Covered Offense Incident Response

Use This Page When

A covered offense allegation comes to your attention by any route. Direct report from the victim, third-party report, MCIO referral, civilian law enforcement notification, command investigation, or open-source discovery. The trigger is the allegation, not the substantiation.

If you have not read the Covered Offenses and Regional Notification page in the Turnover topic, read it first. This page is the rapid-response application. The Turnover page is the reference.

The 90-Second Checklist

First 24 Hours

After the immediate stop, work these in order.

7-Day Routing

By the end of the first week, complete these items.

1. Written notification to higher headquarters per local SOP. Some incidents require ALCON or specific-flag-officer notification. Verify with chain.
2. CIRRAS profile updated. Risk determination elevated. FPC brief scheduled for next council.
3. Witness Victim Advocate engaged if a victim is involved. Per MCO 5800.14 and JAGINST 5800.7G.
4. Promotion withhold posted if applicable. Active OSTC cases routinely trigger promotion withhold under MCO P1400.32D.
5. Personnel records reviewed for prior covered-offense history. Pattern of allegations changes risk assessment and affects OSTC charging decisions.
6. Career planner and S-1 briefed on the legal hold. Reenlistment packages and transfer requests get blocked at the staff level, not only at your signature.

Non-Delegable CO Actions

These are yours personally. Not the XO. Not the SgtMaj.

• The decision to impose pretrial confinement under RCM 305.
• The signature on the Military Protective Order.
• CMG attendance for any SAPR-related covered offense (MCO 1752.5C).
• The decision to refer the case to OSTC if OSTC has not yet exercised authority.
• The conversation with the affected Marine and family if you choose to have one.

What You Do Not Do

The OSTC referral pattern reverses the normal disciplinary flow. Three rules you must obey.

1. You do not dispose of the case. Once OSTC exercises authority, you have no authority over disposition. Your role is administrative and supportive.
2. You do not impose NJP. Even where the evidence appears to support NJP, OSTC exclusive authority blocks it.
3. You do not negotiate with the accused. Plea discussions, deferral conversations, and characterization deals run through OSTC and the trial counsel. Not through you.

Common Failures

1. Acting before LSSS/T confirms jurisdiction. First-week incoming COs are most vulnerable to this. Verify before any action.
2. Treating the allegation as a unit problem. OSTC offenses are no longer unit problems for disposition. They are unit problems for support, for climate, and for legal hold.
3. Letting the personnel system process through. Career planner submits the reenlistment package because nobody told them about the hold. Marine departs the unit because PCS orders processed normally.
4. Missing the SAPR overlap. A sexual assault is both a covered offense and a SAPR Unrestricted Report. Both playbooks apply.
5. Delaying CIRRAS update. Risk indication remains low while the case is open. FPC review misses the elevated risk factors. Force preservation gap.

Documentation Set

By the end of the response, these documents exist on the record.

• Memorandum for Record of the initial notification timeline
• Email to the regional OSTC inbox with allegation summary and unit POC
• Legal hold flag in MCTFS
• Military Protective Order if issued
• Pretrial confinement order if imposed
• CIRRAS entry with elevated risk indication
• CMG agenda item if SAPR overlap
• Witness Victim Advocate appointment if a victim is involved

When the Case Closes

OSTC disposition closes the disciplinary chapter. Your administrative work continues.

• Remove the legal hold once OSTC and SJA confirm closure.
• Update CIRRAS to reflect disposition.
• Brief FPC on the post-disposition risk indication.
• Process any post-disposition administrative actions (separation, withhold removal, records entry).
• Conduct the command climate touchpoint for the unit, coordinated with the SARC if SAPR-related.

The OSTC system handles the disposition. You handle the command.

Related Pages

• OSTC Covered Offenses and Regional Notification (Turnover topic) - the reference page with the full UCMJ article list and regional email addresses
• SAPR Unrestricted Report (Incident Playbooks topic) - run in parallel for sexual or domestic offenses
• Off-Base Arrest (Incident Playbooks topic) - civilian law enforcement involvement changes the early notification path