This article is part of a comprehensive series covering the punitive articles of the UCMJ (Uniform Code of Military Justice). It is intended for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Service members facing any UCMJ charge should consult a qualified military defense attorney.
When military forces capture enemy equipment, secure abandoned property in a combat zone, or take custody of materiel during military operations, that property belongs to the United States. Not to the unit that captured it. Not to the soldier who found it. Not to the commander who secured the area. To the United States government. Article 108a (10 U.S.C. § 908a) enforces that principle by criminalizing three categories of misconduct involving captured or abandoned property.
The offense is as old as warfare itself. War trophies, battlefield looting, and the unauthorized appropriation of captured equipment have been persistent disciplinary problems in every armed conflict. The UCMJ codifies the prohibition that commanders have enforced since the Continental Army: what you capture belongs to the government, and taking it for yourself is a crime.
Secure It, Turn It In, Do Not Profit
The MCM 2024 (Part IV, Paragraph 60e) defines three distinct offenses under Article 108a, each addressing a different way captured or abandoned property can be mishandled.
Failure to secure
Any person who fails to secure public property captured or abandoned by the enemy for the service of the United States. This targets dereliction: the service member who encounters captured materiel and fails to take reasonable steps to secure it for proper disposition. The obligation isn’t limited to infantry soldiers clearing buildings. Any service member who encounters captured or abandoned property in a theater of operations has an affirmative duty to secure it or report it through the chain of command.
Buying, selling, trading, or dealing
Any person who buys, sells, trades, or in any way deals in or disposes of captured or abandoned property, whereby they receive or expect any profit, benefit, or advantage to themselves or to any other person directly or indirectly connected with them. This is the commerce prohibition: treating captured property as a commodity for personal gain. The offense extends beyond the initial taker. A service member who buys a war trophy from another service member, knowing it to be captured property, has also committed this offense. The “any way deals in” language is deliberately broad, covering barter, gifting for reciprocal benefit, and any other transaction that generates advantage.
Failure to turn in
Any person who fails to turn in to the proper authority without delay all captured or abandoned property in their possession, custody, or control. This addresses the accumulator: the service member who takes custody of captured property and keeps it rather than processing it through proper channels. “Without delay” creates an urgency requirement. The obligation to turn property in arises immediately upon possession, and unreasonable delay in doing so constitutes the offense.
War Trophies, Souvenirs, and the Retention Process
The war trophy question creates practical confusion. Service members have historically brought home captured items, flags, insignia, weapons, equipment, as souvenirs of their service. Article 108a doesn’t categorically prohibit this. What it prohibits is unauthorized retention.
Each service branch maintains a war trophy and souvenir retention program that provides an authorized pathway. The process typically requires the service member to declare the item, demonstrate it was properly captured (not purchased, not looted from civilians), obtain commander approval, and complete customs and legal review. Items that are classified, that contain hazardous materials, that have intelligence value, or that are prohibited by law (certain weapons categories) cannot be retained regardless of the approval process.
The distinction between an authorized war trophy and a criminal violation of Article 108a is the authorization process. An AK-47 captured during a firefight and processed through the retention program is a legal souvenir. The same weapon hidden in a duffel bag without authorization is evidence of an Article 108a violation. The property itself isn’t the problem. The unauthorized retention is.
Interaction with the Law of Armed Conflict
Article 108a operates within the broader framework of the law of armed conflict (LOAC), specifically the Hague Regulations and the Geneva Conventions governing the treatment of captured property. Under LOAC, captured military equipment becomes the property of the capturing state. Civilian property in occupied territory is generally protected and may not be confiscated. Property belonging to prisoners of war must be inventoried and held for return.
A service member who loots civilian property in an occupied area hasn’t just violated Article 108a. They’ve potentially committed a law-of-war violation that exposes them to prosecution under Article 118 or the War Crimes Act (18 U.S.C. § 2441) in addition to the UCMJ charge. The severity escalation reflects the international legal framework that sits above the domestic military code.
Maximum punishment for Article 108a offenses: as a court-martial may direct. The open-ended sentencing authority gives the court flexibility to calibrate punishment to the severity of the specific conduct, from failure to report a minor item to systematic dealing in captured property for profit.
Every conflict generates the same tension: individual service members encounter valuable, interesting, or historically significant property, and the temptation to keep it conflicts with the legal obligation to turn it in. Article 108a resolves that tension clearly. The property belongs to the United States. The service member’s obligation is to secure it and turn it in. The authorized retention process exists for those who want to keep legitimate souvenirs. Everything outside that process is a criminal offense, regardless of the item’s monetary value or the service member’s intentions.
Joseph L. Jordan, Attorney at Law: Article 108a criminalizes three categories of misconduct involving captured or abandoned property: failing to secure it for proper authority, buying or receiving it from someone not authorized to sell, and engaging in looting or pillaging. Property captured in military operations belongs to the United States government.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. No attorney-client relationship is created by reading this content. If you are facing charges under the UCMJ or need legal guidance regarding military justice matters, consult a qualified military defense attorney.