Air Force Article 128 Cases in 2021

Trends › By Offense › Article 128 › Air Force, 2021

Based on 55 cases · 2021 · Air Force records · data updated October 24, 2026

More Cases and Longer Sentences Than in 2020

The data holds 55 Article 128 courts-martial from January 2021 to December 2021, compared with 32 the year before. Several other measures were also higher.

Compared with 2020, the median confinement went from 5 months to 8 months. Punitive discharges for enlisted members went from 50% to 67%. The contested share went from 33% to 42%, and the general court-martial share from 59% to 65%. In small groups, a few cases can change these figures, so they show direction. The records cannot explain them.

Fewer Contested Cases Than Across the Service

A case is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. Of the 55 cases, 23 were contested and 32 were guilty pleas. The contested share was 42%, compared with 51% across the Air Force.

The contested share was 50% at general courts-martial and 26% at special courts-martial.

Of the 23 contested cases, 10 ended in a partial acquittal (43%): the accused was found not guilty of at least one charge or specification and guilty of another.

Assault cases were contested more often in 2021 than in 2020. They were still contested less often than the typical Air Force court-martial that year. In a guilty plea, the accused admits the conduct in court. The plea terms are not in these records.

Who Decided Guilt

The accused usually chooses whether a military judge alone or a panel of members decides the case. A military judge alone decided 40 cases. Members heard 27% of cases with the forum listed: 11 enlisted panels and 4 officer panels.

Members heard 15 of the 23 contested cases (65%). Most judge-alone cases are guilty pleas, so the forum figures mostly follow how many cases were contested.

Confinement Terms

Confinement was part of 85% of the 55 convictions. The median term was 8 months. These are adjudged sentences, as announced at trial and before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal, and each covers all charges in the case.

Terms longer than one year were imposed in 16 of 55 convictions (29%), compared with 23% service-wide. Of those, 12 (22%) were between 1 and 5 years and 4 (7%) were 5 years or more. Sentences under 6 months were less common: 20 convictions (36%), compared with 47%. No confinement was imposed in 8 convictions (15%), the same 15% as the Air Force overall.

Court Level and Sentence Length

A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot adjudge a dishonorable discharge. General courts-martial made up 65% of these cases (36 of 55), with a median confinement of 1 year. The 19 special courts-martial had a median of 4 months.

Pleas also differed by court level. At general courts-martial, 50% of cases were contested. At special courts-martial, 26% were. Only a general court-martial can adjudge a dishonorable discharge or more than one year of confinement. Every term above one year and every dishonorable discharge therefore came from a general court-martial.

Discharges and Dismissals

A punitive discharge followed 67% of enlisted convictions: 25 bad-conduct and 10 dishonorable. The rate for all Air Force cases in 2021 was 56%. The data lists 3 convicted officers or warrant officers, and 1 was dismissed. Dismissal is the officer form of a punitive discharge.

A conviction without a punitive discharge can still be followed by an administrative separation. These records do not track administrative separations.

Other Charges, Rank, and Bases

Article 128 was the only charge in 23 of 55 cases. The most common additional charges were Article 92 (orders violation) and Article 134 (general article) in 10 each, Article 115 (communicating threats) and Article 120 (sexual assault) in 5 each, and Article 112a (drug) in 4. When assault is charged with a sexual assault, the assault charge often covers part of the same incident, and the sentence covers the whole case.

By rank, the accused were 34 junior enlisted members, 18 NCOs, and 3 officers. That group is more senior than all Air Force cases in 2021.

RAF Mildenhall, United Kingdom tried 4 cases. JB Andrews, Maryland; Hill AFB, Utah; JB Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii; and JBSA - Lackland, Texas tried 3 each. Together they account for 29% of the total. Larger installations try more cases of all kinds.

What the Records Do Not Show

Air Force records rarely list the charges in a case that ends in full acquittal, so this page gives no assault acquittal rate. The records list trial dates, not offense dates, and never report plea agreements. They do not describe the evidence or any injuries. Assaults resolved through nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation are not in the data.

For what the offense covers and how it is defended, see Article 128 on the law firm's website. Dates and sources for the law changes: UCMJ change timeline.

Compare: federal court. Aggravated Assault: Federal Sentences vs. Air Force Courts-Martial, 2016–2025

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.