Fewer or More? Military Property Charges at Air Force Courts-Martial, 2016–2025
Article 108 (military property) appeared in few Air Force courts-martial: 12 cases from 2016–2025, with none from 2018 through 2022.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 4 min read
Trends › By Offense › Article 108 › Air Force
Short answer: Article 108 (military property) appeared in few Air Force courts-martial: 12 cases from 2016–2025, with none from 2018 through 2022. All 12 ended in a conviction, and 9 of the 12 convicted enlisted members received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge (75%), compared with 56% across all Air Force cases in those years. The median confinement was 6 months, compared with 4 months.
No Cases From 2018 Through 2022
The records show 4 cases in 2016 and 3 in 2017. No case in 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, or 2022 charged Article 108. After that gap there were 2 cases in 2023, 2 in 2024, and 1 in 2025.
Share of All Air Force Convictions
Measured against all Air Force convictions with the offenses listed, Article 108 was part of 7 of 786 convictions in 2016–2018 (1%) and 5 of 494 in 2023–2025 (1%), about the same share. The yearly count was highest in 2016, at 4. Shares make years with more or fewer cases overall comparable.
| Year | Convictions incl. Art. 108 | All convictions with offenses listed | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 4 | 205 | 2% |
| 2017 | 3 | 294 | 1% |
| 2018 | 0 | 287 | 0% |
| 2019 | 0 | 271 | 0% |
| 2020 | 0 | 186 | 0% |
| 2021 | 0 | 202 | 0% |
| 2022 | 0 | 208 | 0% |
| 2023 | 2 | 152 | 1% |
| 2024 | 2 | 173 | 1% |
| 2025 | 1 | 169 | 1% |
Punitive Discharges in 75% of Convictions
Of 12 convicted enlisted members, 9 received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge. Only 1 of those 9 was a dishonorable discharge. Across all Air Force cases in those years, the share was 56%. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.
Confinement in 11 of 12 Sentences
Confinement was part of 11 of the 12 sentences (92%). The median was 6 months, longer than the 4 months across all Air Force cases in those years. A quarter of the confinement sentences were 1 year or longer.
These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each covers every charge in the case.
Larceny and Orders Violations Charged Alongside
Article 108 was the only charge in 1 of 12 cases. Article 92 (orders violation) and Article 121 (larceny) each appeared in 5 cases. Article 109 (property damage), Article 128 (assault), and Article 112a (drug) each appeared in 2.
Who Decided Guilt?
The accused usually chooses whether a military judge alone or a panel of members decides guilt. A military judge alone decided 10 of these cases. Members decided 17% of cases with the forum listed: 1 enlisted panel and 1 officer panel.
Rank and Court Level
Of the 12 accused, 9 were junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) and 3 were NCOs (E-5 to E-9). No officers appear. Air Force-wide, 62% of the accused were junior enlisted, so this group is more junior.
There were 5 general courts-martial and 7 special courts-martial. The general share of 42% compares with 51% in the rest of the Air Force. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge.
What These Records Leave Out
The Military Justice Act of 2016 took effect on January 1, 2019, and further changes began on December 28, 2023. The records give trial dates, not offense dates, so they cannot show which rules applied. Air Force records never report plea agreements, and from 2016 to 2019 they rarely list a guilty plea. Nonjudicial punishment and administrative separations are not included.
Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: UCMJ change timeline.
How We Counted
Air Force courts-martial tried 2016–2025 that charged Article 108 (12 cases). The trend line uses convictions whose records list the offenses found, by trial year.
Source: public court-martial records (Article 140a, UCMJ) in Military Trial Results, data updated October 24, 2026. Definitions, sources, and known gaps: how this data was built. Errors: content@bodiesburied.com.
Related Analysis
- Article 108 (Military Property; Loss, Damage, Destruction): Court-Martial Data and Trends (hub)
- Air Force Courts-Martial: Data and Trends (hub)
- By Offense (hub)
- Fewer or More? Military Property Charges at Army Courts-Martial, 2021–2025 (another service)
- Is Navy-Marine Corps Military Property Prosecution Rising or Falling? Article 108, 2017–2025 (another service)
- Air Force Article 109 Cases by the Numbers, 2016–2025
- Air Force Article 113 Cases by the Numbers, 2021–2025
- Air Force Article 115 Cases by the Numbers, 2021–2025
- What Sentence Follows an Air Force Military Property Conviction?
- Search every case in Military Trial Results (members)
About the author. Jocelyn C. Stewart is a retired Army JAG with more than 24 years of trying courts-martial and more than 200 jury trials. She hosts Where All The Bodies Are Buried and runs the Law Office of Jocelyn C. Stewart. This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.