Hostile force, in presence of, commits certain offenses - court-martial.
Mo. Rev. Stat. § 40.325
in effect40.325. Hostile force, in presence of, commits certain offenses — court-martial. — Any person subject to sections 40.005 to 40.490 shall be punished as a court-martial may direct who before or in the presence of a hostile force:
(1) Runs away;
(2) Shamefully abandons, surrenders, or delivers up any command, unit, place or military property which it is the person's duty to defend;
(3) Through disobedience, neglect, or intentional misconduct endangers the safety of any such command, unit, place, or military property;
(4) Casts away his arms or ammunition;
(5) Is guilty of cowardly conduct;
(6) Quits his place of duty to plunder or pillage;
(7) Causes false alarms in any command, unit, or place under control of the Armed Forces of the United States or the state military forces;
(8) Willfully fails to do his utmost to encounter, engage, capture, or destroy any hostile force, combatants, vessels, aircraft, or any other thing, which it is the person's duty so to encounter, engage, capture, or destroy; or
(9) Does not afford all practicable relief and assistance to any troops, combatants, vessels, or aircraft of the Armed Forces belonging to the United States or their allies, to this state or to any other state, when engaged in battle or suppression of civil disorders.
(L. 1984 H.B. 1035 § 100)
Source: Open US Law by Vaquill AI (CC BY 4.0)URL: https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=40.325Fetched: 10/17/2026