Command Investigations - S-1 Procedural Overview

Role and responsibility

The convening authority (CA) directs the administrative investigation per JAGINST 5800.7GJAGINST 5800.7G Chapter II section 0204 (Command Options) and signs the convening order per section 0206. The investigating officer (IO) appointed by the CA executes per sections 0207-0208 and the investigation-type-specific sections 0209 (Command Investigation), 0210 (Litigation-Report Investigation), or 0211 (Court of Inquiry / Board of Inquiry). The S-1 officer signs by direction on admin support routing. The S-1 chief tracks the investigation against the suspense set in the convening order. The legal advisor reviews the investigation for sufficiency per section 0223 (Action by Reviewing Authorities). The general court-martial convening authority (GCMCA) acts on the investigation per section 0223.b.

Source documents flow from the underlying incident report (NCIS routing per SECNAVINST 5430.107 seriesSECNAVINST 5430.107 series when applicable, casualty notification per MCO 3040.4MCO 3040.4, line-of-duty trigger), the preliminary inquiry per section 0203, the CA's command-options decision per section 0204, the convening order per section 0206 (Appendix A-2-e for command investigation, Appendix A-2-g for litigation-report), the witness statements and physical evidence per section 0207, the IO's findings of fact, opinions, and recommendations per section 0208, the line-of-duty determination per sections 0212-0224 (Appendix A-2-l), and the death-case routing per sections 0225-0231. Investigation outputs include the certified investigation report per Appendix A-2-f (command investigation) or A-2-h (litigation-report), the legal sufficiency review, the CA endorsement, the GCMCA endorsement when required, the line-of-duty determination record per Appendix A-2-m, the Page 11 entries affecting subject Marines per MCO P1070.12KMCO P1070.12K Chapter 6, and the case file retained per MCO 5800.16 Volume 1MCO 5800.16 Vol 1.

Per JAGINST 5800.7G Chapter II section 0201 (Scope), Chapter II governs administrative investigations across the Department of the Navy. Per section 0204 (Command Options), the CA selects from three investigation types: Type One Command Investigation (section 0209), Type Two Litigation-Report Investigation (section 0210), or Type Three Court of Inquiry / Board of Inquiry (section 0211). The Marine Corps administrative supplement runs through MCO 5800.16 Volume 11MCO 5800.16 Vol 11.

Sub-pages in this category

• Command Investigation (Type One). JAGMAN section 0209 and Appendix A-2-f.
• Court of Inquiry (Type Three). JAGMAN section 0211.
• Death Cases and Special Considerations. JAGMAN sections 0225-0231.
• Evidence, Witnesses, and Warnings. JAGMAN section 0207, Appendices A-2-i, A-2-j, A-2-k.
• Findings, Opinions, Recommendations, and Report Format. JAGMAN section 0208.
• Line of Duty and Misconduct Determinations. JAGMAN sections 0212-0224, Appendices A-2-l, A-2-m.
• Litigation-Report Investigation (Type Two). JAGMAN section 0210 and Appendices A-2-g, A-2-h.
• Preliminary Inquiry and Command Options. JAGMAN sections 0203-0206.

Trigger events

• Incident occurs requiring preliminary inquiry per JAGMAN 0203 (Preliminary Inquiry).
• Major incident triggers expedited response per JAGMAN 0203.f.
• CA selects investigation type per JAGMAN 0204 (Command Options).
• Death in service requires JAGMAN section 0226 review of whether an investigation is required.
• Property loss, vehicle accident, fire, explosion, aviation mishap, or other incident covered by JAGMAN Chapter II Appendices A-2-n through A-2-z+ occurs.
• Line-of-duty determination required per JAGMAN 0214 (When LOD/Misconduct Determinations Are Required).
• Litigation hold or potential government liability triggers Type Two routing per JAGMAN 0210.
• Major incident triggers Court of Inquiry consideration per JAGMAN 0231.

Processing workflow

1. Run the preliminary inquiry. Per JAGINST 5800.7GJAGINST 5800.7G Chapter II section 0203 (Preliminary Inquiry), the cognizant officer runs the initial fact-gathering per the purpose, responsibility, method, and time limit rules.
2. Apply command options. Per JAGMAN 0204 (Command Options), the CA selects from no investigation, command investigation, litigation-report investigation, or court of inquiry / board of inquiry.
3. Issue the convening order. Per JAGMAN 0206 (Convening Orders), the CA issues a written order designating the IO, the scope, and the suspense. Use Appendix A-2-e for command investigation or Appendix A-2-g for litigation-report.
4. Apply standards of proof and evidence rules. Per JAGMAN 0207 (Standards of Proof and Evidence), apply the preponderance standard, the witness warning rules per 0207.c, and the Privacy Act rules per 0207.e.
5. Build the investigation report. Per JAGMAN 0208 (Investigation Report Format), structure the report with Preliminary Statement (0208.c), Findings of Fact (0208.d), Opinions (0208.e), Recommendations (0208.f), Enclosures (0208.g), and Signatures (0208.h).
6. Route the report through legal review and CA action. Per JAGMAN 0223 (Action by Reviewing Authorities), the CA endorses and the GCMCA acts when required.
7. Process line of duty and misconduct determinations. Per JAGMAN 0212-0224, run the LOD determination per the standards in 0213, the conditions in 0214-0220, and the documentation in 0222 (Appendix A-2-m health record entry).
8. Apply death case special considerations. Per JAGMAN 0225-0231, run casualty office notification per 0225.b, NCIS notification per 0225.d, autopsy considerations per 0228, special routing per 0229, and major-incident court of inquiry consideration per 0231.
9. Coordinate independent review. Per JAGMAN 0232 (Independent Review), route through an independent reviewer when required per the section criteria.
10. File and retain. Per JAGMAN 0209.h (Forwarding and Retention Policies) for command investigations or per the matching section in the investigation type, file in legal records per MCO 5800.16 Volume 1MCO 5800.16 Vol 1.

Systems of record and forms

Systems

• Convening Authority Legal Records. Holds the certified investigation per MCO 5800.16 Volume 1.
• Investigating Officer Working File. Holds the working investigation case file.
• OMPF Field Folder. Holds personnel records pulled for the investigation.
• NCIS Case Management. Per SECNAVINST 5430.107 series when NCIS controls the matter.
• Casualty Information Management System (when death case). Per MCO 3040.4 cross-reference.
• DoD Health Record. Holds LOD entry per JAGMAN 0222.c and Appendix A-2-m.

Forms

• Convening Order. Per JAGMAN 0206 and Appendices A-2-e (command investigation) or A-2-g (litigation-report).
• Investigation Report. Per JAGMAN 0208 and Appendices A-2-f (command investigation) or A-2-h (litigation-report).
• Witness Statement. Per JAGMAN 0207.c.
• Privacy Act Statement. Per JAGMAN 0207.e and Appendix A-2-i.
• Privacy Act Record of Disclosure. Per Appendix A-2-j.
• Warning Advisement About Origin of Disease or Injury. Per Appendix A-2-k.
• LOD Health Record Entry. Per Appendix A-2-m.
• DD Form 261 (Report of Investigation - Line of Duty and Misconduct Status). Per LOD investigations.
• NAVMC 118 (11) Administrative Remarks. Page 11 documenting investigation findings affecting a Marine per MCO P1070.12K paragraph 4006.

Common pitfalls

• Preliminary inquiry skipped before selecting investigation type. Per JAGINST 5800.7GJAGINST 5800.7G Chapter II section 0203, the preliminary inquiry informs the command-options decision per section 0204. Skipping it leads to type mismatch.
• Witness warning not given per JAGMAN 0207.c. The witness becomes a suspect during the interview and the statement loses force. Apply the warning rules.
• Privacy Act Statement omitted at witness interview. Per JAGMAN 0207.e and Appendix A-2-i, the Privacy Act Statement attaches to the witness interview when PII is collected.
• LOD determination skipped on a qualifying injury or illness. Per JAGMAN 0214, the LOD determination drives disability retirement, severance pay, and survivor benefits per 0212.
• Major-incident routing missed. Per JAGMAN 0203.f and 0231, major incidents follow special routing including court of inquiry consideration. Apply the major-incident rules.
• Investigation past suspense without extension request. Per JAGMAN 0206 (Convening Orders), the suspense runs from the convening order date. Request CA extension before expiration.

Decision points

• Investigation type selection. Per JAGINST 5800.7GJAGINST 5800.7G Chapter II section 0204 (Command Options), the CA selects per the factors in 0204.c. Type One (command investigation, section 0209) covers most administrative inquiries. Type Two (litigation-report, section 0210) covers matters with potential government liability. Type Three (court of inquiry / board of inquiry, section 0211) covers major incidents.
• JAGMAN versus UCMJ investigation. Per JAGMAN 0201.b (Relation to UCMJ investigations), administrative investigations under JAGMAN do not replace UCMJ preliminary hearings, courts-martial, or Article 32 investigations. The CA routes through legal advisor when criminal conduct surfaces.
• NCIS referral. Per JAGMAN 0201.c (Relation to other investigations) and SECNAVINST 5430.107 seriesSECNAVINST 5430.107 series, felony-level allegations route through NCIS. The CA does not duplicate the NCIS criminal investigation.

Authority

This category sits under JAGINST 5800.7GJAGINST 5800.7G Chapter II (Administrative Investigations) with Change 2 dated 1 December 2023. Part A (Overview) sets scope. Part B (Preliminary Considerations) sets preliminary inquiry and command options. Part C (Administrative Investigations) sets responsibilities, convening orders, evidence, and report format. Part D (Three Types) sets the type-specific procedures. Part E (Line of Duty/Misconduct) sets LOD procedures. Part F (Special Considerations in Death Cases) sets death-case routing. Section 0232 sets independent review. Appendices A-2-a through A-2-z+ provide samples and special-incident procedures. MCO 5800.16 Volume 1MCO 5800.16 Vol 1 (Marine Corps Manual for Legal Administration) and Volume 11 (Administrative Separations and Investigations) supplement at the Marine Corps level. MCO 1900.16MCO 1900.16 Chapter 6 cross-references administrative separation triggered by investigation findings. MCO 3040.4MCO 3040.4 cross-references death-case casualty procedures. MCO P1070.12KMCO P1070.12K Chapter 6 covers Page 11 documentation. S-1 responsibilities sit at MCO 5000.14DMCO 5000.14D MCAP enclosure 4. The processing workflow maps to NAVMC 3500.3E T-R event 0102-GENA-1012 (Support command investigations).

Related references

• JAGINST 5800.7G Chapter II sections 0201-0232 and Appendices A-2-a through A-2-z+. Authoritative administrative investigations rules.
• MCO 5800.16 Volume 1 and Volume 11. Marine Corps legal administration supplement.
• MCO 1900.16 Chapter 6. Administrative separation cross-reference.
• MCO 3040.4. Casualty procedures cross-reference for death cases.
• SECNAVINST 5430.107 series. NCIS referral authority.
• MCO P1070.12K paragraph 4006. Page 11 documentation.
• MCO 5000.14D MCAP enclosure 4. S-1 investigation responsibilities.
• NAVMC 3500.3E. T-R event 0102-GENA-1012.