SB179 Alabama 2025 Session

Updated Feb 23, 2026

Notable

Summary

Primary Sponsor: Sam GivhanSenator
Republican
Session: 2025 Regular Session
Title: Military punishment; ranks of members that may discipline and be disciplined, disciplinary measures; revised and further provided for
Summary: SB179 revises Alabama's military justice rules to expand who can discipline service members, adjust punishments and eligible ranks, and set new procedures, with changes taking effect October 1, 2025.
What This Bill Does
It allows brigade/battalion-level Army commanders, wing/group/base-level Air commanders, or commanders of geographically separated units to impose non-judicial punishments on enlisted members, including admonitions, reprimands, loss of privileges, pay forfeiture, pay-grade reductions, extra duties, and restrictions. The Governor, Adjutant General, or a general/flag-rank commander may impose these punishments on officers and enlisted and may delegate these powers to a principal assistant in the Alabama National Guard. The bill also clarifies how “days” are counted for pay versus other purposes, provides for mitigation and appeals, and preserves the option to pursue court-martial for serious offenses. It expands punishments under special courts-martial, setting specific rank-reduction outcomes, and makes the new rules effective October 1, 2025.

Who It Affects
Enlisted servicemembers under brigade/battalion-level Army or wing/group/base-level Air units (and commanders of geographically separated units) who could receive non-judicial punishments such as admonitions, reprimands, loss of privileges, pay forfeiture, pay-grade reductions, extra duties, or restrictions.
Officers and higher-ranked enlisted personnel (including E-6 and below, E-7 through E-9, and those up to E-9 and below) who could face rank reductions or other punishments, with officers potentially being reduced to the highest rank they last served honorably; and general/flag-rank commanders who may impose or delegate punishments.

Key Provisions
Authorizes brigade/battalion-level Army commanders, wing/group/base-level Air commanders, and commanders of geographically separated units to impose non-judicial punishments on enlisted members.
Allows delegation of these disciplinary powers to a principal assistant who is a member of the Alabama National Guard.
Defines 'day' differently for pay purposes (one active-duty pay day) and for other purposes (one calendar day).
Lists specific non-judicial punishments for enlisted personnel: admonition, reprimand, loss of privileges up to six months, pay forfeiture up to 12 days, rank reductions (E-6 and below to next lower grade; E-4 and below to lowest or intermediate grade), extra duties up to eight days, and restrictions up to 14 days.
Permits Governor, Adjutant General, or senior commanders to impose these punishments on officers and enlisted (including punishment for E-9 and below) and allows reductions of up to two pay grades for certain enlisted ranks.
Requires limits on consecutive punishments so total length does not exceed the longest punishment and ensures proper apportionment among punishments.
Allows mitigation, suspension, or remittance of punishments, with related limits on reductions and duties when mitigated.
Provides for appeals within 30 days to a superior authority, with suspensive effect during appeal and possible referral to a judge advocate for advice.
States that disciplinary punishments under this article do not bar court-martial or civilian court for serious offenses, but such punishments may be used as evidence in sentencing.
Increases the scope of special courts-martial: enlisted personnel (E-6 and below) may be reduced to E-1; E-7 through E-9 may be reduced to E-4; officers may be reduced to the highest rank they last held honorably.
Effective date: October 1, 2025.

AI-generated summary using openai/gpt-5-nano on Feb 22, 2026. May contain errors — refer to the official bill text for accuracy.
Subjects: Military