Corrective Training vs Punishment

[Courtney Massengale]

Punishment is administered as a consequence of something that Joe did or failed to do. The difference seems to be in how you word it.

And this is a very important point. "Punishment" is a specific legal term and can only be generated from nonjudicial or judicial process. If you do something as corrective training that would meet the criteria for "punishment", you will create a much larger issue should you proceed with judicial/nonjudicial punishement later.

The classic example is that if you put restrictions on liberty as corrective training, it may count as time served in a Court Martial.

I'm confused, what due process are you talking about? Are you suggesting that every time an NCO needs to administer corrective training he has to consult with JAG?

I think the point is that NCOs (and all leaders) need to know and understand what the rules are. Knowing that if you do X, you won't be able to do Y later is the difference between ignorance and assuming risk.

You can't decide to have the Soldier take half a month's pay out of the ATM and give it to you as corrective training. That's a punishment under UCMJ. Likewise there are other things that are punishments that you can't just decide to do without going through the process. Knowing what those are and how to get the results you want without violating them is what he's talking about.

As you mentioned, a lot of it is wording and how you go about doing things.

I have a small packet I give to all my new NCOs that breaks down the different kinds of UCMJ (Summarized, Company Grade, Field Grade), how to do a sworn statement, and a few other things. Part of that is how to word counseling statements and do corrective training as not to run afoul of TDS or JAG.

This isn't in any way preventing them from executing their duties - its helping them refine what they do in a way that doesn't voilate laws or regulations AND will allow us to take care of business.