I am accused of committing crimes off-post and the civilians are investigating me. Who will prosecute me?

It depends. Military courts are able to prosecute military members who are currently serving on active duty, students of the service academies, reserve component while on inactive training, members of the National Guard when in Title 10 status, those who are serving prison sentences in military prison from previous military convictions, those who have retired from service, and other less common categories. See Article 2, UCMJ.

If you are accused of sexual assault, there is a high likelihood that the military will prosecute you. Even when the local civilian district attorneys conclude they do not have sufficient evidence, the military’s renewed emphasis on sexual assault prosecution leads them to prosecute cases even without physical evidence or other corroboration.