Conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman (or conduct unbecoming for short) is an offense that is subject to

court martial A court-martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the mili ...

in the

armed forces A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a ...

of some nations.

Use in the United Kingdom

The phrase was used as a charge in courts martial of the

British Armed Forces The British Armed Forces are the unified military, military forces responsible for the defence of the United Kingdom, its British Overseas Territories, Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies. They also promote the UK's wider interests ...

in the 18th and the early 19th centuries although it was not defined as a specific offence in the Articles of War. For instance, in 1813, Colonel Sir J Eamer was brought before a court martial "For behaving in a scandalous, infamous manner, such as is unbecoming the character of an officer and a gentleman, towards Captain B V Symes of the same regiment..." The charge seems to have been first codified under the Naval Discipline Act of 10 August 1860, which states, "Article 24: Every Officer subject to this Act who shall be guilty of Cruelty, or of any scandalous or fraudulent Conduct, shall be dismissed with Disgrace from Her Majesty's Service; and every Officer subject to this Act who shall be guilty of any other Conduct unbecoming the Character of an Officer shall be dismissed, with or without Disgrace, from Her Majesty's Service."

Use in the United States

The offense is defined in the punitive code, Article 133, of the United States

Uniform Code of Military Justice The Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) is the foundation of the system of military justice of the armed forces of the United States. The UCMJ was established by the United States Congress in accordance with their constitutional authority ...

(UCMJ), enacted at . The elements are: # That the accused did or omitted to do certain acts; and # That, in the circumstances, these acts or omissions constituted conduct unbecoming an officer and gentleman. Here "officer" is understood to include all commissioned officers,

cadet A cadet is a student or trainee within various organisations, primarily in military contexts where individuals undergo training to become commissioned officers. However, several civilian organisations, including civil aviation groups, maritime ...

s, and midshipmen, hence the more common term ''conduct unbecoming''. A "gentleman" (in this case a term not limited to men) is understood to have a duty to avoid dishonesty, indecency, indecorum, lawlessness, injustice, unfairness, and cruelty.

Police discipline

"Conduct unbecoming an officer" is also used in some civil

police The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...

agencies.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Conduct Unbecoming An Officer and a Gentleman United States military law Court-martial

Use in the United Kingdom

Use in the United States

Police discipline

See also

References