American Legion blasts effort to remove right to court-martial

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — An former National Guard paralegal who is now an American Legion district commander on Thursday said Indiana lawmakers should not take away a fundamental right soldiers have always enjoyed.

Yvette Fancher’s 23-year Army career included stints as a paralegal for the Indiana National Guard and in the Guard’s Office of Inspector General. Now, the commander of the American Legion Department of Indiana’s 11th District, which includes Marion County, she said she was shocked when lawmakers began advancing a bill to remove Guard members’ ability to request a court-martial.

“One person would have all the power over you; my word against your word. It shouldn’t be that way,” she said. “To be able to take it away, it’s not proper. It’s not fair.”

In the armed forces, commanding officers can unilaterally impose so-called nonjudicial punishment for minor offenses such as insubordination or chronic tardiness. Also called Article 15 punishment, after the section of the Uniform Code of Military Justice that deals with such punishments, it typically ranges from reprimand to demotion or restrictions on where a service member can go. Under both state and federal law, a service member facing nonjudicial punishment can request a court-martial.

A bill now in the state Senate would take away that option for Guard members serving under the state’s authority. The American Legion is lobbying lawmakers not to move forward with the idea. The measure already passed the House on a party-line vote.

During a hearing earlier this week, Maj. Gen. Dale Lyles, the adjutant general of the Indiana National Guard, said courts-martial are resource-intensive for the Guard in particular because judges, trial and defense counsel, jury members and other support staff all have to be called up for duty. Lyles said under current law, soldiers facing nonjudicial punishment could demand a court-martial knowing their commanding officer might conclude their offense isn’t worth the time or expense of one.

“Instead, the commander is now faced with two unappealing options — pursue administrative separation of the soldier or do nothing, which is often the case — causing a corrosive effect on the good order and discipline of the unit,” he said.

Moreover, unlike nonjudicial punishment, Lyles said a court-martial can result in a punitive discharge and a criminal record. He said at least 26 states have made similar changes to their laws.

In a statement to News 8, the Guard said seven Article 15s had been issued since 2022. Officials said the low number is due in part to commanders’ reluctance to pursue nonjudicial punishment due to the potential for service members to refuse it and demand a court martial.

Under questioning from Sen. Andrea Hunley, an Indianapolis Democrat, however, Lyles said he is not aware of any Indiana National Guard members trying to game the system.

Hunley is sponsoring an amendment that would remove the language concerning courts-martial from the bill. The Senate was scheduled to vote on her amendment on Thursday but did not do so, pushing the bill to next week’s calendar instead. A similar amendment in the House failed along party lines.

Fancher said in her career, she never saw anyone try to game the system, either, nor did she ever see anyone get denied a court-martial.

“It seems to me that the people that voted basically didn’t listen to or understand, the majority of the people in that room (at Tuesday’s hearing) was against the bill,” she said.

If the bill becomes law, it would not affect National Guard soldiers or airmen called up for federal service.