Authority of commanding officer to impose nonjudicial punishment; limitations on delegation of such authority; withholding of authority by commanding officer from subordinate commanding officer

1. Commanding officers have authority to impose nonjudicial punishment upon military personnel under their command. The authority of a commanding officer to impose nonjudicial punishment for certain types of offenses or certain categories of persons, or to impose certain types of punishment in specific cases, may be limited or withheld by a superior officer. 2. Only the Governor and general officers in command may delegate their authority under subsection 1 to a principal assistant. This limitation on delegation of authority does not remove the authority of other commanding officers authorized to act under this Code, but such other commanding officers may not delegate that authority. A commanding officer superior to the commanding officer having authority to impose nonjudicial punishment may withhold that authority. 3. A commanding officer at any echelon may withhold from any subordinate commanding officer all or part of the authority prescribed in subsection 1, including, without limitation, the authority to impose nonjudicial punishment for specific types of offenses that the subordinate would otherwise impose. When authority is withheld, such action should be explained in a clearly defined writing or directive. The original of the writing or directive must be filed in the office of the applicable judge advocate who serves the commanding officer whose authority has been withheld. Any such withholding remains in effect when a new commanding officer is appointed or assumes command, until and unless expressly revoked by the superior commanding officer. Any such action should be addressed to the position held by the commanding officer whose authority has been withheld, not to the commanding officer by name.