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# Pleading Guilty to Article 128 in the Air Force: What Sentences Followed?
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/air-force-article-128-plea-2016-2025/
- Published: 2026-10-28T08:05:39.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-03T01:47:07.000Z
- Description: In 120 Air Force cases where the accused pleaded guilty to charges including Article 128 (assault), the median confinement was 5 months, about the same as the 4 months across all Air Force guilty pleas.
- Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart
- Tags: Understanding Trends, Article 128, Air Force

[Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [By Offense](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/by-offense/) › [Article 128](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-128-courts-martial/) › Pleading Guilty to Article 128 in the Ai

**Short answer:** In 120 Air Force cases where the accused pleaded guilty to charges including Article 128 (assault), the median confinement was 5 months, about the same as the 4 months across all Air Force guilty pleas. A punitive discharge followed 64% of enlisted convictions, slightly higher than the 60% for Air Force guilty pleas overall.

Based on 120 cases · 2016–2025 · Air Force records · data updated October 24, 2026

## Assault Pleas Were Similar to Other Air Force Pleas

Article 128 covers assault, from simple assault to aggravated assault with a dangerous weapon or resulting in grievous bodily harm. The Air Force records hold 120 courts-martial in which the accused pleaded guilty to charges that included it, tried from March 2020 through December 2025.

On most measures, these cases were similar to Air Force guilty pleas as a whole. Of 120 convictions, 113 included confinement. The median term was 5 months, compared with 4 months. Sentences longer than one year were imposed in 27 of 120 convictions (22%), the same 22% as the comparison group.

## More Sentences of 6 Months to 1 Year

The band table shows one difference. Sentences of 6 months to 1 year made up 24% of convictions, compared with 16% across Air Force guilty pleas. Terms under 6 months were less common: 48%, compared with 55%.

The shares at the low and high ends were about the same. No confinement was imposed in 6% of convictions (7% in the comparison group), and 5% were 5 years or more (also 5%). These are adjudged sentences, set before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal, and they cover every charge in the case.

| Adjudged confinement            | Convictions | Share here | Share, all Air Force guilty pleas in those years |
| ------------------------------- | ----------- | ---------- | ------------------------------------------------ |
| No confinement                  | 7           | 6%         | 7%                                               |
| Under 6 months                  | 57          | 48%        | 55%                                              |
| 6 months to 1 year              | 29          | 24%        | 16%                                              |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 21          | 18%        | 17%                                              |
| 5 years or more                 | 6           | 5%         | 5%                                               |

## Discharges and Dismissals

Of 114 convicted enlisted members, 73 received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge (64%). That is slightly more often than the 60% across Air Force guilty pleas. Of those, 15 were dishonorable.

The group also includes 6 convicted officers or warrant officers, and 3 were dismissed. Dismissal is the officer equivalent of a punitive discharge. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.

## Cases Divided Almost Evenly by Court Level

General courts-martial, the level that can impose long confinement and a dishonorable discharge, made up 53% of these cases (64 of 120). Special courts-martial tried the other 56.

The median confinement was 1 year at general courts-martial and 4 months at special courts-martial. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot adjudge a dishonorable discharge. A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence.

## Assault Was the Only Charge in Many Cases

Article 128 was the only charge in 55 of the 120 cases. In the other cases, the most common additional charges were Article 92 (orders violation) in 23, Article 134 (general article) in 17, Article 112a (drug) in 13, Article 115 (malingering before 2019; communicating threats since) in 9, and Article 128b (domestic violence, numbered since 2019) in 8.

The sentence covers every charge. In cases with other charges, the sentence covers more than the assault. In the 55 single-charge cases, the sentence covers the assault conviction alone.

## Who Pleaded Guilty

By rank, 83 accused were junior enlisted, 31 were NCOs, and 6 were officers. That rank makeup is similar to all Air Force guilty pleas in those years.

A military judge alone decided all 120 cases with the forum listed. Guilty pleas are usually taken by a military judge alone, so the forum figure mostly follows from the plea.

## Years and Installations

The period begins in 2016, but no cases appear before 2020, because Air Force records from 2016 to 2019 rarely list a guilty plea. There were 20 cases in 2020, 32 in 2021, and 30 in 2022\. There were 8 in 2023, 14 in 2024, and 16 in 2025\. The records cannot show why the counts changed.

JB McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey had 6 cases. Hill AFB, Utah; Aviano AB, Italy; and RAF Mildenhall, United Kingdom had 5 each, and Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona had 4\. Those five accounted for only 21% of the 120\. The other cases were tried at many other installations. Larger installations try more cases of every kind, and a high count alone does not mean a base has a particular problem with assault.

## Law Changes and Facts Not Recorded

Assault under Article 128 is not a covered offense. Since December 28, 2023, however, a special trial counsel who takes a covered offense can also take related offenses, such as an assault connected to a domestic violence allegation. For offenses after December 27, 2023, the military judge sets the sentence within new sentencing parameters. The records list trial dates, not offense dates, so trials from 2024 on include both old-rule and new-rule cases.

Air Force records never report plea agreements, so any sentence cap is unknown. The evidence, the injuries, and conduct handled outside a court-martial are also not in the records.

For what the offense covers and how it is defended, see [Article 128 on the law firm's website](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-128/?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 2016–2025: where the accused pleaded guilty to charges including Article 128 (assault) (120 cases), compared with all Air Force guilty pleas 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 128 (Assault): Court-Martial Data and Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-128-courts-martial/) (hub)
- [Sentences](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/sentences/) (hub)
- [Fewer or More? Assault Charges at Air Force Courts-Martial, 2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/air-force-article-128-trend-2016-2025/)
- [What Sentence Follows an Air Force Assault Conviction?](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/air-force-article-128-sent-2016-2025/)
- [When Army Accused Plead Guilty to Assault](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-128-plea-2021-2025/) (another service)
- [Guilty Pleas in Navy-Marine Corps Assault Cases: How Often, and What Came Next](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-128-plea-2017-2025/) (another service)
- [Guilty Pleas in Air Force Child Sexual Abuse Cases: How Often, and What Came Next](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/air-force-article-120b-plea-2016-2025/)
- [Article 128 explained on the law firm's website](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-128/?ref=bodiesburied.com)
- [Search every case in Military Trial Results](https://www.bodiesburied.com/military-trial-results/) (members)

**Compare: federal court.** [Aggravated Assault: Federal Sentences vs. Air Force Courts-Martial, 2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-aggravated-assault-vs-air-force/)

**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.