Title 10Armed ForcesRelease 119-73

§895 Art. 95. Offenses by sentinel or lookout

Title 10 › Subtitle Subtitle A— - General Military Law › Part PART II— - PERSONNEL › Chapter CHAPTER 47— - UNIFORM CODE OF MILITARY JUSTICE › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER X— - PUNITIVE ARTICLES › § 895

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

A sentinel or lookout who is drunk on duty, sleeps on duty, or leaves before being properly relieved will be punished. If the offense happens during time of war, the punishment can include death; at other times it cannot include death. Loitering or wrongfully sitting down on duty is also punishable by a court-martial.

Full Legal Text

Title 10, §895

Armed Forces — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Any sentinel or lookout who is drunk on post, who sleeps on post, or who leaves post before being regularly relieved, shall be punished—
(1)if the offense is committed in time of war, by death or such other punishment as a court-martial may direct; and
(2)if the offense is committed other than in time of war, by such punishment, other than death, as a court-martial may direct.
(b)Any sentinel or lookout who loiters or wrongfully sits down on post shall be punished as a court-martial may direct.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

Revised sectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 91350:707.May 5, 1950, ch. 169, § 1 (Art. 113), 64 Stat. 139.

Prior Provisions

A prior section 895 was renumbered section 887a of this title.

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2016—Pub. L. 114–328, § 5411, amended section generally. Prior to amendment, text read as follows: “Any sentinel or look-out who is found drunk or sleeping upon his post, or leaves it before he is regularly relieved, shall be punished, if the offense is committed in time of war, by death or such other punishment as a court-martial may direct, but if the offense is committed at any other time, by such punishment other than death as a court-martial may direct.” Pub. L. 114–328, § 5401(8), renumbered section 913 of this title as this section.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 2016 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 114–328 effective on Jan. 1, 2019, as designated by the President, with implementing

Regulations

and provisions relating to applicability to various situations, see section 5542 of Pub. L. 114–328 and Ex. Ord. No. 13825, set out as notes under section 801 of this title.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

10 U.S.C. § 895

Title 10Armed Forces

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73