![Degradation alfred dreyfus](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/52/Degradation_alfred_dreyfus.jpg)
Reduction in rank may refer to three separate concepts:
*In
military law
Military justice (also military law) is the legal system (bodies of law and procedure) that governs the conduct of the active-duty personnel of the armed forces of a country. In some nation-states, civil law and military law are distinct bodie ...
, a ''reduction in rank'' or ''degradation'' is a
demotion
A demotion is a compulsory reduction in an employee's rank or job title within the organizational hierarchy of a company, public service department, or other body. A demotion may also lead to the loss of other privileges associated with a more seni ...
in
military rank
Military ranks are a system of hierarchical relationships, within armed forces, police, intelligence agencies or other institutions organized along military lines. The military rank system defines dominance, authority, and responsibility in a ...
as punishment for a
crime
In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definit ...
or wrongdoing, imposed by a
court-martial
A court-martial or 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 memb ...
or other
authority
In the fields of sociology and political science, authority is the legitimate power of a person or group over other people. In a civil state, ''authority'' is practiced in ways such a judicial branch or an executive branch of government.''The N ...
. It may be imposed in conjunction with other punishments, such as a
bad conduct or dishonorable discharge, loss of wages,
confinement
Confinement may refer to
* With respect to humans:
** An old-fashioned or archaic synonym for childbirth
** Postpartum confinement (or postnatal confinement), a system of recovery after childbirth, involving rest and special foods
** Civil confi ...
to
barracks
Barracks are usually a group of long buildings built to house military personnel or laborers. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word "barraca" ("soldier's tent"), but today barracks are u ...
, or
imprisonment
Imprisonment is the restraint of a person's liberty, for any cause whatsoever, whether by authority of the government, or by a person acting without such authority. In the latter case it is "false imprisonment". Imprisonment does not necessari ...
in a
military prison
A military prison is a prison operated by a military. Military prisons are used variously to house prisoners of war, unlawful combatants, those whose freedom is deemed a national security risk by the military or national authorities, and members of ...
.
*''Reduction in rank'' may also refer to the voluntary, non-punitive practice of taking a lower rank, often as part of joining another
military unit
Military organization or military organisation is the structuring of the armed forces of a state so as to offer such military capability as a national defense policy may require. In some countries paramilitary forces are included in a nation' ...
or
military service
Military service is service by an individual or group in an army or other militia, air forces, and naval forces, whether as a chosen job (volunteer) or as a result of an involuntary draft (conscription).
Some nations (e.g., Mexico) require a ...
. For example, those who join the
Special Air Service
The Special Air Service (SAS) is a special forces unit of the British Army. It was founded as a regiment in 1941 by David Stirling and in 1950, it was reconstituted as a corps. The unit specialises in a number of roles including counter-terro ...
or
Australian Special Air Service Regiment
The Special Air Service Regiment, officially abbreviated SASR though commonly known as the SAS, is a special forces unit of the Australian Army. Formed in 1957, it was modelled on the British SAS sharing the motto, "Who Dares Wins". The re ...
take the rank of
trooper, often a lower rank than their previous rank but with greater pay, prestige, and responsibilities.
*There is a ''reversion'' in rank after an officer has been temporarily promoted to a higher rank while occupying a position requiring that rank; the officer reverts to the permanent rank on vacating the position bearing the higher rank. This occurs often in the U.S. military, to three- or four-star general or flag officers, who can be reduced in rank to no lower than their permanent rank of two-stars, as all ranks above two-stars are temporary, and are linked to their position's office. Reversion of this type is less usual for lower U.S. military ranks as such temporary promotions are uncommon.
History
Reduction in rank (
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
''gradus deiectio'' meaning position degradation) was a
Roman military punishment.
United States
In the United States,
courts-martial
A court-martial or 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 memb ...
may adjudge reduction to any enlisted member to the lowest or any intermediate pay grade. However, a
summary court-martial may not sentence a person to reduction by more than one grade.
Article 15 of the
Uniform Code of Military Justice
The Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ, 10 U.S.C. §§ 801–946 is the foundation of military law in the United States. It was established by the United States Congress in accordance with the authority given by the United States Constitution ...
(UCMJ) authorizes
commanding officer
The commanding officer (CO) or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitu ...
s to "in addition to or in lieu of admonition or reprimand" impose "reduction to the next inferior
pay grade A pay grade is a unit in systems of monetary compensation for employment. It is commonly used in public service, both civil and military, but also for companies of the private sector. Pay grades facilitate the employment process by providing a fix ...
, if the grade from which demoted is within the promotion authority of the officer imposing the reduction or any officer subordinate to the one who imposes the reduction." Additionally, an officer of the grade of
major
Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...
,
lieutenant commander
Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding rank i ...
, or above is authorized to impose "reduction to the lowest or any intermediate pay grade, if the grade from which demoted is within the promotion authority of the officer imposing the reduction or any officer subordinate to the one who imposes the reduction, but an enlisted member in a pay grade above
E-4 may not be reduced more than two pay grades."
Additionally, article 58a of the UCMJ provides that, unless otherwise provided in regulation, an enlisted member above the pay grade of E-1 sentenced by a court-martial to confinement, a dishonorable or bad-conduct discharge, or hard labor without confinement, shall be automatically reduced to the pay grade of E-1.
In other countries
In other countries, there is such a punishment, which is sometimes much more severe than that in the US. It usually is assigned for serious crimes in peacetime and wartime.
Russian Empire and USSR
In the Russian Empire and in the USSR, most often it was a demotion in rank to private.
In the Russian Empire to this punishment was added also other penalties such as beatings with whips, which were all the staff. Personnel lined up in formation, then each dealt one blow sentenced. Most often, this has led to the death of the convict from his injuries.
Lieutenant-General Marquis
Philip Osipovich Paulucci
Filippo Paulucci delle Roncole (11 September 1779 – 25 January 1849), also known as Filipp Osipovich Pauluchchi (russian: Филипп Осипович Паулуччи), was an Italian marquis and army officer, later a general at the services ...
, being quartermaster general of the
Caucasus army, on 3 November 1810, wrote in his diary: "the Tiflis infantry regiment non-commissioned officer Ermolaev, the former in the recruit depot when you split the party on the shelves, took the recruit 5 rubles brazenly. For any impermissible and intolerable service act, reduced thereof in the ordinary non-commissioned officer, require him to drive the rods through 500 people one time, and taken money from him to take away and give to a recruit. Flogging this very same to do tomorrow in 8 hours. This case put the body on view at the end of the Lord to the heads of regiments are strictly watched so that the lower ranks no one had injustices..."
USSR
In the USSR, demotion in rank to
private
Private or privates may refer to:
Music
* " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation''
* Private (band), a Denmark-based band
* "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...
begin to see use as a punishment immediately after the creation of the
red army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...
. As a rule, it punished those who made unforgivable mistakes during combat, especially those who led to serious losses or tactical defeat. It also punished those who committed serious crimes while serving. In the second case, a demotion in rank was usually not the only punishment administered, and often accompanied an imprisonment or execution.
During the second world war, those demoted in rank were not imprisoned away from the front lines but instead made to serve in the
penal divisions.
After the second world war, the punishment no longer meant execution or service in a penal unit, but did mean dismissal from service and forfeiture of all military awards. Most often it was imposed for serious crimes which entail criminal liability. In modern Russia this post-
WW2
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
version of the punishment is still used.
Germany
During the Third Reich, the
SS officer
Helmut Knochen
Helmut Herbert Christian Heinrich Knochen (March 14, 1910 – April 4, 2003) was the senior commander of the Sicherheitspolizei (Security Police) and Sicherheitsdienst in Paris during the Nazi occupation of France during World War II. He was se ...
was demoted in rank because, during
the coup attempt of 20 July 1944, he did not adequately resist the conspirators, and got himself arrested.
See also
*
Cashiering
Cashiering (or degradation ceremony), generally within military forces, is a ritual dismissal of an individual from some position of responsibility for a breach of discipline.
Etymology
From the Flemish (to dismiss from service; to discard r ...
References
{{Reflist
Military law
Punishments
*