Our Mission
Strengthening the Armed Forces through accountability.
Protecting those who serve. Upholding the oath. Restoring trust in the formation.
The Formation Accountability Project is an independent, nonpartisan initiative dedicated to strengthening the United States Armed Forces through military justice reform, independent investigations, leadership accountability, due process protections, human trafficking prevention, and service member advocacy.
Through legal research, legislative development, public education, and engagement with service members, military families, legal professionals, and policymakers, we seek to advance reforms that protect those who serve while preserving the discipline, integrity, and readiness of the Armed Forces.
We believe that accountability is not a challenge to lawful military leadership.
It is a fundamental responsibility of leadership.
The Human Consequences of Accountability
Behind every uniform is a human life.
Somewhere, a family is learning to live with an empty place at the dinner table.
Somewhere, a Soldier sits alone in a barracks room, carrying a burden that no one else in the formation can see.
Somewhere, a service member is deciding whether to report misconduct, knowing that speaking the truth could jeopardize a career they have spent years building.
Somewhere, a young leader is watching wrongdoing unfold, uncertain whether doing what is right will come at the expense of everything they have worked to achieve.
And somewhere, a commander is making a decision that may affect another person's life long after the uniform comes off.
These moments may never appear in a congressional hearing.
They may never make national headlines.
They may never become part of the public record.
But their consequences are real.
The consequences extend beyond the uniform.
A military evaluation is not merely a document when it affects a service member's future.
An investigation is not merely an administrative process when someone's reputation, livelihood, or liberty is at stake.
A report of misconduct is not merely a complaint when the person making it fears retaliation from those entrusted with their welfare.
And a failure of leadership is not merely an organizational deficiency when its consequences follow a service member home.
Behind every official record is a person.
Behind every allegation are individuals entitled to fairness.
Behind every decision is a responsibility to act with integrity.
And behind every service member is a family, a future, and a life whose value extends far beyond military service.
When trust breaks, the consequences can last a lifetime.
Military service demands extraordinary trust.
We trust the people standing beside us to protect our lives.
We trust our leaders to exercise authority with judgment, integrity, and restraint.
We trust investigative and administrative systems to pursue the truth rather than a predetermined outcome.
And we trust that when wrongdoing occurs, meaningful mechanisms will exist to report it, investigate it, and correct it.
But when those safeguards fail, the consequences can extend far beyond the immediate incident.
Careers can be damaged.
Reputations can be destroyed.
Families can experience profound uncertainty and hardship.
Service members can lose confidence in the institutions they once trusted.
Some may carry invisible wounds long after their service ends.
And in the most devastating circumstances, families may be left grieving a life that cannot be restored.
These consequences demand more than expressions of concern.
They demand meaningful safeguards, impartial investigations, and a commitment to institutional accountability.
Accountability must apply to those entrusted with authority.
The United States Armed Forces depend upon lawful command authority, discipline, and the ability of leaders to make difficult decisions under extraordinary circumstances.
The Formation Accountability Project recognizes and respects those responsibilities.
Countless military leaders fulfill them with honor, courage, compassion, and integrity.
But leadership cannot be measured solely by mission accomplishment, operational performance, or the authority conferred by rank.
Leadership must also be measured by how individuals exercise that authority, how they respond to allegations of wrongdoing, and whether they uphold the rights and dignity of those entrusted to their care.
Rank carries authority.
Authority carries responsibility.
And responsibility must carry accountability.
A system that demands accountability from subordinates must also provide meaningful accountability for those who lead them.
Not because leadership is inherently untrustworthy.
But because no institution entrusted with human lives should depend solely upon the goodwill of those exercising authority.
Justice must protect everyone.
The pursuit of accountability must never come at the expense of fairness.
Victims of misconduct deserve to be heard, protected, and treated with dignity.
Those accused of misconduct deserve impartial proceedings, reliable evidence, and the full protections afforded by law.
Witnesses and whistleblowers deserve protection from unlawful retaliation.
And military leaders deserve investigative processes that distinguish substantiated wrongdoing from unsupported allegations.
The purpose of independent oversight is not to presume guilt.
It is to strengthen confidence that facts will be established fairly, rights will be protected, and decisions will be grounded in evidence rather than rank, influence, or institutional convenience.
Justice must never depend upon who wears more rank.
Nor should it depend upon who has the louder voice.
It must depend upon the facts, the law, and a fair process.
This mission is personal. But it is not about one person.
The Formation Accountability Project was founded by Deven Wallace, who served with the United States Army's 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), 3rd Brigade Combat Team — Rakkasans.
His experiences in military service helped shape a conviction that the responsibilities of leadership extend beyond rank, authority, and mission accomplishment.
They include the duty to safeguard the people entrusted to one's care, uphold the integrity of military institutions, and ensure that the principles service members swear to defend are reflected in the systems governing their own lives.
But this initiative is not about one Soldier, one command, or one experience.
It is about the service member who fears speaking up.
The family searching for answers.
The victim seeking accountability.
The accused seeking fairness.
The leader striving to do what is right.
And the next generation of Americans who will raise their right hands and swear an oath to support and defend the Constitution.
They deserve institutions worthy of that commitment.
Because the formation is more than a military organization.
A formation is built upon people.
People who serve far from home.
People who miss birthdays, anniversaries, and the ordinary moments of family life.
People who carry responsibilities that most Americans will never fully understand.
People who place their lives in the hands of those standing beside them.
And people who deserve to know that their dignity, rights, and welfare will not become secondary to rank, reputation, or institutional convenience.
The Formation Accountability Project exists because protecting the integrity of the Armed Forces also means protecting the people who make them possible.
We do not seek to weaken the chain of command.
We seek to strengthen the trust that makes command possible.
Our Reform Priorities
Accountability must be more than a principle.
The Formation Accountability Project advocates for meaningful, evidence-informed reforms that strengthen the rights of service members, reinforce institutional integrity, and preserve the effectiveness of the United States Armed Forces.
01
Independent Investigations
Advancing impartial investigative mechanisms for serious allegations of misconduct, abuse of authority, retaliation, and institutional wrongdoing.
Our objective is to strengthen confidence that allegations will be evaluated according to the facts and applicable law, without improper command influence or institutional conflicts of interest.
02
Leadership Accountability
Strengthening oversight and accountability mechanisms that ensure military leaders remain responsible for the lawful and ethical exercise of their authority.
Rank must never serve as a shield against appropriate scrutiny.
03
Whistleblower & Service Member Protections
Advancing safeguards for service members who report misconduct, seek assistance, exercise protected rights, or participate in investigations.
No service member should have to choose between doing what is right and protecting their military career.
04
Due Process & Official Record Integrity
Promoting fair administrative and judicial proceedings, accurate military records, meaningful opportunities to challenge adverse actions, and appropriate remedies for substantiated errors or injustice.
The integrity of military justice depends upon both accountability and fairness.
05
Human Trafficking Prevention
Advancing prevention, identification, reporting, investigative accountability, and survivor-centered protections addressing human trafficking and exploitation within military-connected contexts.
06
Military Justice Reform
Examining gaps in federal military law and developing proposals that strengthen investigative independence, procedural fairness, institutional accountability, and confidence in military justice.
From Principle to Policy
From conviction to legislation. From legislation to lasting reform.
The Formation Accountability Project seeks to translate the experiences and concerns of service members into carefully researched, legally grounded, and actionable proposals for institutional reform.
STEP 01
Research & Legal Analysis
Examine federal military law, regulations, administrative procedures, investigative structures, and oversight mechanisms to identify potential gaps and opportunities for reform.
STEP 02
Legislative Development
Develop proposed statutory reforms, legislative frameworks, and policy recommendations for consideration by Congress and relevant federal institutions.
STEP 03
Stakeholder Collaboration
Engage service members, veterans, military families, survivors, legal professionals, researchers, military justice practitioners, and policymakers to inform responsible reform.
STEP 04
Public Education & Advocacy
Promote informed public discussion of military justice, service member protections, institutional accountability, and constitutional principles through educational resources and responsible advocacy.
Our Flagship Legislative Initiative
Military Accountability and Service Member Protection Act of 2027 (MAPSA)
The proposed Act represents a central legislative initiative through which The Formation Accountability Project seeks to examine and address gaps in military investigative independence, leadership accountability, service member protections, human trafficking prevention, and due process.
Through responsible legislative drafting, legal analysis, and engagement with relevant stakeholders, the project seeks to develop reforms that are practical, constitutionally grounded, and compatible with military readiness.
This is a proposal in development. It has not been enacted and has not been formally introduced in Congress.
The Formation Accountability Project's mission must remain broader than any single legislative proposal.
The Future We Seek
A formation built upon trust.
We envision an Armed Forces where every service member can trust that serious misconduct will be impartially investigated, official records will be accurate, reporting wrongdoing will not result in unlawful retaliation, and those accused of misconduct will receive full due process.
A military where leaders understand that authority carries responsibility.
Where victims are heard and treated with dignity.
Where service members can seek help without fear.
Where lawful command authority is respected and accountability applies regardless of rank.
And where the welfare of those who serve remains inseparable from mission accomplishment.
Because regardless of the uniform we wear, the branch in which we serve, or the mission we are called to accomplish, we share a common commitment:
To serve something greater than ourselves.
Accountability is not a challenge to leadership.
It is a responsibility of leadership.
The Formation Accountability Project does not seek to undermine lawful command authority, military discipline, or operational readiness.
We seek to strengthen the trust upon which those institutions depend.
We do not seek to weaken the chain of command. We seek to strengthen the trust that makes command possible.
And we believe the responsibility to protect those who serve does not end when the mission is complete, when an investigation is closed, or when the uniform comes off.
THE UNIFORMS MAY DIFFER. THE OATH UNITES US. THE RESPONSIBILITY REMAINS.
The strength of a formation is measured not only by its ability to accomplish the mission, but also by its commitment to the people entrusted to its care.