UCMJ Article 99 Misbehavior Before the Enemy vs Article 100 Subordinate Compelling Surrender: Combat Cowardice vs Forcing Others to Quit
On this page: 6 sections
Article 99 punishes a service member’s own failures in the face of the enemy: running away, cowardice, casting away arms, and six other forms of misbehavior. Article 100 punishes something different: using acts, not words, to compel a commander to give up a place, vessel, aircraft, military property, or body of troops to the enemy or to abandon it, and striking the colors or flag to the enemy without authority. Despite its title, Article 100 applies to “any person subject to this chapter,” not only subordinates.
Both articles carry a possible death sentence for every offense they contain.
Article 99: nine forms of misbehavior
Article 99 applies to any member of the armed forces who, before or in the presence of the enemy, runs away; shamefully abandons, surrenders, or delivers up a command, unit, place, or military property it is the member’s duty to defend; endangers its safety through disobedience, neglect, or intentional misconduct; casts away arms or ammunition; is guilty of cowardly conduct; quits a place of duty to plunder or pillage; causes false alarms; willfully fails to do the utmost to encounter, engage, capture, or destroy the enemy; or fails to afford all practicable relief and assistance to U.S. or allied forces engaged in battle (10 U.S.C. § 899).
The Manual for Courts-Martial explains each form (MCM, Part IV, ¶ 27.c):
- Before or in the presence of the enemy is “a question of tactical relation, not distance.”
- Running away is “an unauthorized departure to avoid actual or impending combat.” It need not be caused by fear, and the accused need not literally run.
- Shameful surrender mainly concerns commanders responsible for defending a position; abandonment by a subordinate “would ordinarily be charged as running away.” Surrender by the person charged with a defense “can be justified only by the utmost necessity or extremity.”
- Cowardice “is misbehavior motivated by fear.” Fear itself is “a natural feeling of apprehension when going into battle,” and “The mere display of apprehension does not constitute this offense.” Genuine and extreme illness not caused by cowardice is a defense.
- Plunder or pillage is complete on quitting the place of duty with that intent, even if nothing is taken.
- False alarms include spreading false or disturbing rumors or reports.
- Failing to do the utmost can include willfully refusing a lawful order to go on a combat patrol.
- Relief and assistance means what can be afforded within the limits of the person’s own mission, and applies only to forces engaged in battle.
Article 100: compelling surrender
Any person subject to this chapter who compels or attempts to compel the commander of any place, vessel, aircraft, or other military property, or of any body of members of the armed forces, to give it up to an enemy or to abandon it, or who strikes the colors or flag to an enemy without proper authority, shall be punished by death or such other punishment as a court-martial may direct.
Source: 10 U.S.C. § 900 (Article 100).
The Manual’s explanation (¶ 28.c):
- Acts, not words. The surrender or abandonment “must be compelled or attempted to be compelled by acts rather than words.”
- Completion. Compelling surrender is not complete until the position or command is actually given up or abandoned; an attempt needs an act done for that purpose, even if it fails.
- No concert required. The offenses resemble mutiny aimed at surrender, but “concert of action is not an essential element.”
- Striking the colors means hauling down the flag “in the face of the enemy or to make any other offer of surrender.” It is committed by someone who assumes authority to surrender without it. The offer need not be received, accepted, or rejected, and sending an emissary with the offer is enough.
Legitimate and unauthorized surrender
The Manual recognizes that surrender is sometimes lawful. For striking the colors, “If continued battle has become fruitless and it is impossible to communicate with higher authority, those facts will constitute proper authority to surrender” (¶ 28.c(3)(b)). For a commander charged with a defense, surrender is justified “only by the utmost necessity or extremity” (¶ 27.c(2)(d)). The offenses lie in shameful surrender by the person charged with the defense, in surrender offered without authority, and in forcing a commander’s hand.
How the facts sort
| Article 99 | Article 100 | |
|---|---|---|
| Who can commit it | Any member of the armed forces | Any person subject to the UCMJ |
| Setting | Before or in the presence of the enemy | A command, position, or force facing an enemy to which it could be surrendered |
| Core conduct | The accused's own misbehavior | Compelling a commander by acts, or making an unauthorized offer of surrender |
| Fear | Required for cowardly conduct only | Not an element |
| Maximum | Death or other punishment | Death or other punishment |
For example, a rifleman who drops the weapon and flees the line as an attack begins raises running away and casting away arms under Article 99. Soldiers who, rather than fleeing, seize their company commander’s radio and physically block the command post to force the commander to raise a white flag, until the position is surrendered, commit compelling surrender under Article 100, by acts, and no concert is required for any one of them to be guilty. Whether a surrender was justified is measured against the “utmost necessity or extremity” standard for a commander and, for striking the colors, the necessities of battle (¶ 27.c(2)(d), ¶ 28.c(3)(b)).
Maximum punishments
Every offense under Article 99 and Article 100 carries “death or such other punishment as a court-martial may direct” (10 U.S.C. §§ 899, 900; MCM, Part IV, ¶ 28.d). In a capital case, the members decide whether a death-eligible conviction results in death or life without eligibility for parole, or return the matter to the military judge (10 U.S.C. § 853(c)(1)). In a case not tried as capital, 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. § 899, misbehavior before the enemy (Article 99)
- 10 U.S.C. § 900, subordinate compelling surrender (Article 100)
- 10 U.S.C. § 853, findings and sentencing (Article 53)
- Manual for Courts-Martial, United States (2024 edition), Part IV, ¶ 27 and ¶ 28.
Legal information on Articles 99 and 100; no unit, engagement, or surrender is assessed. 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.