The Articles of War and the UCMJ

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No soldier can fight properly unless he is properly ftd on beef and beer

-Duke of Marlborough, 1650

LT WILLIAM R. SINCOCK and Lt Theodore Q. Balides were not the first US servicemen to mistakenly drop bombs on a neutral country during World War 11. They were, however, the first and apparently only airmen to be court-martialed for dereliction of duty as a result of such an incident. Their court-martial is not surprising, given that approximately one court-martial was convened for every eight service members who served in the US armed forces during World War 11.3 It was unusual that they were afforded defense counsel and subsequently acquitted because at that time, there …