The Formation Accountability Project is an independent, nonpartisan legislative research and advocacy initiative. Its proposals are discussion drafts and do not represent enacted law, official Department of Defense policy, congressional sponsorship, or legal advice.
Legislative reform center
Turning military justice concerns into proposed changes to federal law.
01 · Climate
Independent screening and investigation of qualifying suicide-related incidents where credible evidence indicates possible misconduct.
Current law
Deaths of service members are subject to investigation, and the Department of Defense conducts suicide prevention, fatality review, and command climate programs.
Proposed amendment
Independent screening of qualifying suicide-related incidents.
02 · OSTC
Expanding independent prosecutorial authority to additional designated offenses.
Current law
10 U.S.C. § 824a establishes special trial counsel with exclusive authority over 'covered offenses', including many sexual offenses, domestic violence, murder, kidnapping, and retaliation.
Proposed amendment
Add all Article 93 offenses to OSTC coverage.
03 · MCIO
A mandatory investigative framework for qualifying allegations involving Army CID, NCIS, Air Force OSI, and other competent organizations.
Current law
Military criminal investigative organizations (MCIOs) investigate many serious offenses, but lower-level allegations may be handled through command-directed inquiries.
Proposed amendment
Mandatory MCIO assessment of credible allegations of designated offenses.
04 · Art. 93
Proposed expansion of Article 93 to address aggravated abusive leadership and qualifying peer-on-peer maltreatment.
Current law
Article 93, UCMJ (10 U.S.C. § 893) prohibits cruelty toward, or oppression or maltreatment of, any person subject to the orders of the accused.
Proposed amendment
Explicit aggravated abusive leadership provisions.
05 · Art. 132
Strengthening criminal and administrative protections for service members who make protected communications or participate in investigations.
Current law
Article 132, UCMJ (10 U.S.C. § 932) criminalizes retaliation, including wrongfully taking or threatening adverse personnel action with intent to retaliate for protected communications.
Proposed amendment
Strengthened protection for qualifying communications.
06 · Art. 107
A proposed aggravated falsification subsection for knowingly false official records that cause substantial material harm.
Current law
Article 107, UCMJ (10 U.S.C. § 907) prohibits false official statements and signing false official records with intent to deceive.
Proposed amendment
An aggravated subsection for knowing and intentional falsification of materially false official records.
07 · Oversight
Privacy-protective reporting and operational review of the proposed investigative and prosecutorial framework.
Current law
Congress exercises legislative and oversight authority; existing DoD reporting, privacy, and investigative confidentiality requirements remain applicable.
Proposed amendment
Aggregated reporting on referrals, screening, investigations, and disposition.
08 · Trafficking
A proposed dedicated UCMJ trafficking offense, coordinated with existing federal trafficking law.
Current law
Federal law prohibits forced labor (18 U.S.C. § 1589), trafficking with respect to peonage, slavery, involuntary servitude, or forced labor (§ 1590), sex trafficking (§ 1591), and attempts and conspiracies (§ 1594).
Proposed amendment
A dedicated UCMJ trafficking offense.
09 · Art. 52
Requiring unanimous findings of guilt by court-martial panels.
Current law
Article 52, UCMJ (10 U.S.C. § 852) generally requires the concurrence of three-fourths of panel members for findings of guilty in noncapital cases.
Proposed amendment
A unanimity requirement for all findings of guilt.
