UCMJ Article 112: Drunkenness and Other Incapacitation Offenses
On this page
Article 112 does not punish drinking. It punishes three specific situations: being drunk on duty, being incapacitated for the proper performance of duty because of earlier drinking or drug use, and being drunk while a prisoner. Drunk on duty carries the highest maximum, a bad-conduct discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and 9 months of confinement; the other two carry 3 months and no punitive discharge.
Three offenses in § 912
Under 10 U.S.C. § 912:
- (a) Drunk on duty. “Any person subject to this chapter who is drunk on duty shall be punished as a court-martial may direct.”
- (b) Incapacitation for duty from drunkenness or drug use. A person who, “as a result of indulgence in any alcoholic beverage or any drug, is incapacitated for the proper performance of duty.”
- (c) Drunk prisoner. A person who is a prisoner “and, while in such status, is drunk.”
What “drunk” means
The Manual for Courts-Martial (2024 ed.), Part IV, ¶ 49.c(1)(a), gives two alternative definitions:
- intoxication by alcohol “sufficient to impair the rational and full exercise of mental or physical faculties”; or
- a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08 grams per 100 milliliters of blood, or a breath concentration of 0.08 grams per 210 liters of breath, “as shown by chemical analysis.”
The first can be proved without any test. The second turns on the number alone.
When a member is “on duty”
“Duty” means military duty (¶ 49.c(1)(b)). Some members are always on duty for this article: a commander in the actual exercise of command of a post, command, or detachment in the field, and the commanding officer on board a ship. An officer of the day and members of the guard or the watch are on duty for their entire tour.
For everyone else, “on duty” relates to duties of routine or detail, in garrison, at a station, or in the field. It does not cover periods when no duty is required by orders or regulations and the member is “off duty” or “on liberty.” The Manual adds that in a region of active hostilities, the circumstances “are often such that all members of a command may properly be considered as being continuously on duty.”
Drunk before duty, or never on duty
Three rules from ¶ 49.c(1)(c) fix the line:
- The accused must be drunk “while actually on the duty alleged.” Becoming drunk before going on duty is “material in extenuation” but does not affect guilt.
- If the accused never undertakes the responsibility or enters on the duty at all, the conduct is outside this article. So is the conduct of someone who absents himself or herself from duty and is drunk while absent; that absence may be absence without leave under Article 86.
- Standby duty counts. The Manual’s examples are an aircraft crew ordered to stand by for flight duty and an enlisted person ordered to stand by for guard duty.
Two defenses the Manual names
Under ¶ 49.c(1)(d), the accused has a defense to drunk on duty if:
- superior authorities knew the accused was drunk when the duty was assigned and allowed the accused to assume it anyway; or
- the drunkenness resulted from “an accidental over dosage administered for medicinal purposes.”
Incapacitation for duty
“Incapacitated” means unfit or unable to properly perform duties as a result of previous alcohol consumption or drug use; illness resulting from previous indulgence is the Manual’s example of being “unable” (¶ 49.c(2)(a)). The government must prove the accused had certain duties, was incapacitated for them, and that the incapacitation resulted from the earlier drinking or drug use (¶ 49.b(2)).
The accused’s lack of knowledge of the duties assigned is an affirmative defense (¶ 49.c(2)(b)).
Drunk prisoner
A prisoner is “a person who is in confinement or custody imposed under R.C.M. 302, 304, or 305, or under sentence of a court-martial who has not been set free by a person with authority to release the prisoner” (¶ 24.c(1), applied by ¶ 49.c(3)). “Drunk” has the same two meanings as above.
9 months for drunk on duty, 3 for the other two
From ¶ 49.d:
| Offense | Maximum |
|---|---|
| Drunk on duty | Bad-conduct discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, 9 months |
| Incapacitation for duty from drunkenness or drug use | 3 months; forfeiture of two-thirds pay per month for 3 months |
| Drunk prisoner | 3 months; forfeiture of two-thirds pay per month for 3 months |
Neighboring alcohol and drug offenses
Wrongful use or possession of a controlled substance is Article 112a. Drunk or impaired operation of a vehicle, aircraft, or vessel is Article 113. Being drunk, disorderly, or both, in a way that is prejudicial to good order and discipline or service-discrediting, is charged under Article 134 as drunk and disorderly conduct.
Sources
- 10 U.S.C. § 912, Article 112, Drunkenness and other incapacitation offenses (Cornell LII)
- Manual for Courts-Martial, United States (2024 ed.), Part IV, ¶ 24.c(1) and ¶ 49
General information about military law, not legal advice for any individual case.