UCMJ Article 121 covers wrongfully taking, obtaining, or withholding property with an intent to deprive someone of its use. Permanent deprivation is larceny; an intent to deprive temporarily is wrongful appropriation. The statute applies to people subject to the UCMJ and does not require a conventional theft from a storage room. [1]
What the government must establish
The military judges’ benchbook identifies the property, the person or entity with the superior possessory right, the property’s value, and the accused’s wrongful taking or withholding with the required intent. Enhanced punishment based on military property or specified property types requires the corresponding allegation and proof. [2]
A government purchase-card transaction can therefore require careful analysis of who actually lost money or property. The Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces’ digest discusses how identifying the victim differs across credit-card arrangements. An unauthorized purchase should not automatically be analyzed as theft from whichever name appears on the card. [3]
Maximum punishment depends on the property
The current Army benchbook lists these larceny ceilings: [2]
- Ordinary property worth $1,000 or less: up to one year of confinement, a bad-conduct discharge, total forfeitures, and reduction to E-1.
- Military property worth more than $1,000, or specified military vehicles, aircraft, vessels, firearms, or explosives: up to ten years, a dishonorable discharge, total forfeitures, and reduction to E-1.
- Other property worth more than $1,000, or specified nonmilitary property types: up to five years with the listed punitive consequences.
These are maximums, not predictions. The benchbook also explains that offenses committed on or after December 28, 2023 can be subject to sentencing parameters or criteria and written reasons for deviation. The offense date and applicable sentencing system matter. [2]
Intent and authorization deserve separate attention
A genuine dispute about authorization, ownership, or an accounting error may affect wrongfulness or intent. Returning property later does not automatically prove there was no original intent to steal, while temporary unauthorized use is not automatically permanent-deprivation larceny. Counsel should compare the actual evidence with each charged element. [1][2]
Keep hand receipts, purchase approvals, messages, inventory records, and repayment documentation. Do not alter records to make an account balance. For related consequences, see how long a court-martial remains on a record and criminal-history issues in a security-clearance review.
Primary sources
- 10 USC 921 Art 121 Larceny and Wrongful Appropriation
- Army Military Judges Benchbook: Larceny, Article 121
- Core Criminal Law Subjects – Article 121 Larceny and Wrongful Appropriation
Sources checked: October 31, 2026.