The UCMJ is the military law. For the most part, it spells out what is considered a crime, the military legal system, acceptable punishments, and so fourth. When a crime is being referred to or for the purposes of documentation, they are marked as Articles. For example, Article 86 is AWOL (Absent Without Leave), Article 112 is Drunk on Duty, and so on. The two major sections for military crimes are Punitive Charges and Non-Judicial Punishment Charges.
However, unlike civilian law, there are Articles that exist in which aren't crimes outside the military. For example, Article 125 - Sodomy. Simply put, the act itself is a crime, whether it is consensual or not. Article 134:24 - Gambling with a Subordinate. In short, you can only gamble with people of the same rank. There are many strange Articles in which limits the freedoms of service members for both good and the strange. The second link is a website that spells out some of the court-martial offenses.
Imagine being a single soldier who had consensual sex in one of the two soldier's rooms. Guess what? You've violated the UCMJ in one way or another, which states the door must be open when a member of the opposite gender is present. If you've done this, then you've violated Article 134-29 (Indecent Acts with Another). Let's take a common situation. Imagine having some time off, and getting a little sun. You've spent a little too much time outside and were sunburned. Congratulations! You've violated Article 108 - Damage or Destruction of Government Property. In many cases, being guilty of any of the articles can include any or all of the following: Loss of rank, loss of pay, loss of leave, loss of responsibility, restrictions on locations, dishonorable discharge, and/or prison time.
Psychologically, many soldiers have fears of the UCMJ. Granted, there are many Articles that are violated, but swept underneath the rug. It all depends on a soldier's chain of command (their bosses all the way up to the President) if they wish to pursue these charges or not. Some believe that the chain of command has a personal grudge against them, which has been proven in the past. There is an Article for this as well. Some chains of commands are extremely "by the book" and will punish soldiers under the UCMJ for crimes that don't exist outside the military. Do soldiers really have to fear their law more than the combat zone they could be in? Does the UCMJ protect the soldier against others, or does it create more control for the government?
UCMJ:
http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/ucmj.htm
Punitive Charges of the UCMJ:
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