UCMJ Article 103 Captured Property vs Article 108 Military Property Damage: Battlefield Gains vs Everyday Equipment
On this page: 5 sections
The same rifle can be captured property or military property, and the captured-property offenses are no longer Article 103: since January 1, 2019, they have been Article 108a, and Article 103 covers spies. Article 108a governs property taken from the enemy or abandoned, and it imposes duties as well as prohibitions: to secure enemy public property, to report and turn over captured or abandoned property, and not to profit from it or loot. Article 108 governs property that already belongs to the armed forces: selling it without authority, or damaging, destroying, losing, or allowing its loss willfully or through neglect.
Picked up on a battlefield, a rifle is captured property; issued from an armory, it is military property.
Article 108a
(a) All persons subject to this chapter shall secure all public property taken from the enemy for the service of the United States, and shall give notice and turn over to the proper authority without delay all captured or abandoned property in their possession, custody, or control.
(b) Any person subject to this chapter who … (1) fails to carry out the duties prescribed in subsection (a); (2) buys, sells, trades, or in any way deals in or disposes of captured or abandoned property, whereby he receives or expects any profit, benefit, or advantage to himself or another directly or indirectly connected with himself; or (3) engages in looting or pillaging; shall be punished as a court-martial may direct.
Source: 10 U.S.C. § 908a (Article 108a), renumbered from § 903 by Pub. L. 114-328, § 5401(4).
The Manual for Courts-Martial explains (MCM, Part IV, ¶ 44.c):
- Enemy public property becomes the property of the United States “Immediately upon its capture.” Neither the captor nor anyone else has any private right in it, and every person subject to military law has “an immediate duty” to take reasonable steps to secure it.
- Reporting and turning over covers both public and private captured or abandoned property, reported through the channels regulations, orders, or custom require, to an authority competent to order its disposition.
- Dealing includes disposing of the property, and “Disposed of” includes destruction or abandonment. The offense requires a profit, benefit, or advantage received or expected.
- Looting or pillaging means “unlawfully seizing or appropriating property which is located in enemy or occupied territory,” including property left behind by or belonging to the enemy or inhabitants of an occupied state, and property on a seized or captured vessel (¶ 44.b(4), c(4)).
Article 108 in brief
Article 108 punishes, without proper authority, selling or otherwise disposing of military property of the United States; damaging, destroying, or losing it willfully or through neglect; or willfully or through neglect suffering it to be lost, damaged, destroyed, sold, or wrongfully disposed of (10 U.S.C. § 908). Military property is “all property, real or personal, owned, held, or used by one of the armed forces” (MCM, Part IV, ¶ 43.c(1)).
How the facts sort
| Article 108a | Article 108 | |
|---|---|---|
| Property | Enemy public property; captured or abandoned public or private property | Property owned, held, or used by the armed forces |
| Duty to act | Yes: secure, report, and turn over | No reporting duty in the statute; liability extends to neglect and to suffering loss or damage |
| Profit element | Required for dealing | Not required |
| Looting | A separate offense | Not addressed |
| Maximum | 6 months to 5 years by value and type; looting any punishment other than death | 6 months to 10 years by conduct, value, and type |
For example, a soldier who finds an enemy weapons cache and keeps a pistol for personal use, without reporting it, raises failing to report and turn over captured property under Article 108a; if the soldier sells the pistol, dealing in captured property for profit is raised as well. A soldier who, in an occupied town, takes jewelry from an abandoned house commits looting under Article 108a(b)(3). If the same soldier instead loses an issued rifle through carelessness, the property is military property and Article 108 applies. Which category the property fell into when the accused dealt with it decides the article.
Maximum punishments
| Offense | Maximum (MCM, Part IV, ¶ 44.d and ¶ 43.d) |
|---|---|
| Failing to secure, report, or turn over captured or abandoned property, or dealing in it, $1,000 or less | Bad-conduct discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, 6 months |
| The same, more than $1,000 or any firearm or explosive | Dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, 5 years |
| Looting or pillaging | Any punishment, other than death, that a court-martial may direct |
| Selling or disposing of military property, $1,000 or less | Bad-conduct discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, 1 year |
| Selling or disposing of military property, more than $1,000 or any firearm or explosive | Dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, 10 years |
| Military property lost, damaged, or destroyed through neglect, $1,000 or less | Confinement for 6 months and forfeiture of two-thirds pay per month for 6 months |
| The same, more than $1,000 | Bad-conduct discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, 1 year |
| Military property willfully damaged, destroyed, lost, or suffered, $1,000 or less | Bad-conduct discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, 1 year |
| The same, more than $1,000 or any firearm or explosive | Dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, 10 years |
For both articles, “explosive” includes ammunition. 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, other than in a capital case (10 U.S.C. § 853(b)(1)).
Sources
- 10 U.S.C. § 908a, captured or abandoned property (Article 108a)
- 10 U.S.C. § 908, military property of the United States: loss, damage, destruction, or wrongful disposition (Article 108)
- 10 U.S.C. § 903, spies (Article 103)
- 10 U.S.C. § 853, findings and sentencing (Article 53)
- Manual for Courts-Martial, United States (2024 edition), Part IV, ¶ 43 and ¶ 44.
General information on Articles 108a and 108; no seizure, loss, or property record is evaluated. 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.