UCMJ Article 108 Military Property vs Article 109 Non-Military Property: Government Equipment vs Private and Foreign Property
On this page: 6 sections
A soldier who loses an issued night-vision device through carelessness can be charged under Article 108; the same carelessness with a roommate’s laptop is not an Article 109 offense at all. The two articles divide property by owner and use, and they apply different mental states. Article 108 reaches neglect as well as willful acts. Article 109 reaches only willful or reckless waste of real property and willful, wrongful damage or destruction of personal property. Its property is anything other than military property of the United States, which includes government property that is not military property, not only private and foreign property.
Article 108: military property of the United States
(1) sells or otherwise disposes of;
(2) willfully or through neglect damages, destroys, or loses; or
(3) willfully or through neglect suffers to be lost, damaged, destroyed, sold, or wrongfully disposed of; any military property of the United States,
Source: 10 U.S.C. § 908 (Article 108). Each clause applies to conduct “without proper authority.”
The Manual for Courts-Martial explains the key terms (MCM, Part IV, ¶ 43.c):
- Military property is “all property, real or personal, owned, held, or used by one of the armed forces.” It is “a term of art” and not the same as government property: “While all military property is Government property, not all Government property is military property.” Retail merchandise of service exchange stores is not military property.
- Issue does not matter. It is immaterial whether the property had been issued to the accused, to someone else, or at all. But if items of individual issue were issued to the accused, it may be inferred, depending on the evidence, that the loss or damage was due to the accused’s neglect.
- Suffering means allowing or permitting. It includes violating a specific rule, reckless personal use, leaving property exposed to weather or unguarded, letting others consume or damage it, and lending it to someone known to be irresponsible.
- Firearms and explosives carry higher maximums, and “explosive” includes ammunition.
Article 109: other property
Any person subject to this chapter who willfully or recklessly wastes, spoils, or otherwise willfully and wrongfully destroys or damages any property other than military property of the United States shall be punished as a court-martial may direct.
Source: 10 U.S.C. § 909 (Article 109).
The statute’s category is “any property other than military property of the United States.” That covers private property, and it also covers government property that does not meet the military-property definition. The article has two parts (MCM, Part IV, ¶ 45.c):
- Wasting or spoiling real property of another, willfully or recklessly: burning down buildings, burning piers, tearing down fences, or cutting down trees.
- Destroying or damaging personal property of another, willfully and wrongfully. Destroyed means useless for its intended purpose; damage is any physical injury. “Willfully” means intentionally.
Neither part reaches simple negligence, and Article 109 has no “suffers” clause.
Value and damage
Under both articles, the value of property lost, destroyed, sold, or disposed of, or the amount of damage, controls the maximum punishment. For military property, damage is ordinarily measured by the cost of repair by the government agency normally doing that work, or replacement cost from government price lists, whichever is less (¶ 43.c(3)). For other property, it is the cost of repair by artisans available where the owner lives, or replacement, whichever is less (¶ 45.c(3)).
How the facts sort
| Article 108 | Article 109 | |
|---|---|---|
| Property | Owned, held, or used by an armed force | Anything other than military property of the United States |
| Neglect | Covered | Not covered |
| Willful acts | Covered | Covered |
| Recklessness | Covered as part of neglect and suffering | Covered for waste of real property |
| Selling or disposing | Covered | Not covered |
| Suffering others to damage it | Covered | Not covered |
Leaving an issued rifle unsecured in an unlocked vehicle, where it is stolen, raises suffering military property to be lost through neglect under Article 108, with the firearm maximum available for willful sufferance. If the same service member, angry at a neighbor, deliberately smashes the neighbor’s car windows, the car is not military property, and the conduct raises willful damage under Article 109. Whether property was “used by” an armed force, and whether conduct was willful or only negligent, turn on how the property was held and on the accused’s state of mind.
Maximum punishments
| Offense | Maximum (MCM, Part IV, ¶ 43.d and ¶ 45.d) |
|---|---|
| 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, or suffered 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 |
| Article 109 waste, damage, or destruction, $1,000 or less | Bad-conduct discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, 1 year |
| Article 109 waste, damage, or destruction, more than $1,000 | Dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, 5 years |
Where every finding of guilty is for an offense committed after December 27, 2023, the military judge sets the sentence in a general or special court-martial, except in a capital case (10 U.S.C. § 853(b)(1)).
Sources
- 10 U.S.C. § 908, military property of the United States: loss, damage, destruction, or wrongful disposition (Article 108)
- 10 U.S.C. § 909, property other than military property of United States: waste, spoilage, or destruction (Article 109)
- 10 U.S.C. § 853, findings and sentencing (Article 53)
- Manual for Courts-Martial, United States (2024 edition), Part IV, ¶ 43 and ¶ 45.
Legal information on Articles 108 and 109; it does not assess any loss, damage, or property accountability matter. 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.