Davis-Monthan Air Force Base occupies the southeast edge of Tucson, Arizona, in the Sonoran Desert. The base covers 10,600 acres and operates under the 355th Wing, which flies and maintains the A-10C Thunderbolt II. The 355th Wing’s mission is close air support, forward air control, and combat search and rescue. A-10 units deploy globally to provide ground attack capability in contested environments.
Davis-Monthan also houses the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (AMARG), known as “The Boneyard.” AMARG stores and maintains nearly 4,000 retired military aircraft from all services across 2,600 acres of desert. The facility handles aircraft reclamation, parts harvesting, and regeneration for planes returned to service. The dry climate and hard-packed desert soil preserve airframes for decades. AMARG is the largest aircraft storage facility in the world.
The 563rd Rescue Group operates HC-130J Combat King II aircraft and HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopters from Davis-Monthan, conducting personnel recovery missions and providing combat search and rescue capability. Guardian Angel teams train here for deployment to combat zones and humanitarian operations.
Tucson’s population is approximately 550,000. Downtown Tucson is 10 miles northwest of the base. Phoenix is 115 miles north via I-10. The University of Arizona sits near the base’s northern boundary. Most Airmen stationed at Davis-Monthan live off-base in Tucson or surrounding areas.
Criminal cases at Davis-Monthan follow the same patterns as other Air Force installations: sexual assault, child sexual abuse material, domestic violence, drug offenses, and fraud. The base’s size and demographics generate steady caseloads for Office of Special Investigations and trial counsel.
Our Work at Davis-Monthan
We’ve defended Airmen at Davis-Monthan for more than twenty years. We’ve also handled cases at Luke, Yuma, Bliss, Cannon, Kirtland, and Holloman during that time. The Southwest is familiar territory. We’ve tried courts-martial, fought administrative separations, and stopped investigations before charges were preferred at installations across Arizona, New Mexico, and West Texas.
Davis-Monthan cases require counsel who can work effectively with Air Force trial counsel and Office of Special Investigations from the beginning of an investigation, not just after charges are preferred. We engage early, present exculpatory evidence during investigation, and challenge weak cases before they reach court-martial.
How Lawyers Lie to Get Your Money
Q: I have seen some civilian attorneys claim a 95% or even 100% success rate. Is that true?
A: Any attorney who boasts a “success rate” is engaging in bullshit marketing. They are hoping you will confuse a favorable plea negotiation or other quarter-loaf outcomes with a full acquittal, taking their word for it of course. They can spin every outcome, short of the absolute maximum sentence, as a win. They claim success even if you are acquitted on minor charges but lose the main charges requiring Sexual Offender Registration. The lie comes at your expense. In our industry, it’s called “redefining victory.”
Q: Isn’t it smart to judge a civilian military lawyer by their number of trials?
A: Probably not. Trial count is a meaningless metric beyond an elementary number of reps. Counting simple, uncontested guilty pleas the same as a multi-victim General Court-Martial is a deliberate distortion. We have had motions hearings and administrative separation boards that were more grueling than some General Courts-Martial. Our firm stopped counting our trials before we left the Air Force over 20 years ago. Junior attorneys count their trials for their LinkedIn page.
The Truth: One (Lying?) Witness’s Testimony Can Send You to Jail
Q: I’m under investigation, but it’s just a “he said, she said” case.
A: There’s no such thing as just a “he said, she said” case. Under the UCMJ, a single witness’s word, if believed beyond a reasonable doubt, can be enough for a conviction. The Office of Special Trial Counsel has built entire cases on nothing more than one person’s story.
- Belief Is What Counts: The law doesn’t require physical evidence, eyewitnesses, or a confession. What matters is whether the trier of fact finds one account credible. That belief alone can end a career and send you to confinement.
- Defense Focus: Human memory and perception are not stable instruments. They are easily distorted by alcohol, trauma, suggestion, and bias. Add to that the mind’s tendency to fill gaps with confabulated detail, and what feels true can drift far from what actually happened. The defense must expose those distortions clearly, calmly, and scientifically.
- The Bias Problem: Every participant in a trial (judge, panel, investigator, or witness) comes with built-in cognitive filters. Confirmation bias makes people see what fits their expectations; hindsight bias turns uncertainty into false clarity. And beneath all of it lies the human capacity for deception: from deliberate falsehoods told for advantage to small “white lies” told to protect self-image or gain sympathy. Understanding how those distortions shape testimony is central to dismantling it.
- The Self-Own Scenario: The most dangerous combination in any case is an accuser’s testimony backed by your own admission. Once you give the government evidence of your words or behavior, even casually, they will use them to confirm the accuser’s narrative. That turns a contest of credibility into a foregone conclusion. You cannot afford to fight an Article 120 allegation without counsel who understand both the science of memory and the psychology of deceit.
But Was it Really Fraud?
Q: How do you defend against fraud charges when the money was received when it shouldn’t have been?
A: Sometimes the entire defense battle rests on the prosecution’s burden to prove specific intent to steal, a form of mind-reading. Our job is to destroy the chain of logic that makes guilty intent the only conclusion.
The Alternative Theory: We remind the panel that sloppiness is not a crime. We introduce the Alternative Theory of Intent (ignorance of the rule: “Our client intended to comply with a confusing regulation no one understands”).
Don’t Wink at the Panel: We show the panel how complex and burdensome military financial regulations are, while highlighting our client’s positive qualities and service record. By framing the potential consequences (loss of retirement over what might have been a minor transgression), we position the panel to reach a verdict that serves the ends of justice, which may not align with what the strict letter of the law requires.
The Interrogation Setup: Understanding OSI Pressure
Q: I was told I have to report to OSI tomorrow for a meeting. What can I expect?
A: It’s not really a meeting. It’s an interrogation. The system is designed to make you compliant before a single question is asked.
Command Pressure: OSI cannot order you anywhere on their own. Your command does that. When the first sergeant or commander delivers the order, it’s framed as mandatory, which strips away the sense that you have any choice.
Clock Pressure: That 24–48 hour wait isn’t just scheduling. It makes you anxious, rehearse explanations, or talk to others, all of which OSI expects and uses against you later.
Command Pressure Part 2: You report through command, you return through command. That keeps you in their control loop and lets OSI immediately brief leadership on what you said.
OSI Does This, So You Do That
Q: What should I do if I’ve been ordered to OSI?
A: You have to show up, but you don’t have to walk in blind. Here’s what we advise our clients:
- Stay Silent: The moment they tell you what the allegation is, stop and say you want a lawyer. Initial and sign your Article 31(b) rights advisement exercising all rights.
- Logistics: Don’t bring your phone. Make sure someone in your personal life knows where you are and how to reach a lawyer.
- Conduct: Be polite but don’t engage in their banter. Give short, generic answers. Get the agent’s name and number (or business card) and pass it to your lawyer afterward.
- Exit: If you’re released, leave. Don’t volunteer your phone, passcode, or consent to search anything.
The OSI Interview Room
If you are ordered to report to OSI, you must go. You should expect to be left waiting. When they are ready, you will be placed in a small room: no windows, no clock, a one-way mirror, and a camera in the ceiling. This environment, even if the agent is polite, is designed to generate compliance.
The Interrogation Technique
Once they have you in the box, agents will act relaxed and friendly, trying to find common ground through small talk about sports, hobbies, or hometowns. This is not a conversation; it is an interview designed to make you lower your guard.
They will mention the investigation in vague terms and present your rights as a formality. Sometimes they suggest those rights protect them as much as you (they wouldn’t want you to accuse them of doing something wrong), or that this is your “last chance” to tell your side before “the commander” makes a decision. They often start with a familiar question: “Do you know why you’re here?” The only safe answer is, “I want to speak with a lawyer.”
If you allow the interrogation to continue, it will follow a predictable pattern. It begins with The Confrontation, where they claim they already know you did it. They are legally allowed to lie about evidence. Then comes The Theme, where they offer a softer version of events that makes admitting guilt seem understandable. You’re not a monster, you’re a good guy who had a bad idea for a second, as we all do sometimes. If you don’t cave, they will interrupt or talk over your denials to keep control of the pace and direction.
As the pressure builds, they build on the Monster vs Bad Moment theme, a trap that forces you to choose between two forms of guilt. That’s the setup for the confession. In sexual-assault cases, they might suggest something like, “You were being gentle, maybe just testing the waters? It’s not like you rammed in there. Just the tip?” They want you to think this is your safe escape. It’s not. Under the UCMJ, penetration of any kind completes the crime of rape.
Finally, they might ask for a written statement. It’s one thing to confess under the pressure of an interrogation. It’s worse if you take time to think, if you choose your own words, and if you write it out in your own hand. This is often framed as a letter to your commander, supposedly to “clear things up” or “show accountability.” In reality, it is a confession, and it will be used against you.
The process is designed to produce one outcome: a signed statement that confirms their theory. The only way to protect yourself is to stop the interview and request counsel immediately.
Two Decades of Court-Martial Defense at Davis-Monthan and Worldwide
Our firm opened in 2006 after we completed our time in the Air Force JAG Corps, where we’d been trying courts-martial since 2001. We’ve never practiced anything other than UCMJ and federal criminal defense.
We’ve handled cases at Davis-Monthan, Luke AFB, and bases across the Southwest and worldwide. The work includes every major category of UCMJ offense:
- Sexual assault and related charges under Articles 120, 120b, and 120c
- Child exploitation and CSAM under Article 134
- Larceny, fraud, and DITY move cases
- Child abuse under Article 119b
- Officer misconduct under Article 133
- Assault, domestic violence, and other violent crimes
Our federal criminal court background runs deep, which matters because the military justice system recently adopted federal-style procedures. We’ve been working in that framework for over 20 years, so the shift didn’t slow us down.
The Two Primary Court-Martial Arenas Explained
Special Court-Martial: A Special Court-Martial is roughly equal to a misdemeanor in civilian terms (military doesn’t use that term, or felony). The 12-month confinement limit makes this tier closer to a misdemeanor in effect. A conviction here is generally treated as a misdemeanor for federal purposes. Punishments can include confinement, loss of pay, and a bad-conduct discharge. A military career will almost always be ended.
General Court-Martial: This is the highest level of the military justice system. It is used for serious offenses such as sexual assault, aggravated domestic violence, and crimes concerning children. Penalties can be severe, including many years of confinement or even life in prison. Civilian courts almost always classify a conviction at this level as a felony. In cases related to sexual offenses, a conviction also requires registration as a sex offender in the civilian system.
The Preliminary Hearing is a Gift
If your case is moving toward a General Court-Martial, you are entitled to an Article 32 hearing. This is a preliminary step where the prosecution must show there is enough evidence to proceed.
Yes, the Bar is Low: The legal bar is low (preponderance: more likely than not). Some junior defense lawyers tell their clients to waive the hearing, saying it is just a formality. Bad advice.
But that Burden of Proof Isn’t the Point: The hearing lets you challenge parts of the case and, more importantly, see how a neutral JAG, who might be a judge, reacts to the government’s evidence. The hearing also gives your attorney a chance to gauge tone, priorities, and personalities. It’s a chance to read not just the room but the people, and to deepen discussions with OSTC about getting you out of harm’s way.
And The Other Burden of Proof is Still Relevant: The hearing officer has to assess the prosecution’s chances of proving the case beyond a reasonable doubt at trial, so the defense needs to focus on that standard of proof during this hearing. Any skepticism in the summary will be factored into OSTC’s decision to take the case to trial.
You Can’t Win the Games You Don’t Play: We have seen cases dismissed at the Article 32 stage, even when probable cause was not contested. Others ended with reduced charges or lighter outcomes. None of that would have happened if the hearing had been waived.
Your Attorney Doesn’t Have a Right to Remain Silent
Most defense lawyers, us too, will tell you to remain out of sight the best you can. That’s baseline criminal defense.
The problem is that while you are staying silent, the prosecution team is moving quickly. Silence alone does not help you win.
Get in the Game: Taking initiative early does not mean being combative. It means knowing when and how to engage. It means communicating with leadership, with legal offices, and with investigators.
OSTC’s Role for the Defense: OSTC attorneys are serious professionals. If you give them reason to doubt their case early on, they are often willing to consider a different resolution. That can be the difference between going to trial and reaching a non-criminal outcome.
Expectation Management: Our Flat Fee Commitment
You will work directly with Keith Scherer or Greg Gagne, not a junior lawyer, call screener, or chatbot.
Flat Fee Structure: We use a flat-fee billing structure because it keeps the focus on your case, not billable hours or invoices.
Total Coverage: A “flat” fee means everything is included for the stage you are in. That covers every call, text, and email with your attorney, as well as every communication your attorney makes to prosecutors, investigators, command, or experts. All legal work is included.
Travel: If travel is needed to represent you in person, those costs are billed separately under terms clearly stated in the agreement.
Q: Does the fixed-cost defense arrangement eliminate financial anxiety from my UCMJ case?
A: It helps. The anxiety about cost is largely eliminated because there is no ambiguity about further bills. The major issue of financial friction concerning communication is removed from the equation. All of our time, experience, and candid guidance are entirely included. The nature of military cases demands constant communication via phone and text, and any criminal case will create extreme anxiety. Under an hourly structure, lawyers bill for all calls and texts, creating an unpleasant financial surprise for you at the end of the month. That structure creates a disincentive to communicate. But in our way of doing things, the attorney-client relationship is protected so that you never fear contacting us due to a potential invoice.
Q: What is your firm’s method for handling excessive client contact or overwhelming communication? I tend to get really anxious.
A: Our standard is trust, not profit. If communication reaches an overwhelming level, we calmly and professionally reset the client’s focus. The client is reoriented toward essential subjects like work, family, and free time. This policy works because the relationship is built on mutual respect, rather than the transactional pressure that suggests the lawyer’s time must be financially compensated for every minute.
Call a Davis-Monthan UCMJ Lawyer Now
If you are facing UCMJ charges or a court-martial at Davis-Monthan AFB, call us at 800-319-3134 for a free consultation. We have defended Airmen at D-M, Luke AFB, and other U.S. installations across the Southwest and worldwide for more than 20 years.