UCMJ Article 90 Disobeying Officer vs Article 91 Insubordinate Conduct: When the Source of the Order Matters
On this page: 7 sections
Take two refusals of the same order. A lieutenant who is a private’s platoon leader orders the private to clean a weapon, and the private refuses outright; a sergeant then gives the same order to another private, who also refuses. The words and the refusals match, but the first case falls under Article 90 and the second under Article 91: the articles are sorted by who gave the order.
Article 90 covers willful disobedience of a superior commissioned officer’s lawful command. Article 91 covers willful disobedience of a warrant officer’s, noncommissioned officer’s, or petty officer’s lawful order, along with striking and disrespect toward those officers.
The statutory text
Any person subject to this chapter who willfully disobeys a lawful command of that person’s superior commissioned officer shall be punished … (1) if the offense is committed in time of war, by death or such other punishment as a court-martial may direct; and (2) if the offense is committed at any other time, by such punishment, other than death, as a court-martial may direct.
Source: 10 U.S.C. § 890 (Article 90).
Article 91 applies to “Any warrant officer or enlisted member” who:
(1) strikes or assaults a warrant officer, noncommissioned officer, or petty officer, while that officer is in the execution of his office;
(2) willfully disobeys the lawful order of a warrant officer, noncommissioned officer, or petty officer; or
(3) treats with contempt or is disrespectful in language or deportment toward a warrant officer, noncommissioned officer, or petty officer, while that officer is in the execution of his office;
Source: 10 U.S.C. § 891 (Article 91).
Since January 1, 2019, Article 90 has covered only disobedience. Striking a superior commissioned officer is now Article 89(b).
Who gives the order
Article 90 requires a superior commissioned officer, which the UCMJ defines as “a commissioned officer superior in rank or command” (10 U.S.C. § 801(5); MCM, Part IV, ¶ 15.c(1), applied by ¶ 16.c(1)). The accused must know the officer was the accused’s superior commissioned officer. A discharged prisoner or other civilian subject to military law and under a commissioned officer’s command is also covered (¶ 16.c(3)).
Article 91 requires a warrant, noncommissioned, or petty officer, and “does not require a superior-subordinate relationship as an element of any of the offenses” (¶ 17.c(1)). It does not protect an acting noncommissioned or petty officer, or military police and shore patrol members who hold none of those grades. The accused must actually know the person’s status (¶ 17.c(2)).
Who can be charged
Article 90 applies to “any person subject to this chapter,” so an officer can violate it by defying a more senior officer’s command.
Article 91 applies only to a warrant officer or an enlisted member. A commissioned officer who disobeys a noncommissioned officer’s order is outside the article; whether Article 92 applies depends on whether the officer had a duty to obey that order.
What the two share
The Manual applies the same rules on the order and the disobedience to both articles, since ¶ 17.c(4) points to ¶ 16.c:
- The order must be lawful, personal to the accused, and “a specific mandate to do or not to do a specific act” (¶ 16.c(2)(a), (b), (d)).
- “‘Willful disobedience’ is an intentional defiance of authority.” Failing to comply through “heedlessness, remissness, or forgetfulness” violates neither article, though it may violate Article 92 (¶ 16.c(2)(f)).
- When immediate compliance is required, a declared refusal plus no move to comply is disobedience; for an order to be performed later, a present statement of refusal is not yet disobedience (¶ 16.c(2)(g)).
Where they differ
| Article 90 | Article 91(2) | |
|---|---|---|
| Who gave the order | The accused's superior commissioned officer (in rank or command) | A warrant, noncommissioned, or petty officer; no superior-subordinate relationship required |
| Who can be charged | Any person subject to the UCMJ | Warrant officers and enlisted members only |
| Knowledge | That the officer was the accused's superior commissioned officer | That the person was a warrant, noncommissioned, or petty officer |
| Wartime | Death may be adjudged | No wartime escalation in the statute |
| Maximum at other times | Dishonorable discharge, 5 years | 2 years (warrant officer's order) or 1 year (noncommissioned or petty officer's order) |
Suppose instead that a specialist acting as squad leader, who holds no noncommissioned grade, gives the order. Article 91 does not protect an acting noncommissioned officer, so a refusal would be analyzed under Article 92(2) if the private had a duty to obey. Whether the person giving an order held the protected status has to be proved, and so does the accused’s actual knowledge of that status (¶ 17.c(2)).
Maximum punishments
| Offense | Maximum (MCM, Part IV, ¶ 16.d and ¶ 17.d) |
|---|---|
| Willfully disobeying a superior commissioned officer, in time of war | Death or such other punishment as a court-martial may direct |
| Willfully disobeying a superior commissioned officer, at any other time | Dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, 5 years |
| Willfully disobeying a warrant officer's lawful order | Dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, 2 years |
| Willfully disobeying a noncommissioned or petty officer's lawful order | Bad-conduct discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, 1 year |
| Striking or assaulting a warrant officer | Dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, 5 years |
| Striking or assaulting a superior noncommissioned or petty officer | Dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, 3 years |
| Striking or assaulting another noncommissioned or petty officer | Dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, 1 year |
| Contempt or disrespect toward a warrant officer | Bad-conduct discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, 9 months |
| Contempt or disrespect toward a superior noncommissioned or petty officer | Bad-conduct discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, 6 months |
| Contempt or disrespect toward another noncommissioned or petty officer | Forfeiture of two-thirds pay per month for 3 months and confinement for 3 months |
In a capital case, the members decide between death and life without eligibility for parole, or return the matter to the military judge (10 U.S.C. § 853(c)(1)). Otherwise, where every finding of guilty is for an offense committed after December 27, 2023, the military judge determines the sentence in a general or special court-martial (§ 853(b)(1)).
Sources
- 10 U.S.C. § 890, willfully disobeying superior commissioned officer (Article 90)
- 10 U.S.C. § 891, insubordinate conduct toward warrant officer, noncommissioned officer, or petty officer (Article 91)
- 10 U.S.C. § 801, definitions (Article 1)
- 10 U.S.C. § 853, findings and sentencing (Article 53)
- Manual for Courts-Martial, United States (2024 edition), Part IV, ¶ 15, ¶ 16, and ¶ 17.
Legal information on Articles 90 and 91; it does not evaluate any particular order, refusal, or chain of command. This page reflects the UCMJ as amended through Public Law 119-60 (December 18, 2025) and the Manual for Courts-Martial (2024 edition) as amended by Executive Order 14130.