§899. Art. 99. Misbehavior before the enemy

Any member of the armed forces who before or in the presence of the enemy-

(1) runs away;

(2) shamefully abandons, surrenders, or delivers up any command, unit, place, or military property which it is his duty to defend;

(3) through disobedience, neglect, or intentional misconduct endangers the safety of any such command, unit, place, or military property;

(4) casts away his arms or ammunition;

(5) is guilty of cowardly conduct;

(6) quits his place of duty to plunder or pillage;

(7) causes false alarms in any command, unit, or place under control of the armed forces;

(8) willfully fails to do his utmost to encounter, engage, capture, or destroy any enemy troops, combatants, vessels, aircraft, or any other thing, which it is his duty so to encounter, engage, capture, or destroy; or

(9) does not afford all practicable relief and assistance to any troops, combatants, vessels, or aircraft of the armed forces belonging to the United States or their allies when engaged in battle;

shall be punished by death or such other punishment as a court-martial may direct.

(Aug. 10, 1956, ch. 1041, 70A Stat. 69 .)

Cross References

Article to be explained, see section 937 of this title.

Federal retirement benefits, forfeiture upon conviction of offenses described hereunder, see section 8312 of Title 5, Government Organization and Employees.

Plea of guilty, prohibition against reception, see section 845 of this title.

Solicitation of offense, see section 882 of this title.

Section Referred to in Other Sections

This section is referred to in sections 882, 937 of this title.