On and off post regulations

On and off post laws and regulations

Laws and regulations are written and enforced for a very specific reason, to maintain order and preserve peace within a community. Without these laws and regulations, the order that exists in today’s world would not exist. Society needs a set of rules and guidelines to follow in order to thrive peacefully. The important of such regulations is key to a community, they provide a set standard, a line to follow; for example a 15 mile per hour speed limit in a school zone. Of course, there is always those who chose not to follow these set regulations; it’s human nature. When a law is broken, there are always consequences that are sure to follow; assuming that the individual was caught in the act. These consequences will always be enforced, because normally when an individual breaks a certain law; a lesson must be learned from that incident. Hence the punishment, which could either, end up a simple ticket; or even a trip to jail depending on the severity and the law which was broken. Every society that has ever existed has always had a set of laws to follow, whether they were written or based on an unspoken common sense bases. In the United States, laws come from congress; while regulations are created on a more local basis. For example, a local city government will write its own regulations specific to that city. There is not much of a difference between laws and regulations; because a regulation holds the same authorative power of a law. If it is broken, consequences are sure to ensue; no matter what or who broke it. An example of a city regulation would be a no parking zone, or something specific of that nature. While a universal law would be breaking the speed limit, or theft. The line between a regulation and a law can be hard to determine sometimes, but the important part is that there will be consequences in place to fairly punish that rebellious individual. As for military personnel, there is an even more strict set of laws in which to follow; as well as regulations and a lot of them. These extra set of laws and regulations are outlined in the Uniform Code of Military Justice or UCMJ; as well as the Army Regulation’s or AR’s. The Uniform Code of Military Justice is a collection of universal laws that apply to every branch of the military and they are much stricter than normal civilian laws. Certain laws within the Uniform Code of Military Justice actually demand the death sentence if convicted whereas civilian law doesn’t require a death sentence. This shows just how serious the military is about having high quality, law abiding service members. Whereas military regulations, such as Army Regulations; generally outline a standard. A standard for uniform wear, soldierly appearance, and certain punishments and what can be done to a disorderly soldier. Military personnel not only fall under these much stricter laws within the Uniform Code of Military Justice, and Military Regulations, but they also fall under standard civilian law and regulations. The only difference between each is where a service member is caught breaking a law or regulation. An example of this would be an on post violation, as opposed to an off-post violation. An on-post violation does not fall under civilian law; it strictly falls under the authority of the MP’s and the soldier’s chain of command; and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. The civilian authorities and laws are not taken into consideration for an on-post violation or when something such as assault or rape occurs towards another soldier. The lines between Uniform Code of Military Justice and Civilian law can also be blurred; which is common. Depending on the violation committed, sometimes; both Uniform Code of Military Justice and Civilian law will be accounted for and paid for. An example of a violation which would not deem any civilian consequences would be a speeding ticket that was issued on post; this