What Happens to Air Force Junior Enlisted (E-1 to E-4) Facing Communicating Threats Charges?

Trends › By Offense › Article 115 › Junior Enlisted (E-1 to E-4)

Based on 25 cases · 2021–2025 · Air Force records · data updated October 24, 2026

Punitive Discharges Were More Common for Junior Enlisted Members

17 of the 25 convicted junior enlisted members received a punitive discharge: 16 bad-conduct and 1 dishonorable. That 68% share is higher than the 58% for all Air Force Article 115 cases.

A punitive discharge is part of the court-martial sentence. A member whose sentence did not include one could still be separated administratively later. These records do not cover administrative separations.

Contested More Often Than the Offense Overall

24 of the 25 records list a plea. Of those, 13 accused pleaded guilty and 11 entered a not-guilty or mixed plea, which makes a case contested. The contested share was 46%, compared with 38% for all Air Force Article 115 cases.

A partial acquittal is a finding of not guilty on at least one charge or specification and guilty on another. 7 of the 11 contested cases ended in a partial acquittal (64%).

The accused usually chooses whether a military judge alone or a panel of members decides guilt. A military judge alone decided 21 cases (84%). Members heard 4, and all 4 were enlisted panels. Members heard 4 of the 11 contested cases (36%), so a military judge alone heard most contested cases.

Most Cases Also Charged Assault or Other Offenses

In 24 of the 25 cases, Article 115 was charged together with at least one other article. Assault under Article 128 was charged in 13 cases, and domestic violence under Article 128b in 8.

The general article, Article 134, was charged in 7 cases, orders violations under Article 92 in 6, and Article 90, disobeying an officer, in 5. A sentence covers every charge in the case, so the confinement figures below include these offenses too.

Most Cases Were General Courts-Martial

General courts-martial heard 15 of the 25 cases (60%), and special courts-martial heard the other 10. A general court-martial can impose long confinement and a dishonorable discharge. A special court-martial is limited to one year of confinement and a bad-conduct discharge.

The median confinement was 11 months in the general courts-martial and 5 months in the special courts-martial. 11 cases with a plea recorded were contested, and members heard 4 of those 11. All 4 panels were enlisted panels, which an enlisted accused can request. 60% of these accused were tried at the court level that can impose more than one year of confinement. Most of the sentences were still one year or less.

Almost Every Sentence Included Confinement

24 of the 25 sentences included confinement. The median confinement was 7 months, slightly longer than the 6 months for all Air Force Article 115 cases. A quarter of terms were 1.5 years or longer.

6 of 25 convictions (24%) were sentenced to more than one year, about the same as the 22% for the offense overall. 5 were between 1 year and 5 years, and 1 was 5 years or more. 8 convictions (32%) were sentenced to 6 months to 1 year, close to the 33% for all Article 115 cases. These are adjudged sentences, set at trial before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal.

No Cases After July 2024

The 25 cases were tried between March 2021 and July 2024. There were 6 cases in 2021, 6 in 2022, 9 in 2023, and 4 in 2024. The records show 0 in 2025.

Junior enlisted members were 66% of the accused in all Air Force Article 115 cases. With counts this small, a few trials can change a year's total noticeably.

Cases Came From Many Bases

No installation tried more than 2 of these cases. Ramstein AB, Germany, Creech AFB, Nevada, and Osan AB, South Korea, each tried 2. Barksdale AFB, Louisiana, and Edwards AFB, California, each tried 1. These 5 bases account for 32% of the 25 cases. The other cases were tried at other installations, 1 or 2 at each.

Law Changes and What the Records Do Not Show

Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel rather than commanders decide whether to prosecute covered offenses such as domestic violence. Military judges set the sentence when every guilty finding is for an offense after December 27, 2023. Both changes depend on offense dates, which the records do not give.

Only cases that reached a courtroom appear here. Nonjudicial punishment and administrative separation are not included, and neither are the evidence or plea terms. Air Force records rarely list the charges in a full acquittal, so this page gives no acquittal rate.

For what the offense covers and how it is defended, see Article 115 on the law firm's website. Dates and sources for the law changes: UCMJ change timeline.

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.