Serving all 7 continents
Camp Lester
Court Martial Defense
At Bilecki Law Group, We believe every service member has earned their right to an aggressive defense on their day in court. We specialize in taking the fight to the prosecution and winning cases that others said were unwinnable.
Camp Lester trusts Bilecki Law Group for court defense
Former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt once famously stated that “The Marines I have seen around the world have the cleanest bodies, the filthiest minds, the highest morale, and the lowest morals of any group of animals I have ever seen. Thank God for the United States Marine Corps!” That is a quote we use often here at Bilecki because we thank God for our United States Marines and the shenanigans that perhaps run afoul of the UCMJ are some of the most epic. Men and women that are trained to fight like United States Marines simply cannot be contained into a tight neat little box 100% of the time. They’re human and where discipline in battle is legendary, so are the exploits they undertake to relieve the stress of operations. Essentially, Marines at Camp Lester need a court martial defense attorney that will fight as hard for them as they fight as hard for us on the battlefield. Because we are a global military court martial defense firm, we’ll fly from the Halls of Montezuma to the Shores of Tripoli to defend our Marines.
We Should Not Court Martial Marines At Camp Lester That We Need In A Fight
To be clear, the team here at Bilecki believes in military discipline. Namesake and founder, Tim Bilecki, spent years inside the military justice system as a Senior Defense Counsel and he understands the rightful role that the UCMJ is supposed to play. However, when wielded by fickle and insecure command, the UCMJ becomes weaponized to the greater detriment of this nation.
Military history is full of men whose day to actions would run afoul of the UCMJ and yet, they were the very heroes we needed in a fight. Pappy Boyington was a notorious drunken rebel rouser and yet, a WW2 fighter ace in the Pacific. PFC Jack Lucas joined the Marines when he was 15 and spent a year beating up grown men in Hawaii and drinking before jumping on two grenades in Iwo Jima. You name the conflict, we’ll show the rebel rousing Marine we need.
That’s why we fight like hell for our Marines. We fly in hard-hitting attorneys from the United States to any installation around the world to ensure our Marines have the best court martial defense available. Camp Lester is no exception. If you are facing investigation or court martial in Okinawa, we’re going to do everything we can to keep you in the fight for this nation’s future.
What Charges Can You Fight And Defend Out Of Camp Lester?
Everytime we get a call from a Marine, we know that there is at good chance it will be a case we want to take on. Again, go back to the Roosevelt quote and we love our Marines. It’s just part and parcel of being a United States Marine. However, we’ve literally been to Okinawa over 75 times, occasions and we’ve saved Marines from having their lives destroyed for just about every charge under the sun. In some cases, the Marine messed up and it was about saving him from the worst possible outcome. In other cases, the charges were complete nonsense from the start and we made the prosecution look like a fool for taking it on. Below you’ll see just a few of the charges that fight and defend for Marines on Okinawa.
- UCMJ Article 120 or Article 134 (Sex Offenses) – These cases can include rape, sexual assault, aggravated sexual assault, abusive sexual contact, sexual assault of a minor, indecent viewing, indecent recording, forcible pandering, indecent exposure, and other Article 120 and Article 120(c) offenses.
The bottom line is you can’t completely eliminate eros from the human condition and when you put young fit men and women in close proximity, things are going to happen. At times the proper rank balance is not in place, but that doesn’t make one a rapist. In other cases, the charges are completely made up because in the era of Sexual Assault Prevention and Response (SAPR), service members have learned to weaponize allegations to their own benefit, and profit off of it.
SAPR started out as a noble campaign, but due to pressure from elected officials and the Pentagon, commands and OSTC is getting out of control. Allegations are enough to warrant a full court-martial, rumors can end a career and even when there is not enough evidence to charge you, commands will end your career through administrative means. What’s happening is not right and it sure as hell is not justice. - UCMJ Article 121 (Fraud and Larceny) – We defend cases such as conspiracy to defraud the military, BAH fraud, OHA fraud, extortion, larceny, wrongful appropriation, and more. Marines have a saying that “gear adrift is a gift” along with “there’s only one thief in the Marine Corps and everyone else is just getting his stuff back.”
It’s rare that a Marine is caught running an international fraud or RICO operation. The charges we see our Marines face are often petty and driven by allegations of BAH fraud. Many of the charges we see shouldn’t be ending a Marine’s career and certainly not when we need them in the Pacific to fight. - UCMJ Article 128 (Assault and Violent Crime) – We represent service members facing charges including murder, manslaughter, aggravated assault, assault, and cases involving self-defense and defense of another. Marines like to drink and because Marines like to drink, they like to fight. Often they are laughing about it the next day, but when commands take issue with it we can see Marines facing serious charges quickly.
It’s also not in Marines nature to sit back and watch others get bullied or taken advantage of. Many of the assault cases we see were Marines doing what they do best in defense of themselves and others. Bottom line, we need Marines in the Pacific who know how to fight. - UCMJ Article 112a (Drug Crimes) – We defend cases involving drug possession, drug distribution, drug importation, drug manufacturing, drug trafficking, positive urinalysis cases, tampering with urinalysis cases, and more. These cases often involve illegal controlled substances such as marijuana, LSD, methamphetamines, cocaine, ecstasy, molly, opioids, analogues, and more.
Japan takes drug charges seriously and if you find yourself facing such charges in Japan, it is essential that you get experienced counsel on your side that understands the various military and civilian jurisdictions at play. It is almost always the case that there is some civilian influence involved and yet, it is so often that it is our military service members that suffer the most extreme punishments. - Punitive Articles of the UCMJ 77-134 (Military Specific Offenses) – These include charges such as fraternization, unauthorized absence (AWOL), disobeying a lawful order, conduct unbecoming an officer, and much more. Swing by any Marine barracks for a Friday night drinking session and you’ll just about every punitive article for the UCMJ violated by dawn.
Marines at Camp Lester have a tougher time because commands are so afraid of a public incident with the local population, they prosecute Marines for charges that would never see the light of day at Camp Pendleton or Lejeune.
How To Fight Back And Win Against A Court Martial At Camp Lester
Fighting a court martial at Camp Lester or anywhere overseas is no easy feat. Prosecutors know you are isolated and thousands of miles away from family and friends. Military investigators will play that to their advantage and get you to confess to crimes before you have truly had the chance to get adequate legal counsel. They will dangle mercy in front of you and when you take the bait, they will destroy you in a very public fashion just to make an example out of you and scare others into compliance.
We don’t let them get away with that. We can hire our own investigators and fly in our own team to conduct our own investigation. We put heavy hitting attorneys from the United States on a plane and prosecutors are often shocked when they see you’ve flown in help from stateside. That’s because they love an easy win and when they see us land on the tarmac, they know they have a fight on their hands.
We take the fight straight to the heart of the prosecution and make no apologies for what we do to them. That’s because we know that your career, retirement, and freedom are on the line. This is true even if you did make a mistake and made a poor decision. Look, if you were caught with the Base Commander’s wife doing the dirty, you’re in trouble Marine. However, you didn’t rape anyone, you weren’t using drugs and you don’t have to accept the worst possible outcome that they can give to you. You can fight back, even if you were in the wrong.
If you are facing an investigation or court martial at Camp Lester, we encourage you to reach out to us. We know that our office is in Tampa, but we’re a global court martial defense firm and we’ve got the passport stamps to prove it, in particular Japanese ones. Service members fly us in for a reason because we know how to fight for them. If you play by the prosecution’s rules on their terms, you will lose. You have to fight back. Give us a call and get us into that fight.
Facing an Allegation?
Contact Bilecki Law Group
Timothy James Bilecki
Military law attorney
- tbilecki@bileckilawgroup.com
- Tampa, FL 33602
Years of Experience
Court Martial Verdicts
Service Members Represented
Miles Traveled
QUESTIONS? WE GOT YOU COVERED
FAQs About Military Court Martial Defense In Japan
The most common criminal offenses at Camp Lester are drug charges (possession and use being the most common) and sexual assault charges. Other criminal offenses, such as BAH and OHA fraud, are somewhat common throughout Okinawa and mainland Japan. We’ve also assisted service members accused of assault and battery charges.
Absolutely. We travel to Okinawa several times a time. We know our way around and you won’t have to babysit us once we land in Naha.
“If you play the game by their rules and on their battlefield, you’ve got a 10% or less chance of winning. Don’t play by their rules. Give them the last thing they were looking for... a FIGHT!”
- Timothy J. Bilecki
your path to legal defense
Get in Touch
- tbilecki@bileckilawgroup.com
- 813-669-3500
- Bilecki Law Group, PLLC, 601 S. Harbour Island BLVD, Suite 109 Tampa, FL 33602