Legal Guide For Commanders Fm 27 1

This manual, “Legal Guide for Commanders (FM 27-1),” is a guide to military law for company commanders, officers and noncommissioned officers. It will acquaint you with military law as reflected in military justice, administrative law, and personal rights, responsibilities, and restrictions. It outlines basic responsibilities and daily procedures for administering military justice and administrative law in the unit. It will assist you in safeguard the personal and civil rights of the soldiers under your command. The “Powell Report” on the Uniform Code of Military Justice stresses military law's role of maintaining discipline in the Army: Discipline – state of mind which leads to a willingness to obey an order no matter how unpleasant the task to be performed – is not characteristic of a civilian community. Development of this state of mind among soldiers is a command responsibility and a necessity. In the development of discipline, correction of individuals is indispensable; in correction, fairness or justice is indispensable. Thus, it is a mistake to talk of balancing discipline and justice – the two are inseparable. Once a case is before a court-martial, it should be realized by all concerned that the sole concern is to accomplish justice under the law. This does not mean justice as determined by the commander referring a case or by anyone not duly constituted to fulfill a judicial role. It is not proper to say that a military court-martial has a dual function as an instrument of discipline and as an instrument of justice. It is an instrument of justice, and in fulfilling this function it will promote discipline (Powell Report: Report to Honorable Wilbur M. Brucker, Secretary of the Army, 1960).

FM 1-04, Legal Support to the Operational Army, is the Army's manual for operational legal doctrine. This manual provides authoritative doctrine and practical guidance for commanders, judge advocates, legal administrators, and paralegal Soldiers across the spectrum of conflict. It outlines how The Judge Advocate General's Corps (JAGC) will be organized in accordance with the Army's modular force design. It also discusses the delivery of legal support to the modular force. This manual does not address the law of armed conflict, The Hague Conventions, or the Geneva Conventions in detail. For a more comprehensive treatment of those areas, refer to FM 27-10, The Law of Land Warfare. FM 1-04 applies to the Active Army, the Army National Guard/Army National Guard of the United States, and U.S. Army Reserve unless otherwise stated.

Legal support to operations encompasses all legal services provided by Judge Advocate General's Corps (JAGC) personnel in support of commanders, units, and soldiers throughout an area of operation and across the spectrum of operations. This support includes Operational Law and the six Core Legal Disciplines, which support command and control, sustainment, and personnel service support. Legal support to operations promotes the operational mission, provides quality legal services. and preserves the legitimacy of operations. Field Manual 27-100, Legal Support to Operations, is the Army's capstone legal doctrinal manual. It describes the missions and operations of JAGC organizations, units, and personnel supporting Army operations. Legal support to operations must be thoroughly integrated into all aspects of operations to ensure compliance with law and policy and to provide responsive, quality legal services. This manual does not provide comprehensive treatment of the Law of War or Geneva Conventions. For information on these topics, refer to Field Manual 27-10, The Law of Land Warfare. The purpose of this manual is to provide authoritative doctrine and guidance on all legal support to Army operations. It also provides the basis for legal training, organizational, and materiel development. It contains guidance for commanders, Staff Judge Advocates, staffs, and other JAGC personnel. It implements relevant Joint and Army doctrine, incorporates lessons learned from recent operations, and conforms to Army keystone doctrine.