A separate justice system, with recent changes
Service members are subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice, and a military sexual assault allegation is usually investigated by the service's own criminal investigators, such as Army CID, NCIS, or the Air Force OSI. Under reforms that apply to incidents occurring after they took effect, the decision whether to prosecute sexual assault charges moved away from commanders and into offices of specialized military prosecutors within each service. Commanders still control a great deal, though, including protective orders, duty assignments, and administrative action. If the incident happened off an installation, civilian police and prosecutors may also be involved, and which system takes the lead depends on the facts and on how the agencies coordinate. Knowing which of these tracks you are actually on is often the first thing to sort out.
If you are the service member under investigation
Military law has its own rights warning, and it applies to official questioning by superiors as well as by investigators. Before you answer questions from anyone in your chain of command or from an investigative agency, talk to a lawyer. You can usually request an assigned military defense counsel at no cost, and you may also bring in civilian counsel. A military protective order commonly bars contact with the other person, and violating it can become a separate offense, so do not reach out directly or through friends, even to apologize. If the other person contacts you to talk about what happened, do not respond, and tell your lawyer, because such messages are sometimes part of the investigation. Keep in mind that administrative separation and the characterization of your discharge can move forward on a separate track even when no charges are brought.
If you were assaulted, and what a first conversation covers
Survivors who are eligible for the military's sexual assault response services generally have a choice between a restricted report, which allows confidential medical care and support without starting an investigation, and an unrestricted report, which does start one. A restricted report can usually be converted later, but some disclosures, such as telling your chain of command, may take that choice away, so it helps to speak first with a Sexual Assault Response Coordinator or a victims' counsel. Eligible survivors can be assigned a military victims' counsel, a lawyer whose client is the survivor rather than the government. After leaving service, care related to military sexual trauma is generally available through the VA, often without proof that the assault was reported at the time. Civil claims are an area where military service changes the usual rules considerably, so whether any claim exists, and against whom, needs a careful look. In a first conversation we identify which systems are involved, what deadlines or decisions are closest, and how outside counsel would work alongside any military lawyer already assigned to you.
