UCMJ Article 93a Prohibited Activities with Military Recruit or Trainee vs Article 120 Sexual Assault: Position-Based Prohibition vs General Sexual Offenses
On this page: 5 sections
Article 93a turns on position, not force or lack of consent. It punishes an officer or noncommissioned or petty officer in a training leadership position who engages in prohibited sexual activity with a specially protected junior member, and a military recruiter who does so with an applicant or a delayed-entry enlistee. “Consent is not a defense” (10 U.S.C. § 893a(c)). Article 120 applies to anyone and turns on how a sexual act or contact was committed: by force, threat, fraud, without consent, or with someone unable to consent.
The same conduct can meet both articles; Article 93a can also apply where Article 120 does not, because consent does not matter to it.
Article 93a: two positions of special trust
Training leadership. Article 93a(a) applies to a person subject to the UCMJ who is an officer, noncommissioned officer, or petty officer; who is in a training leadership position with respect to a specially protected junior member of the armed forces; and who engages in prohibited sexual activity with that member.
Recruiting. Article 93a(b) applies to a military recruiter who engages in prohibited sexual activity with an applicant for military service, or with a specially protected junior member enlisted under a delayed entry program.
Source: 10 U.S.C. § 893a (Article 93a), added by Pub. L. 114-328, § 5410, effective January 1, 2019.
The statute defines each term (§ 893a(d)):
- Specially protected junior member: a member assigned to or awaiting basic training or other initial active duty for training, including delayed-entry enlistees; a cadet, midshipman, officer candidate, or student in any other officer qualification program; or a member in a program the Secretary concerned identifies by regulation as training for initial career qualification.
- Training leadership position: any drill instructor or other leadership position in basic training, officer candidate school, a reserve officers’ training corps unit, a training program for entry into the armed forces, or an initial career qualification program; and faculty and staff of the four service academies.
- Military recruiter: a person whose primary duty, under service regulations, is to recruit.
- Prohibited sexual activity: “as specified in regulations prescribed by the Secretary concerned, inappropriate physical intimacy under circumstances described in such regulations.”
The Manual for Courts-Martial adds that the article is aimed at “the improper use of authority by virtue of an individual’s position in either a training or recruiting environment,” that service regulations identify the covered relationships and must consider pre-existing relationships such as marriage, and that it “criminalizes only activity occurring when there is a training or recruiting relationship” between the accused and the other person (MCM, Part IV, ¶ 20.c(2)). The accused must have actual or constructive knowledge of the other person’s protected status (¶ 20.c(3)).
Article 120, in brief
Article 120 covers rape, sexual assault, aggravated sexual contact, and abusive sexual contact. Rape involves a sexual act by unlawful force, force likely to cause death or grievous bodily harm, threats of death, grievous bodily harm, or kidnapping, rendering the person unconscious, or drugging. Sexual assault includes a sexual act by other threats or fear, by fraud about a professional purpose or identity, without consent, with a person the accused knows or reasonably should know is asleep or unaware, or with a person incapable of consenting (10 U.S.C. § 920(a)-(b)). Consent is defined as “a freely given agreement to the conduct at issue by a competent person” (§ 920(g)(7)).
How the facts sort
| Article 93a | Article 120 | |
|---|---|---|
| Who can commit it | An officer, NCO, or petty officer in a training leadership position; or a military recruiter | Any person subject to the UCMJ |
| Who is protected | Specially protected junior members; applicants; delayed-entry enlistees | Any person |
| Conduct | Prohibited sexual activity as defined by service regulation | A sexual act or sexual contact committed in a listed manner |
| Consent | Not a defense | Lack of consent is one way to commit sexual assault or abusive sexual contact |
| Relationship required | A training or recruiting relationship at the time | None |
For example, a drill sergeant who has a consensual sexual relationship with a trainee in the drill sergeant’s own basic training company fits Article 93a(a) where service regulations treat that intimacy as prohibited, and the trainee’s consent is no defense; Article 120 additionally requires one of its listed circumstances, such as force or lack of consent. An instructor at an advanced career course who has a relationship with a student years into the student’s service stands on different ground: unless service regulations identify the course as initial career qualification training, Article 93a may not reach it. Whether a relationship fell within the regulations, and what the accused knew about the other person’s status, are shown through the service regulation in force and evidence of actual or constructive knowledge (¶ 20.c(3)).
Maximum punishments
| Offense | Maximum (MCM, Part IV, ¶ 20.d and ¶ 60.d) |
|---|---|
| Prohibited activity with a recruit or trainee | Dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, 5 years |
| Rape | Forfeiture of all pay and allowances and confinement for life without eligibility for parole; mandatory minimum of dismissal or dishonorable discharge |
| Sexual assault | Forfeiture of all pay and allowances and confinement for 30 years; mandatory minimum of dismissal or dishonorable discharge |
| Aggravated sexual contact | Dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, 20 years |
| Abusive sexual contact | Dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, 7 years |
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, except in a capital case (10 U.S.C. § 853(b)(1)). Article 120 offenses are covered offenses handled by special trial counsel for offenses after that date (10 U.S.C. §§ 801(17), 824a); Article 93a is not on the covered-offense list.
Sources
- 10 U.S.C. § 893a, prohibited activities with military recruit or trainee by person in position of special trust (Article 93a)
- 10 U.S.C. § 920, rape and sexual assault generally (Article 120)
- 10 U.S.C. § 801, definitions (Article 1)
- 10 U.S.C. § 824a, special trial counsel (Article 24a)
- 10 U.S.C. § 853, findings and sentencing (Article 53)
- Manual for Courts-Martial, United States (2024 edition), Part IV, ¶ 20 and ¶ 60.
Legal information about Articles 93a and 120; it does not evaluate any relationship, report, or training environment. 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.