR document. The OCR documents must follow exactly the procedures outlined in the Disbursing, Administrative, and Personnel Manual (DAPMAN), NAVSO P-3680.

Let us now look at the procedures for recording the actions of a CO taken as a result of CO's mast, including the procedures for preparing OCR documents.

No Punishment

If the CO decides that the alleged offender has not committed the offense and dismisses the charge(s) or if it is found that the alleged offender is guilty but a decision is made that punishment is inappropriate and the offense is excused, you will make no entry in the member's service record. There is one exception to this general rule.

Whenever the service record contains a UA entry, the MILPERSMAN requires you to make an entry on the service member's page 13 showing the period of UA and the final action taken by the CO. Additionally, the MILPERSMAN also requires that you prepare a page

13 entry when there is a UA of less than 24 hours, and the DAPMAN requires that a NAVPERS 1070/606 be prepared when there is a UA of more than 24 hours. If no punishment is awarded at CO's mast for the UA, you must prepare an explanatory entry on a page 13 for UA periods of less than 24 hours, and on a NAVPERS

1070/606 when the UA period is for more than 24 hours. If there is no UA involved, and no punishment is awarded aa a result of CO's mast, then you will make no service record entries.