Why Timelines Solve Investigations

Who Should Read This Publication?

This publication is particularly valuable for:

• Military defense counsel — Timelines can help counsel evaluate whether an allegation is consistent with established times, locations, records, and other evidence. A well-developed timeline may expose contradictions, identify missing evidence, and reveal factual issues requiring additional investigation.
• Civilian attorneys representing service members — Cases involving multiple witnesses, extensive records, digital evidence, or events occurring over an extended period can become difficult to evaluate without a reliable chronology. Timelines provide a structured way to compare the allegation with the available evidence.
• Defense investigators — Investigators can use timelines as more than organizational tools. By placing witness statements, documents, communications, photographs, location information, and other evidence into chronological context, they can identify investigative gaps, conflicts, corroboration, and new leads.
• Legal teams handling factually complex cases — When numerous witnesses and sources describe the same events differently, a timeline creates a common factual framework. It can help the defense determine where accounts agree, where they conflict, and which discrepancies actually matter.
• Attorneys and investigators dealing with questions of time, location, or opportunity — When an allegation depends upon whether someone could have been at a particular place at a particular time, objective timestamps and records can be compared with witness accounts to test whether the alleged sequence is possible.
• Service members and families seeking to understand the investigative process — This publication explains why a defense investigation does more than collect statements and records. It demonstrates how investigators organize and test information to determine what the evidence actually establishes—and what still needs to be investigated.