MCO 1050.16A - Appellate Leave Awaiting Punitive Separation

Scope

MCO 1050.16A sets Marine Corps policy on appellate leave for Marines awaiting punitive separation. The order amplifies MCO P1050.3G and defines the role of the Navy and Marine Corps Appellate Leave Activity (NAMALA) at Washington Navy Yard. Under Article 71(c) of the UCMJ, Service Members awarded a punitive discharge at court-martial cannot have the discharge executed until appellate review completes. Under Article 76a, Marines sentenced to a punitive discharge or dismissal sit on appellate leave while awaiting appellate review. Appellate leave removes the Marine from the physical presence of the command, supporting readiness, good order, and discipline. Applicability covers active component Marines and reservists serving on active duty or retained on AD for court-martial.

Audience

• Officers in the chain of command exercising general court-martial jurisdiction (OEGCMJ). Approve voluntary appellate leave. Direct involuntary appellate leave after CA approves the sentence.
• Convening authorities (CAs). Approve or disapprove the court-martial sentence. Trigger the conversion from voluntary to involuntary appellate leave.
• Commanding officers. Run the pre-leave checklist. Audit the SRB. Submit diary transactions. Transfer the service record to NAMALA on the conversion to involuntary appellate leave. Notify the Marine of status changes using the sample letter in Enclosure 3.
• Navy and Marine Corps Appellate Leave Activity (NAMALA), Washington Navy Yard. Holds administrative accountability for Marines on involuntary appellate leave. Acts as the command point of contact for matters pertaining to the appellate leave.
• Director, DFAS Kansas City (FCTPS). Maintains the Master Military Pay Account (MMPA) of Marines on appellate leave. Issues final pay settlement after the DD214.
• Disbursing officers. Apply DoD FMR Volume 7A and DFAS-KC 7220.31-R when terminating pay and allowances on appellate leave.
• Defense counsel. Advises the Marine before any waiver or withdrawal of appellate review under RCM 1110.
• S-1 and admin (0102, 0111, 0170). Run the pre-leave audit. Collect identification cards, meal cards, and government property. Disenroll from MCI courses. File the Voluntary Appellate Leave Orders in the SRB or OQR.
• Marines on appellate leave. Active duty in a non-pay status (when applicable). Retain normal military privileges (commissary, exchange, MWR, medical). Subject to UCMJ and standards of conduct.

Leave structure

Two appellate leave tracks. Voluntary and involuntary. Both turn on whether the CA has approved the sentence yet.

• Voluntary appellate leave. The Marine submits a written request to the OEGCMJ. Eligible when all confinement has been served and the sentence is pending CA approval. The OEGCMJ has discretion to approve or terminate.
• Involuntary appellate leave. The OEGCMJ directs the Marine onto involuntary leave once the CA approves the sentence. Requires unsuspended punitive discharge or dismissal and completion of all approved confinement and parole. Marines in UA, desertion, or held by civilian authorities are barred until returned to parent command control.

Conversion path. Voluntary status converts to involuntary on CA approval. The command issues the sample notification letter in Enclosure 3 and transfers the service record to NAMALA.

Termination triggers for involuntary appellate leave

• Rehearing directed for any portion of the court-martial. NAMALA transfers the service record back to the CA. Termination date is the day prior to the date the Marine reports for duty.
• Dismissal or punitive discharge set aside, suspended, remitted, or disapproved. Multiple paths in paragraph 8.b. depending on whether obligated active duty remains.
• Marine beyond obligated service with discharge set aside and no rehearing. The Marine discharges per MCO P1900.16E using a character of discharge warranted by the service record.
• Officer notification, dismissal not approved. The officer terminates appellate leave or resigns. Officer resignation routes to SECNAV via the current commanding officer.

Pre-leave action list

The command completes the following before placing the Marine on voluntary appellate leave or directing involuntary appellate leave.

1. Diary transactions. Return the Marine to a normal duty status from UA, confinement, desertion, parole, or IHCA. Report the sentence awarded at court-martial (excluding the punitive discharge) on the Unit Diary no later than 14 days after the sentencing date, unless properly deferred by the CA under Article 57 UCMJ.
2. Report all applicable aspects of UCMJ Articles 58a and 58b on the Unit Diary. Automatic rank reductions and forfeitures for Marines sentenced to punitive discharges or confinement.
3. Disenroll the Marine from every MCI course.
4. SRB audit. MCTFS master record. Current signed and dated RED and SGLI. File Voluntary Appellate Leave Orders in the SRB or OQR.
5. Separation physical and HIV testing no later than 60 days before appellate leave begins.
6. Medical restrictions check. Marines under treatment for infectious or contagious disease or disability are not authorized appellate leave except under the conditions in MCO P1050.3G.
7. Drug or alcohol incident screening. Medical evaluation and inpatient treatment when recommended by a medical doctor or elected by the Marine. Document refusal in the SRB with the Marine signature.
8. Health and dental record audit. Confirm separation physical and HIV results within 60 days prior to departure.
9. Collect Marine and dependent identification cards and meal cards per MCO P5512.11A. Reissue with expiration set 6 months after the estimated CA action date. No overstamping.
10. Recover all government property. Uniform clothing, career-issue 782 gear. Marines on appellate leave are not authorized to retain or wear uniforms.
11. Performance evaluations. Issue the Grade Change fitness report or proficiency and conduct marks at the time of any rank reduction under PES.

Conditions NAMALA will not accept

• Suspended punitive discharges or dismissals. NAMALA accepts the case only after the suspension is properly vacated.
• Marines who waive appellate review under RCM 1110, except officer cases and cases requiring Judge Advocate General review under RCM 1112(g).
• Incomplete or improper transfer of control packages. A proper package includes the Service Record Book with all required pages, medical records, dental records, and every legal and administrative document. The transferring unit completes every diary transaction. NAMALA runs the force join on the unit diary when the completed package arrives.

Pay and leave accrued

• Voluntary appellate leave. Accrued leave charged until exhausted, unless the Marine ECC has expired in which case all leave is lost. Excess leave begins on the day after accrued leave runs out. Pay and allowances stop at the start of excess leave.
• Involuntary appellate leave. The Marine elects one option before the leave commences. Option 1, receive pay and allowances until accrued leave is exhausted, then excess leave without entitlement. Option 2, take payment for accrued leave on the day prior to the leave (subject to the lump-sum limitation in the DoD FMR), then excess leave for the full period. If the ECC has expired only Option 2 applies.
• Sentence set aside or disapproved. The Marine is entitled to pay and allowances for the period of involuntary appellate leave charged as excess leave, reduced by gross income from wages, salaries, tips, other personal service income, unemployment compensation, and public assistance benefits received during the excess leave period. Applies unless a rehearing produces a sentence including a punitive discharge or dismissal.

Travel and living rules on appellate leave

• Space available travel. Not eligible to use Air Mobility Command or other military aircraft.
• Foreign travel and residence. Not authorized to travel or reside outside the United States or its territories and possessions.
• Domestic travel. Unrestricted travel and residence in any of the 50 states and the US territories and possessions at the Marine's own expense.
• Waiver. Marines classified as dependents of military service personnel request a waiver from the OEGCMJ to travel or live with the service member.
• Medical care. Marine and dependents retain eligibility for military medical care. Dental care is provided only in emergencies. Travel reimbursement is barred.
• SGLI. Coverage continues until final discharge. Premium auto-deducts each month, potentially producing a negative balance at separation. The Marine receives a letter of indebtedness for the negative balance.
• Transition assistance. Eligible for basic TAP services. The command makes those services available before departure on appellate leave when possible.

Enclosure map

• Enclosure 1. Definitions and Terms.
• Enclosure 2. Sample Voluntary Appellate Leave Orders.
• Enclosure 3. Sample Change of Status from Voluntary to Involuntary Appellate Leave Letter.
• Enclosure 4. Sample Involuntary Appellate Leave or Transfer by Service Record Orders.

Forms and systems

• Unit Diary or Marine Integrated Personnel System (UD/MIPS). Carries the appellate leave checklist.
• Marine Corps Total Force System (MCTFS). System of record for the diary entries and master record audit.
• Service Record Book (SRB) and Officer Qualification Record (OQR). Holds Voluntary Appellate Leave Orders and the change of status letter.
• DD Forms 2330 or 2331. Waiver of appellate review forms in Appendix 19 of the Manual for Courts-Martial. Used when a Marine waives or withdraws under RCM 1110.
• DD Form 214. Final separation document issued by NAMALA after discharge.

Connection to higher policy

• Uniform Code of Military Justice. Articles 57, 58a, 58b, 71(c), and 76a control appellate leave procedure and the underlying sentence execution.
• Manual for Courts-Martial, 1995 Edition. Rules for Courts-Martial 1110, 1112(g), and 1113 control waiver, JAG review, and the discharge execution sequence.
• SECNAVINST 1050.1A. DON Leave and Earnings policy framework.
• DoD Financial Management Regulation, Volume 7, Part A. Pay and allowance rules for excess leave.
• DFAS-KC 7220.31-R. Marine Corps pay procedures for accounts on appellate leave.
• Joint Federal Travel Regulations (JFTR). Travel and reimbursement constraints applicable to dependents.
• 10 U.S.C. UCMJ. Court-martial jurisdiction and sentence approval framework.

Connection to Marine Corps doctrine and lower policy

• MCO P1050.3G. Marine Corps Leave and Liberty Procedures. Parent leave policy MCO 1050.16A amplifies.
• MCO P1900.16E. Marine Corps Separation and Retirement Manual. Drives discharge execution post-appellate.
• MCO P5512.11A. Identification Card Issuance. Drives the ID card collection and reissue rules.
• MCO P10120.28F. Uniform and clothing policy. Drives the recovery of uniform items.
• MCO P1070.12H (IRAM). Records and Grade Change reporting.
• MCO 1610.7. Performance Evaluation System (PES). Drives Grade Change fitness reports at rank reduction.
• MCO P1080.40. Marine Corps Total Force System policy.
• MCO P3040.4. Operational Reporting. Death or injury reporting for appellants.

Reserve applicability

The order applies to reservists serving in an active duty status. The order applies to reservists on active duty or retained on active duty for the express purpose of court-martial.

Records disposition

Administrative records pertaining to appellate leave awaiting punitive separation are temporary. Retain for two years.

Status

Active. Signed 1998-06-19. Cancels MCO 1050.16. Distribution Statement A, public release. PCN 10200340200. Sponsor is HQMC Manpower Information (MI) Division. Applicability is the Marine Corps Total Force including reservists serving on active duty. The order references the 1995 Manual for Courts-Martial. Cross-check current MCM, Rules for Courts-Martial, and DoD FMR Volume 7A revisions before applying paragraph 9 pay rules or paragraph 21 waiver procedure.