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# Domestic Violence at Air Force Courts-Martial, 2024: The Year in Numbers
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/air-force-article-128b-2024/
- Published: 2026-10-28T08:17:26.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-30T08:11:40.000Z
- Description: Air Force domestic violence cases under Article 128b (numbered since 2019) had longer sentences than the service average in 2024. All 20 convictions included confinement, with a median of 1.2 years, compared with 5 months for all Air Force cases.
- Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart
- Tags: Understanding Trends, Article 128b, Air Force

[Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [By Offense](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/by-offense/) › [Article 128b](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-128b-courts-martial/) › Air Force, 2024

**Short answer:** Air Force domestic violence cases under Article 128b (numbered since 2019) had longer sentences than the service average in 2024\. All 20 convictions included confinement, with a median of 1.2 years, compared with 5 months for all Air Force cases. Of convicted enlisted members, 84% received a punitive discharge, compared with 62% service-wide.

Based on 28 cases · 2024 · Air Force records · data updated October 24, 2026

## Every Conviction Included Confinement

Across 28 domestic violence courts-martial in 2024, the records show 20 convictions, and confinement was part of 100% of them. The median term was 1.2 years. For the Air Force as a whole, the median was 5 months.

These are adjudged sentences: the terms announced at trial, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. A sentence also covers every charge in a case, not only the Article 128b charge. Other charges in the same case can make it longer.

## Most Terms Were Longer Than 1 Year

Sentences longer than one year were imposed in 11 of 20 convictions (55%). Across the service, the figure was 28%. Of those 11, 9 were between 1 and 5 years and 2 were 5 years or more.

No conviction here was without confinement, compared with 17% of all Air Force convictions. Terms under 6 months made up 20% of these convictions, compared with 44% service-wide. Only a general court-martial can adjudge confinement of more than one year. A special court-martial is capped at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge.

| Adjudged confinement            | Convictions | Share here | Share, all Air Force cases in 2024 |
| ------------------------------- | ----------- | ---------- | ---------------------------------- |
| No confinement                  | 0           | 0%         | 17%                                |
| Under 6 months                  | 4           | 20%        | 44%                                |
| 6 months to 1 year              | 5           | 25%        | 11%                                |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 9           | 45%        | 22%                                |
| 5 years or more                 | 2           | 10%        | 6%                                 |

## Punitive Discharges at 84%

Of 19 convicted enlisted members, 16 received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge, and 7 of those were dishonorable. That 84% rate is higher than the 62% for all Air Force cases in 2024\. The 1 convicted officer or warrant officer in the group was dismissed. Dismissal is the officer equivalent of a punitive discharge.

A member whose sentence does not include a punitive discharge can still face administrative separation afterward. Those actions are not part of this data.

## Contested at About the Service Rate

Of the 26 cases with a plea on record, 12 involved not-guilty or mixed pleas and 14 were guilty pleas. A case is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. The contested share was 46%, about the same as the 45% for the Air Force overall and the 45% in 2023.

The accused usually decides whether a military judge alone or a panel of members determines guilt. A military judge alone decided 19 of the 28 cases (68%). Members heard 9: 8 enlisted panels and 1 officer panel. Members heard 9 of the 12 contested cases (75%), because most judge-alone cases are guilty pleas.

## Large Changes From 2023

There were 22 domestic violence cases in 2023 and 28 in 2024\. The median confinement went from 6 months to 1.2 years. The enlisted punitive discharge rate went from 64% to 84%. Convictions with confinement went from 91% to 100%. General courts-martial went from 59% to 75% of cases, 21 of the 28.

These changes happened in the same period as a major law change, described below. The records cannot show whether that change caused any of them. In groups this small, a few cases can change each figure.

|                               | 2023     | 2024      |
| ----------------------------- | -------- | --------- |
| Cases                         | 22       | 28        |
| Contested (of pleas recorded) | 45%      | 46%       |
| Convictions with confinement  | 91%      | 100%      |
| Median confinement            | 6 months | 1.2 years |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 64%      | 84%       |
| General courts-martial        | 59%      | 75%       |

## Domestic Violence Became a Covered Offense

Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel, not commanders, decide whether to prosecute covered offenses, and Article 128b is one of them. In addition, when every guilty finding in a case is for an offense after December 27, 2023, the military judge sets the sentence within new sentencing parameters.

Both rules depend on the offense date, which the records do not include. Trials in 2024 therefore include cases under both old and new rules. Article 128b applies only to offenses on or after January 1, 2019\. Earlier conduct was charged under other articles.

## Other Charges in the Same Cases

In 16 of the 28 cases, at least one other article was charged. Article 128 (assault) appeared in 7, Article 120 (sexual assault) in 6, Article 92 (orders violation) in 5, Article 115 (communicating threats) in 4, and Article 134 (general article) in 2.

## Rank and Bases

This group was more senior than all Air Force cases. Junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) made up 46% of the accused, NCOs 43%, and officers 11%. Across all Air Force cases in 2024, junior enlisted members made up 54%.

JB Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska tried 3 cases. Scott AFB, Illinois and Edwards AFB, California tried 2 each. Cannon AFB, New Mexico and Nellis AFB, Nevada tried 1 each. Together they account for 32% of the 28 cases. Larger installations try more cases of every kind.

## What the Records Do Not Show

Air Force records rarely list charges when a case ends in full acquittal, so no domestic violence acquittal rate is given. The data also lacks offense dates, the evidence, and plea agreement terms. It does not include cases resolved through nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation.

For what the offense covers and how it is defended, see [Article 128b on the law firm's website](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/ucmj/article-128b-domestic-violence/?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 with a trial date in 2024 that charged Article 128b (28 cases), compared with all Air Force cases that year and with 2023.

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 128b (Domestic Violence, Numbered Since 2019): Court-Martial Data and Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-128b-courts-martial/) (hub)
- [By Year](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/by-year/) (hub)
- [How Air Force Domestic Violence Cases Ended in 2023](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/air-force-article-128b-2023/) (previous / next)
- [Domestic Violence at Air Force Courts-Martial, 2025: The Year in Numbers](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/air-force-article-128b-2025/) (previous / next)
- [Air Force Article 128b Cases by the Numbers, 2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/air-force-article-128b-trend-2016-2025/) (the full trend)
- [Army Article 128b Cases in 2022](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-128b-2022/)
- [Domestic Violence at Army Courts-Martial, 2021: The Year in Numbers](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-128b-2021/)
- [Article 128b Sentences in the Air Force: Confinement and Discharges, 2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/air-force-article-128b-sent-2016-2025/)
- [Article 128b explained on the law firm's website](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/ucmj/article-128b-domestic-violence/?ref=bodiesburied.com)
- [Search every case in Military Trial Results](https://www.bodiesburied.com/military-trial-results/) (members)

← Previous: [How Air Force Domestic Violence Cases Ended in 2023](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/air-force-article-128b-2023/)Next: [Domestic Violence at Air Force Courts-Martial, 2025: The Year in Numbers](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/air-force-article-128b-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](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.