UCMJ Article 93 Cruelty and Maltreatment vs Article 128 Assault: When Abuse of Authority Meets Physical Violence
On this page: 5 sections
Article 93 requires a relationship but not force. Article 128 requires force or violence but not a relationship. Cruelty, oppression, or maltreatment under Article 93 must be directed at a person “subject to” the accused’s orders and need not be physical; assault under Article 128 can be committed against anyone, but only by attempting, offering, or doing bodily harm unlawfully and with force or violence.
When a superior strikes a subordinate, the facts can meet both.
Article 93
Any person subject to this chapter who is guilty of cruelty toward, or oppression or maltreatment of, any person subject to his orders shall be punished as a court-martial may direct.
Source: 10 U.S.C. § 893 (Article 93).
The elements are that a certain person was subject to the accused’s orders, and that the accused was cruel toward, oppressed, or maltreated that person (MCM, Part IV, ¶ 19.b).
Who is protected. “Any person subject to his orders” reaches beyond the accused’s direct command. It “extends to all persons, subject to the UCMJ or not, who by reason of some duty are required to obey the lawful orders of the accused, regardless whether the accused is in the direct chain of command over the person” (¶ 19.c(1)).
What counts. The conduct is “not necessarily physical” but “must be measured by an objective standard.” The Manual names assault, improper punishment, and sexual harassment as conduct that may constitute the offense if the elements are met. Sexual harassment in this paragraph includes influencing, offering to influence, or threatening another person’s career, pay, or job in exchange for sexual favors, and “deliberate or repeated offensive comments or gestures of a sexual nature” (¶ 19.c(2)).
What does not count. “The imposition of necessary or proper duties and the exaction of their performance does not constitute this offense even though the duties are arduous or hazardous or both” (¶ 19.c(2)).
Article 128, in brief
Article 128(a) reaches a person who, “unlawfully and with force or violence,” attempts to do bodily harm to another, offers to do bodily harm, or does bodily harm (10 U.S.C. § 928(a)). Aggravated assault under subsection (b) covers an offer of bodily harm with a dangerous weapon and intent to do bodily harm, an assault inflicting substantial or grievous bodily harm, and assault by strangulation or suffocation. Subsection (c) covers assault with intent to commit murder, voluntary manslaughter, rape, sexual assault, rape of a child, sexual assault of a child, robbery, arson, burglary, or kidnapping.
The article does not ask who the victim is in relation to the accused, although the Manual sets higher maximums for assaults on certain officers, noncommissioned officers, sentinels, law enforcement personnel, and children (MCM, Part IV, ¶ 77.d).
Where they overlap and where they part
| Situation | Article 93 | Article 128 |
|---|---|---|
| A superior shoves a subordinate in anger | Can apply: the victim is subject to the accused's orders, and the Manual lists assault as possible maltreatment | Applies if the shove was unlawful and with force: battery |
| A superior humiliates a subordinate with degrading tasks that serve no duty | Can apply: maltreatment need not be physical | Does not apply without an attempt, offer, or infliction of bodily harm |
| A superior repeatedly makes offensive sexual comments to a subordinate | Can apply: named in ¶ 19.c(2) | Does not apply without force or violence |
| Two peers fight | Does not apply: neither is subject to the other's orders | Can apply |
| A leader requires a hard but necessary training march | Does not apply: necessary duties, even arduous ones, are excluded | Does not apply |
For example, a sergeant who orders a private to clean a latrine with a toothbrush for hours as punishment, with no duty purpose, raises the Article 93 question even though no one is touched; the objective standard decides whether it was maltreatment. Should the same sergeant grab the private by the collar and slam the private against a wall, the conduct can be charged as battery under Article 128 and as maltreatment under Article 93. Where the objective line falls for particular treatment is settled on the evidence of what happened and why.
Sexual harassment is also a separate Article 134 offense (MCM, Part IV, ¶ 107a), with its own elements.
Maximum punishments
| Offense | Maximum (MCM, Part IV, ¶ 19.d and ¶ 77.d) |
|---|---|
| Cruelty, oppression, or maltreatment | Dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, 3 years |
| Simple assault | Confinement for 3 months and forfeiture of two-thirds pay per month for 3 months |
| Simple assault with a firearm or other dangerous weapon | Dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, 2 years; 4 years with a loaded firearm |
| Assault consummated by a battery | Bad-conduct discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, 6 months |
| Battery on a child under 16 | Dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, 2 years |
| Aggravated assault with a dangerous weapon | Dishonorable discharge and total forfeitures; 8 years with a loaded firearm, 5 years against a child under 16, otherwise 3 years |
| Aggravated assault inflicting substantial bodily harm | Dishonorable discharge and total forfeitures; 8 years with a loaded firearm, 6 years against a child under 16, otherwise 3 years |
| Aggravated assault inflicting grievous bodily harm | Dishonorable discharge and total forfeitures; 10 years with a loaded firearm, 8 years against a child under 16, otherwise 5 years |
| Aggravated assault by strangulation or suffocation | Dishonorable discharge and total forfeitures; 8 years against a child under 16, otherwise 5 years |
Separate Article 128 maximums apply to assaults on certain officers, noncommissioned and petty officers, sentinels, and law enforcement personnel, and to assault with intent to commit the offenses listed in subsection (c) (¶ 77.d). 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. § 893, cruelty and maltreatment (Article 93)
- 10 U.S.C. § 928, assault (Article 128)
- 10 U.S.C. § 853, findings and sentencing (Article 53)
- Manual for Courts-Martial, United States (2024 edition), Part IV, ¶ 19, ¶ 77, and ¶ 107a.
General information on Articles 93 and 128, not an assessment of any leader’s or service member’s conduct. 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.