10 U.S.C. § 938
Art. 138. Complaints of wrongs
Any member of the armed forces who believes himself wronged by his commanding officer, and who, upon due application to that commanding officer, is refused redress, may complain to any superior commissioned officer, who shall forward the complaint to the officer exercising general court-martial jurisdiction over the officer against whom it is made. The officer exercising general court-martial jurisdiction shall examine into the complaint and take proper measures for redressing the wrong complained of; and he shall, as soon as possible, send to the Secretary concerned a true statement of that complaint, with the proceedings had thereon.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 230
cases (32 in the last 5 years), 1968–2026 · leading case: United States v. Stanley
United States v. Stanley (1987)
“See Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), 10 U. S. C. §§ 938 , 939, discussed infra, at n.”
United States v. White (2001)
“Thus, they must rely on the prison grievance system, Article 138, UCMJ, 10 USC § 938 , the Courts of Criminal Appeals, and this Court for relief.”
United States v. Lovett (2006)
“Lovett also asserts that he was told that a complaint under Article 138, UCMJ, 10 U.S.C. § 938 (2000), was an inappropriate means of addressing “matters relating to .”
United States v. Wise (2007)
“He further stated that he did not receive any explanation about the Article 138, UCMJ, 10 U.S.C. § 938 (2000), grievance process, and that he did not know what it was, how it worked, or how he could use it to address his treatment in confinement.”
Brown v. Glines (1980)
“138, 10 U. S. C. § 938 , protects the "right of members [of the Armed Forces] to complain and request redress of grievances against actions of their commander.”
United States v. Gay (2015)
“As part of his clemency request, the appellant submitted a complaint under Article 138, UCMJ, 10 U.S.C. § 938 , regarding this issue. Attached to his Article 138, UCMJ, complaint was an affidavit he signed, which stated in relevant part: On 7 June 2013, I was moved into solitary…”
United States v. New (2001)
“He may challenge policy through a complaint under Article 138, UCMJ, 10 USC § 938 ; he may raise his concerns to the Inspector General of the Department of Defense, 5 USC Appendix; and he may communicate directly with Members of Congress and Inspectors General without…”
Chappell v. Wallace (1983)
“138 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, 10 U. S. C. §938 , which provides: “Any member of the armed forces who believes himself wronged by his commanding officer, and who, upon due application to that commanding officer, is refused redress, may complain to any superior…”
United States v. Miller (1997)
“In this regard, appellant must show us, absent some unusual or egregious circumstance, that he has exhausted the prisoner-grievance system of the Disciplinary Barracks and that he has petitioned for relief under Article 138, UCMJ, 10 USC § 938 .” 38 MJ at 291 . In addition to…”
Augustus v. Harvey (2011)
“10 U.S.C. § 938 . Only certain wrongs may be righted through the Article 138 complaint process.”
Fort Lauderdale Food Not Bombs v. City of Fort Lauderdale (2018)
“1297 (quoting 10 U.S.C. § 938 (b) ). Among other things, the schools asserted that their restriction of military recruiters' access to law students due to a disagreement with the government's then-existing policy excluding homosexuals from the military (such as, for example,…”
United States v. Avila (2000)
“Miller , 46 MJ 248, 250 (1997)(appellant must show he exhausted either the prisoner-grievance procedure or Article 138, UCMJ, 10 USC § 938 , remedies, or unusual circumstances exist justifying failure to pursue and exhaust); United States v.”
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