How does the military administer the child support laws on their servicemembers?
Child support problems are not as pronounced in the military as in the civilian world. Under Article 133 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, it is a criminal offense for an officer to engage in conduct unbecoming of an officer and a gentleman. For enlisted personnel and officers, Article 134 makes it a crime for any member of the armed forces to dishonorably fail to pay a just debt that has become due and payable, provided that the individual’s actions were to the detriment of the armed forced or were such as to bring discredit upon the armed forces. The military default rate in cases involving support orders is one-half that of the nationwide default rate in similar case. The military success in this area is primarily due to the fact that the military society is much more disciplined than the civilian community. There are rules governing a miliary members conduct, including requirements to pay just debts or face criminal prosecution. These rules virtually guarantee that serviceme
Child support problems are not as pronounced in the military as in the civilian world. Under Article 133 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, it is a criminal offense for an officer to engage in conduct unbecoming of an officer and a gentleman. For enlisted personnel and officers, Article 134 makes it a crime for any member of the armed forces to dishonorably fail to pay a just debt that has become due and payable, provided that the individual’s actions were to the detriment of the armed forced or were such as to bring discredit upon the armed forces. The military default rate in cases involving support orders is one-half that of the nationwide default rate in similar case. The military success in this area is primarily due to the fact that the military society is much more disciplined than the civilian community. There are rules governing a military members conduct, including requirements to pay just debts or face criminal prosecution. These rules virtually guarantee that servicem
