UCMJ Article 91: Insubordinate Conduct Toward Warrant Officer, NCO, or Petty Officer
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Article 91 protects warrant officers, noncommissioned officers, and petty officers from assault, willful disobedience, and contempt or disrespect by warrant officers and enlisted members. Unlike the articles protecting commissioned officers, it does not require that the victim be the accused’s superior, though superiority raises some maximums. The maximums run from 3 months for disrespect to a non-superior NCO to a dishonorable discharge and 5 years for striking a warrant officer.
Assault, disobedience, and disrespect in § 891
Under 10 U.S.C. § 891, a warrant officer or enlisted member commits the offense who:
- “strikes or assaults a warrant officer, noncommissioned officer, or petty officer, while that officer is in the execution of his office”;
- “willfully disobeys the lawful order of a warrant officer, noncommissioned officer, or petty officer”; or
- “treats with contempt or is disrespectful in language or deportment toward” one of them “while that officer is in the execution of his office.”
Who is protected, and who is not
The Manual for Courts-Martial (2024 ed.), Part IV, ¶ 17.c(1), explains that Article 91 serves the same purposes for these leaders that Articles 89 and 90 serve for commissioned officers, but “does not require a superior-subordinate relationship as an element of any of the offenses denounced.” It also sets two limits:
- It “does not protect an acting noncommissioned officer or acting petty officer.”
- It does not protect military police or shore patrol members who are not themselves warrant, noncommissioned, or petty officers.
An assault on such a leader by a discharged prisoner or another civilian subject to military law is charged under Article 128 or 134, not Article 91 (¶ 17.c(3)).
Knowledge, duty, and presence
- Knowledge. Every Article 91 offense requires actual knowledge that the victim was a warrant, noncommissioned, or petty officer (¶ 17.c(2)). For the superior-NCO tiers, the accused must also have known the victim was the accused’s superior.
- Execution of office. Assault and disrespect require that the victim was in the execution of office; willful disobedience does not have that element.
- Within sight or hearing. For disrespect, “toward” requires that the behavior or language be “within the sight or hearing” of the officer concerned (¶ 17.c(5)).
- Disobedience borrows the Article 90 rules on lawfulness, personal nature, specificity, and willfulness: forgetting or neglecting an order is not willful disobedience (¶ 17.c(4)).
From 3 months to 5 years, by the victim’s grade and the act
From ¶ 17.d:
| Offense | Maximum |
|---|---|
| Striking or assaulting a warrant officer | Dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, 5 years |
| Striking or assaulting a superior NCO or petty officer | Dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, 3 years |
| Striking or assaulting another NCO or petty officer | Dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, 1 year |
| Willfully disobeying a warrant officer's lawful order | Dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, 2 years |
| Willfully disobeying an NCO's or petty officer's lawful order | Bad-conduct discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, 1 year |
| Contempt or disrespect to a warrant officer | Bad-conduct discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, 9 months |
| Contempt or disrespect to a superior NCO or petty officer | Bad-conduct discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, 6 months |
| Contempt or disrespect to another NCO or petty officer | 3 months; forfeiture of two-thirds pay per month for 3 months |
The insubordination ladder
Disrespect toward, or assault of, a superior commissioned officer falls under Article 89, and willful disobedience of one under Article 90. A failure to obey that is not willful, or an order from someone the article does not protect, can be Article 92. An assault on an NCO or petty officer not in the execution of office is charged under Article 128.
Sources
- 10 U.S.C. § 891, Article 91, Insubordinate conduct toward warrant officer, noncommissioned officer, or petty officer (Cornell LII)
- Manual for Courts-Martial, United States (2024 ed.), Part IV, ¶ 17
General information about military law, not legal advice for any individual case.