> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.bodiesburied.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # How Much Confinement for an Article 113 Conviction in the Air Force? - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/air-force-article-113-sent-2021-2025/ - Published: 2026-10-28T08:06:46.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-30T08:05:00.000Z - Description: 51 Air Force courts-martial from 2021–2025 ended in a conviction under Article 113 (drunken or reckless driving). The median confinement was 4 months, compared with 5 months across all Air Force convictions. - Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart - Tags: Understanding Trends, Article 113, Air Force [Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [By Offense](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/by-offense/) › [Article 113](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-113-courts-martial/) › How Much Confinement for an Article 113 **Short answer:** 51 Air Force courts-martial from 2021–2025 ended in a conviction under Article 113 (drunken or reckless driving). The median confinement was 4 months, compared with 5 months across all Air Force convictions. 43% of enlisted convictions included a punitive discharge, compared with 59% Air Force-wide. Based on 51 cases · 2021–2025 · Air Force records · data updated October 24, 2026 ## General and Special Courts-Martial The largest difference in these driving cases is between court levels. The median confinement was 2.2 years in the 11 general courts-martial. It was 3 months in the 40 special courts-martial. 70% of the general courts-martial were contested, compared with 18% of the special courts-martial. A contested case is one where the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence, including long confinement and a dishonorable discharge. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot adjudge a dishonorable discharge. General courts-martial were 22% of these cases, compared with 52% across all Air Force convictions. ## How Much Confinement Was Adjudged? 46 of the 51 sentences included confinement (90%). The median confinement was 4 months, and a quarter of the terms were 8 months or longer. Only 5 convictions (10%) had no confinement, compared with 13% across Air Force convictions. 31 convictions (61%) were sentenced to under 6 months, compared with 46% Air Force-wide. 14% were sentenced to 6 months to 1 year. 8 of the 51 convictions (16%) were sentenced to more than one year, compared with 26% for all Air Force convictions. 5 of those were more than 1 year and under 5 years, and 3 were 5 years or more. These are adjudged sentences, set at trial before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each one covers every charge in the case. Since 2019, a special court-martial can also be tried by a military judge alone, with confinement capped at six months and no punitive discharge. | Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, all Air Force convictions in those years | | ------------------------------- | ----------- | ---------- | ----------------------------------------------- | | No confinement | 5 | 10% | 13% | | Under 6 months | 31 | 61% | 46% | | 6 months to 1 year | 7 | 14% | 16% | | More than 1 year, under 5 years | 5 | 10% | 19% | | 5 years or more | 3 | 6% | 7% | ## Which Other Offenses Were Charged? Only 11 of the 51 cases charged Article 113 alone. Article 92 (orders violation) was the most common other charge, in 14 cases. Article 112a (drug) was charged in 10, Article 87a (resisting apprehension) in 7, Article 128 (assault) in 6, and Article 134 (general article) in 5. A sentence covers the whole case. The longer sentences on this page therefore include punishment for these other charges, not only the driving offense. ## Discharges and Dismissals 20 of 47 convicted enlisted members (43%) received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge. Only 1 of those was dishonorable. The Air Force-wide share was 59%, so driving convictions included a punitive discharge less often. 2 of the 4 convicted officers or warrant officers were dismissed. A dismissal is the officer equivalent of a punitive discharge. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not prevent a later administrative separation. ## Pleas and Who Decided Guilt 48 of the 51 records list the plea: 34 guilty pleas and 14 contested cases. The contested share was 29%, slightly lower than the 32% across Air Force convictions. Of the 14 contested cases, 6 ended in a partial acquittal (43%): the accused was found not guilty of at least one charge or specification and guilty of another. A military judge alone decided guilt in 41 cases (80%). Members heard 10: 6 enlisted panels and 4 officer panels. Members heard 10 of the 14 contested cases (71%). The accused usually chooses whether a military judge or members decide guilt, and most judge-alone cases are guilty pleas. ## Rank of Those Convicted The group included 35 junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4), 12 NCOs (E-5 to E-9), and 4 officers or warrant officers. Across Air Force convictions in these years, 63% were junior enlisted. This group is more junior than the Air Force as a whole. ## Counts by Year and Base The yearly counts were similar: 13 in 2021, 11 in 2022, 8 in 2023, 8 in 2024, and 11 in 2025. JB McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey, had the most cases, with 6\. JB Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, JB Charleston, South Carolina, Creech AFB, Nevada, and MacDill AFB, Florida, each had 3\. Together these installations had 35% of the 51 cases. With counts this small, 1 case can change a base's place on the list. Larger installations try more cases of all kinds. ## What These Records Do Not Show Air Force records rarely list the charges in a case that ends in a full acquittal, so this page gives no acquittal rate for this offense. The records also never report plea agreements, do not describe the evidence, and do not include nonjudicial punishment or administrative separations. They list trial dates rather than offense dates. They therefore cannot show which trials from 2024 on were under the sentencing parameters for offenses after December 27, 2023. For what the offense covers and how it is defended, see [Article 113 on the law firm's website](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-113/?ref=bodiesburied.com). Dates and sources for the law changes: [UCMJ change timeline](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/ucmj-change-timeline/). ### How We Counted Air Force courts-martial tried 2021–2025: ending in a conviction under Article 113 (drunken or reckless driving) (51 cases), compared with all Air Force convictions in those years. Source: public court-martial records (Article 140a, UCMJ) in [Military Trial Results](https://www.bodiesburied.com/military-trial-results/), data updated October 24, 2026\. Definitions, sources, and known gaps: [how this data was built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/how-the-military-trial-results-data-was-built/). Errors: content@bodiesburied.com. ## Related Analysis - [Article 113 (Misbehavior of a Sentinel Before 2019, Drunken or Reckless Driving Since): Court-Martial Data and Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-113-courts-martial/) (hub) - [Sentences](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/sentences/) (hub) - [Air Force Article 113 Cases by the Numbers, 2021–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/air-force-article-113-trend-2021-2025/) - [Guilty Pleas in Air Force Drunken Or Reckless Driving Cases: How Often, and What Came Next](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/air-force-article-113-plea-2021-2025/) - [Article 113 Sentences in the Army: Confinement and Discharges, 2021–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-113-sent-2021-2025/) (another service) - [Article 113 Sentences in the Navy-Marine Corps: Confinement and Discharges, 2021–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-113-sent-2021-2025/) (another service) - [Article 118 Sentences in the Air Force: Confinement and Discharges, 2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/air-force-article-118-sent-2016-2025/) - [Article 113 explained on the law firm's website](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-113/?ref=bodiesburied.com) - [Search every case in Military Trial Results](https://www.bodiesburied.com/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](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/?ref=bodiesburied.com). This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.