Any member of the armed forces who before or in the presence of the enemy—

runs away;

shamefully abandons, surrenders, or delivers up any command, unit, place, or military property which it is his duty to defend;

through disobedience, neglect, or intentional misconduct endangers the safety of any such command, unit, place, or military property;

casts away his arms or ammunition;

is guilty of cowardly conduct;

quits his place of duty to plunder or pillage;

causes false alarms in any command, unit, or place under control of the armed forces;

willfully fails to do his utmost to encounter, engage, capture, or destroy any enemy troops, combatants, vessels, aircraft, or any other thing, which it is his duty so to encounter, engage, capture, or destroy; or

does not afford all practicable relief and assistance to any troops, combatants, vessels, or aircraft of the armed forces belonging to the United States or their allies when engaged in battle;

That the accused was before or in the presence of the enemy;

That the accused misbehaved by running away; and

That the accused intended to avoid actual or impending combat with the enemy by running away.

That the accused was charged by orders or circumstances with the duty to defend a certain command, unit, place, ship, or military property;

That, without justification, the accused shamefully abandoned, surrendered, or delivered up that command, unit, place, ship, or military property; and

That this act occurred while the accused was before or in the presence of the enemy.

That it was the duty of the accused to defend a certain command, unit, place, ship, or certain military property;

That the accused committed certain disobedience, neglect, or intentional misconduct;

That the accused thereby endangered the safety of the command, unit, place, ship, or military property; and

That this act occurred while the accused was before or in the presence of the enemy.

That the accused was before or in the presence of the enemy; and

That the accused cast away certain arms or ammunition.

That the accused committed an act of cowardice;

That this conduct occurred while the accused was before or in the presence of the enemy; and

That this conduct was the result of fear.

That the accused was before or in the presence of the enemy;

That the accused quit the accused’s place of duty; and

That the accused’s intention in quitting was to plunder or pillage public or private property.

That an alarm was caused in a certain command, unit, or place under control of the armed forces of the United States;

That the accused caused the alarm;

That the alarm was caused without any reasonable or sufficient justification or excuse; and

That this act occurred while the accused was before or in the presence of the enemy.

That the accused was serving before or in the presence of the enemy;

That the accused had a duty to encounter, engage, capture, or destroy certain enemy troops, combatants, vessels, aircraft, or a certain other thing; and

That the accused willfully failed to do the utmost to perform that duty.

That certain troops, combatants, vessels, or aircraft of the armed forces belonging to the United States or an ally of the United States were engaged in battle and required relief and assistance;

That the accused was in a position and able to render relief and assistance to these troops, combatants, vessels, or aircraft, without jeopardy to the accused’s mission;

That the accused failed to afford all practicable relief and assistance; and

That, at the time, the accused was before or in the presence of the enemy.

“Running away” means an unauthorized departure to avoid actual or impending combat. It need not, however, be the result of fear, and there is no requirement that the accused literally run.

Enemy includes organized forces of the enemy in time of war, any hostile body that our forces may be opposing, such as a rebellious mob or a band of renegades, and includes civilians as well as members of military organizations. Enemy is not restricted to the enemy government or its armed forces. All the citizens of one belligerent are enemies of the government and all the citizens of the other.

Whether a person is before or in the presence of the enemy is a question of tactical relation, not distance. For example, a member of an antiaircraft gun crew charged with opposing anticipated attack from the air, or a member of a unit about to move into combat may be before the enemy although miles from the enemy lines. On the other hand, an organization some distance from the front or immediate area of combat which is not a part of a tactical operation then going on or in immediate prospect is not “before or in the presence of the enemy” within the meaning of this article.

This provision concerns primarily commanders chargeable with responsibility for defending a command, unit, place, ship or military property. Abandonment by a subordinate would ordinarily be charged as running away.

Surrender or abandonment without justification is shameful within the meaning of this article.

“Surrender” and “deliver up” are synonymous for the purposes of this article.

Surrender or abandonment of a command, unit, place, ship, or military property by a person charged with its defense can be justified only by the utmost necessity or extremity.

Neglect is the absence of conduct which would have been taken by a reasonably careful person in the same or similar circumstances.

Intentional misconduct does not include a mere error in judgment.

Self-explanatory.

Cowardice is misbehavior motivated by fear.

Fear is a natural feeling of apprehension when going into battle. The mere display of apprehension does not constitute this offense.

Refusal or abandonment of a performance of duty before or in the presence of the enemy as a result of fear constitutes this offense.

Genuine and extreme illness, not generated by cowardice, is a defense.

Place of duty includes any place of duty, whether permanent or temporary, fixed or mobile.

“Plunder or pillage” means to seize or appropriate public or private property unlawfully.

The essence of this offense is quitting the place of duty with intent to plunder or pillage. Merely quitting with that purpose is sufficient, even if the intended misconduct is not done.

This provision covers spreading of false or disturbing rumors or reports, as well as the false giving of established alarm signals.

Willfully refusing a lawful order to go on a combat patrol may violate this provision.

“All practicable relief and assistance” means all relief and assistance which should be afforded within the limitations imposed upon a person by reason of that person’s own specific tasks or mission.

This offense is limited to a failure to afford relief and assistance to forces engaged in battle.

All offenses under Article 99. Death or such other punishment as a court-martial may direct.

In that __________ (personal jurisdiction data), did, (at/on board—location) (subject-matter jurisdiction, if required), on or about _____ 20 __, (before) (in the presence of) the enemy, run away (from (his) (her) company) (and hide) (_____), (and did not return until after the engagement had been concluded) (__________).

In that __________ (personal jurisdiction data), did, (at/on board—location) (subject-matter jurisdiction, if required), on or about _____ 20 __, (before) (in the presence of) the enemy, shamefully (abandon) (surrender) (deliver up) __________, which it was (his) (her) duty to defend.

In that __________ (personal jurisdiction data), did, (at/on board—location) (subject-matter jurisdiction, if required), on or about _____ 20 __, (before) (in the presence of) the enemy, endanger the safety of __________, which it was (his) (her) duty to defend, by (disobeying an order from __________ to engage the enemy) (neglecting (his) (her) duty as a sentinel by engaging in a card game while on (his) (her) post) (intentional misconduct in that (he) (she) became drunk and fired flares, thus revealing the location of (his) (her) unit) (_____).

In that __________ (personal jurisdiction data), did, (at/on board—location) (subject-matter jurisdiction, if required), on or about _____ 20 __, (before) (in the presence of) the enemy, cast away (his) (her) (rifle) (ammunition) (_____).

In that __________ (personal jurisdiction data), (at/on board—location) (subject-matter jurisdiction, if required), on or about _____ 20 __, (before) (in the presence of) the enemy, was guilty of cowardly conduct as a result of fear, in that ____________.

In that __________ (personal jurisdiction data), did, (at/on board—location) (subject-matter jurisdiction, if required), on or about _____ 20 __, (before) (in the presence of) the enemy, quit (his) (her) place of duty for the purpose of (plundering) (pillaging) (plundering and pillaging).

In that __________ (personal jurisdiction data), did, (at/on board—location) (subject-matter jurisdiction, if required), on or about _____ 20 __, (before) (in the presence of) the enemy, cause a false alarm in (Fort _____) (the said ship) (the camp) (_____) by (needlessly and without authority (causing the call to arms to be sounded) (sounding the general alarm) (_____).

In that __________ (personal jurisdiction data), being (before) (in the presence of) the enemy, did, (at/on board—location) (subject-matter jurisdiction, if required), on or about _____ 20 __, by, (ordering (his) (her) troops to halt their advance) (__________), willfully fail to do (his) (her) utmost to (encounter) (engage) (capture) (destroy), as it was (his) (her) duty to do, (certain enemy troops which were in retreat) (__________).

In that __________ (personal jurisdiction data), did, (at/on board—location) (subject-matter jurisdiction, if required), on or about _____ 20 __, (before) (in the presence of) the enemy, fail to afford all practicable relief and assistance to (the USS __________, which was engaged in battle and had run aground, in that (he) (she) failed to take her in tow) (certain troops of the ground forces of __________, which were engaged in battle and were pinned down by enemy fire, in that (he) (she) failed to furnish air cover) (__________) as (he) (she) properly should have done.