UCMJ Article 110 Improper Hazarding of Vessel vs Article 111 Drunken or Reckless Operation of Vehicle: Naval Negligence vs General Impaired Driving
On this page: 5 sections
The drunken or reckless operation offense is Article 113, not Article 111: the change came on January 1, 2019, and Article 111 now covers leaving the scene of a vehicle accident. On the same date, Article 110 grew beyond ships: it now punishes hazarding “any vessel or aircraft of the armed forces,” where the earlier text reached only vessels. Both versions punish willful hazarding as well as negligent hazarding.
The two articles look at different things. Article 110 protects military vessels and aircraft from being put in danger, by anyone, including by failing to act. Article 113 punishes the operator of any vehicle, aircraft, or vessel, military or not, who operates or controls it while drunk, impaired, over the alcohol limit, or recklessly.
Article 110
(a) … Any person subject to this chapter who, willfully and wrongfully, hazards or suffers to be hazarded any vessel or aircraft of the armed forces shall be punished by death or such other punishment as a court-martial may direct.
(b) … Any person subject to this chapter who negligently hazards or suffers to be hazarded any vessel or aircraft of the armed forces shall be punished as a court-martial may direct.
Source: 10 U.S.C. § 910 (Article 110), as amended by Pub. L. 114-328, § 5422.
The statute applies to “any person subject to this chapter”; it does not limit the offense to those in command or charged with navigation. The Manual for Courts-Martial explains the key terms (MCM, Part IV, ¶ 47.c):
- Hazard means “to put in danger of loss or injury.” Actual damage or loss by collision, stranding, or any other cause is “conclusive evidence that the vessel or aircraft was hazarded but not of the fact of culpability on the part of any particular person.”
- Suffer means to allow or permit. The Manual’s examples are a navigator who sees a radar contact on a collision course and fails to report it to the officer of the deck, and an aircraft’s copilot or navigator who similarly fails to report an imminent danger.
- Negligence is the failure to exercise the care, prudence, or attention to duty that a prudent and reasonable person would exercise. Duties that come from a person’s grade or from service custom count even if no regulation lists them, but “a mere error in judgment that a reasonably able person might have committed under the same circumstances does not constitute an offense.”
- Aircraft includes remotely piloted aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles.
Article 113
Article 113(a) reaches a person who operates or physically controls any vehicle, aircraft, or vessel in a reckless or wanton manner or while impaired by a controlled substance, or who operates or is in actual physical control of one while drunk or at or above the alcohol limit (10 U.S.C. § 913(a)). The limit in the United States is the lower of the state limit where the conduct occurred and 0.08 grams per 100 milliliters of blood or per 210 liters of breath; outside the United States it is 0.08 or any lower limit the Secretary of Defense sets (§ 913(b)).
How the facts sort
| Article 110 | Article 113 | |
|---|---|---|
| What the article addresses | Danger to vessels and aircraft of the armed forces | The manner in which any vehicle, aircraft, or vessel, military or not, is operated or controlled |
| Who can commit it | Any person subject to the UCMJ, including those who fail to warn | The person operating or in physical control |
| Mental state | Willful and wrongful, or negligent | Drunk, impaired, over the limit, or reckless or wanton |
| Harm required | Danger of loss or injury; no damage needed | No injury needed; injury raises the maximum |
| Maximum | Death (willful); 2 years (negligent) | 6 months; 18 months with injury |
For example, a lookout on a Navy vessel who sees another ship closing on a collision course and says nothing can negligently or willfully suffer the vessel to be hazarded under Article 110, without ever touching the controls. A crew member who flies a military aircraft while over the alcohol limit presents both articles: the flight raises Article 113, and if the impairment put the aircraft in danger of loss or injury, Article 110 as well. Whether a decision was negligence or “a mere error in judgment that a reasonably able person might have committed” is measured against what a prudent and reasonable person would have done in the same circumstances (¶ 47.c(3)).
Maximum punishments
| Offense | Maximum (MCM, Part IV, ¶ 47.d and ¶ 51.d) |
|---|---|
| Willful and wrongful hazarding of a vessel or aircraft | Death or such other punishment as a court-martial may direct |
| Negligent hazarding of a vessel or aircraft | Dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, 2 years |
| Drunken, impaired, or reckless operation, or operation over the limit, no personal injury | Bad-conduct discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, 6 months |
| The same, resulting in personal injury | Dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, 18 months |
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)). Otherwise, 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 (§ 853(b)(1)).
Sources
- 10 U.S.C. § 910, improper hazarding of vessel or aircraft (Article 110)
- 10 U.S.C. § 913, drunken or reckless operation of a vehicle, aircraft, or vessel (Article 113)
- 10 U.S.C. § 911, leaving scene of vehicle accident (Article 111)
- 10 U.S.C. § 853, findings and sentencing (Article 53)
- Manual for Courts-Martial, United States (2024 edition), Part IV, ¶ 47 and ¶ 51.
Articles 110 and 113 are summarized from the statute and the Manual; no mishap, flight, or voyage 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.