The first twenty-four hours after a service member learns they are under UCMJ investigation are the most consequential and the most dangerous. The natural instinct to explain, cooperate, or reach out to colleagues for advice leads many service members to take actions in this period that they cannot undo and that prosecutors later use against them. Understanding what not to do is at least as important as understanding what should be done.
The single most important step a service member can take at this moment is to contact a qualified military defense attorney before taking any other action. Before speaking to investigators, before responding to a commander’s questions, before discussing the situation with anyone in the chain of command, and before making any decisions about documents or communications, legal counsel should be in place. Everything that comes later, every strategic decision and every procedural choice, is easier when it begins from a foundation built by counsel in the first hours of the case.
Why the First 24 Hours Shape Everything That Follows
The investigative process moves quickly, and the decisions made by a service member in the immediate aftermath of learning about an investigation create facts that cannot be undone. A statement made to a fellow soldier gets reported to investigators. A message deleted from a phone gets flagged in a forensic examination. A conversation with a commander produces a record of what was said. A request for advice from a supervisor triggers an obligation to report that the command now has to manage. Each of these things happens in hours, not days, and each creates a piece of the record that follows the case forward.
The decisions that can still be made in those first hours, the decision to remain silent, the decision to retain counsel before making any further contact, the decision to avoid touching any documents or communications that might be relevant, and the decision to say nothing to colleagues or supervisors about the situation, are decisions that preserve options. They do not close avenues that the defense might need later. They do not create evidence the government can use. They do not produce inconsistent statements that prosecutors will exploit at trial. Everything after the first twenty-four hours is easier when those hours are used correctly.
The Immediate Steps That Preserve Your Rights
The first and most critical step is to invoke the right to remain silent and the right to counsel under Article 31(b) of the UCMJ. This invocation must be explicit and must be communicated to any military person who attempts to question you in connection with the investigation. Once you have invoked, no questioning may continue until counsel is present. The invocation does not need to be in any particular form. Saying that you want to speak with an attorney before answering any questions is sufficient to trigger the protection.
After invoking, preserve all communications and records that may be relevant to the case. Do not delete messages, emails, or any other communications without explicit direction from counsel. Do not discuss the investigation with anyone, including supervisors, colleagues, and family members, until counsel advises on what can safely be communicated. The investigation is already underway, and the record that exists at the moment you learn about it is the record you must work with. What happens in the next hours and days determines whether that record gets better or worse.
What Not to Do and Why Each Mistake Compounds the Next
Do not speak to investigators without counsel present, even if you believe your account is exculpatory. An innocent explanation offered without counsel can contain inconsistencies, can be recorded inaccurately, or can be used as a baseline against which later statements are compared unfavorably. Investigators are trained to elicit information from cooperative subjects, and cooperation without legal protection is not in your interest regardless of what you believe the facts will ultimately show.
Do not contact witnesses, alleged victims, or other parties connected to the investigation. Contact with these individuals may be characterized as obstruction or witness intimidation, and the appearance of such contact, even when entirely innocent, can significantly complicate your legal situation. Do not use any official computer systems, email accounts, or communication channels to discuss the investigation. Do not seek advice from supervisors or other unit personnel about how to handle the situation. Everything communicated through these channels is potentially discoverable and none of it is protected.
How to Identify and Contact the Right Defense Counsel Fast
The quickest path to qualified military defense counsel is to contact the defense services office at your installation and request appointment of a defense attorney. This right is immediate and does not require any formal process. The assigned attorney may advise you on what to do while you assess whether to retain civilian counsel, and they are bound by the same attorney-client privilege protections as any other attorney.
For civilian military defense counsel, the National Institute of Military Justice maintains a directory of attorneys who practice military law, and a web search for civilian military defense attorneys specializing in your branch of service will surface practitioners who handle UCMJ cases. When contacting civilian counsel, provide only the most basic information, the fact that you are under investigation, your branch of service, and the general nature of the alleged offense, until the representation agreement is established and the privileged relationship is in place. Everything said after that point is protected. Everything said before it potentially is not.
Setting the Foundation for a Defense Before the Government Gets Ahead
The defense that begins in the first twenty-four hours is the defense that has the most complete access to the facts, the most direct contact with witnesses while their memories are fresh, and the most time for the attorney to understand the case before the government has developed its theory. A defense that begins weeks after the investigation started is working with a record the government has already shaped.
Every day that passes without defense counsel in place is a day during which investigators are interviewing witnesses, collecting evidence, and constructing the narrative that will become the basis for any charges. A service member who retains counsel in the first twenty-four hours enters that process as an active participant rather than a passive subject. They preserve options, prevent mistakes, and begin the work of understanding what actually happened and how to present that account effectively. That foundation, built correctly from the earliest possible moment, is the single most powerful thing a service member can do to protect themselves when a UCMJ investigation begins.
This content is provided for educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Military law is complex and fact-specific. If you are facing a UCMJ investigation, court-martial, administrative separation, or any other military legal matter, consult a qualified military defense attorney before taking any action.