Administrative Investigation – What Are the Different Types?

Generals and commanding officers in the military have been given the task of maintaining good discipline and order within their ranks. Suppose a member of the service has allegedly taken part in an unlawful event or incident.

In that case, administrative investigations turn out to be a valuable tool in such matters that JAG officers and commanders use to find out and verify the facts regarding the misconduct of the service member.

There are various subtypes of administrative investigation. The one that you may be facing depends on the circumstances surrounding the allegation and incident type.

In such cases, it is better to have a military defense attorney by your side, and you can certainly visit the Law Office of Mangan Law to hire an attorney who has excellent experience in handling cases specific to the particular field.

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Types of Administrative Investigations

In this blog, we are going to take a look at some of the types of administrative investigations so that you have a better understanding of how they vary from each other.

1.RCM 303 Investigations

Minor military offenses do not generally involve any formal investigation by law enforcement agencies. In order to help the commander decide how to resolve the allegations, they may make a preliminary inquiry under RCM 303 of the Manual for Courts-Martial. Such inquiries are called RCM 303 investigations at times.

The commander may appoint someone under his command to execute the investigation, conduct it himself, or, in more severe cases, request assistance from a military investigating agency or a civilian. Once the investigation is completed, the commander then needs to decide how to proceed. He could opt to:

Take administrative action, such as reprimanding, admonishing, or putting an adverse comment in a performance review.
Take no action
Seek member getting discharged from the military
Seek non-judicial punishment
Start the court martial procedure

2.Command Directed Investigations

CDIs are the most commonly used tool for getting evidence and facts before disciplining the concerned service member. These types of investigations are the default ones for any case that is not being covered by more specific types of investigation. AR 15-6 investigations are also a type of Common Directed Investigations.

3.Safety and Accident Investigations

Safety and Accident investigations are conducted following a mishap involving missiles, aircraft, or other military facilities and equipment. The purpose of the particular investigation is to prevent accidents in the future.

SIBs have wide-ranging liberty to help in getting to a quick conclusion so that corrections on the basis of recommendations can be made without delay. The purpose of such investigations is to give a report meant for public release.

Incidents that AIBs and SIBs may investigate include:

Explosions
Aircraft mishaps
Fires
Ship flooding or stranding
Firearm accidents

4.Line of Duty Investigations

LOD investigations dictate the duty status of a member at the time of an illness, injury, disability, or death. The determination of LOD impacts the entitlement to benefits of the member, which is administered by the military, and also any liabilities they may face.

These investigations are not meant for disciplinary actions, and an active member cannot be refused medical treatment on the basis of the investigation results.

5.Financial Liability Investigations of Property Loss

The FLIPL is meant to uncover the circumstances surrounding the damage, loss, or destruction of government property. It may result in charging financial liability against the concerned individual or entity or may give relief from any such liability.

Some of the circumstances under which such an investigation can be initiated include:

The concerned property involves a change of inventory of the accountable officer
Willful misconduct or negligence is suspected to be the cause
The value of the concerned property is relatively high
The loss resulted from a theft, fire, or natural disaster
The concerned property involves public funds or some other negotiable instruments
The loss happened in combat, and the equipment was abandoned, captured, or physically lost.
The concerned service member declines to sign DD Form 362