Domestic Violence at Air Force Courts-Martial, 2025: The Year in Numbers
Domestic violence cases under Article 128b (numbered since 2019) were contested more often than other Air Force courts-martial in 2025: 56% of the 27 with a recorded plea, compared with 41% service-wide. All 28 convictions included confinement, with a median of 9 months.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 5 min read
Trends › By Offense › Article 128b › Air Force, 2025
Short answer: Domestic violence cases under Article 128b (numbered since 2019) were contested more often than other Air Force courts-martial in 2025: 56% of the 27 with a recorded plea, compared with 41% service-wide. All 28 convictions included confinement, with a median of 9 months. Of 24 convicted enlisted members, 15 received a punitive discharge.
More Than Half Were Contested
The Air Force tried 34 Article 128b courts-martial in 2025, and 27 records list the plea. Of those, 15 accused contested at least one charge and 12 pleaded guilty. The contested share was 56%, compared with 41% across all Air Force cases that year.
A contested case is one where the accused enters a not-guilty or mixed plea to at least one charge. The contested share was also higher than the 46% in 2024. In small groups like this one, a few cases can change the share.
Panels in the Contested Cases
The accused usually chooses whether a military judge alone or a panel of members decides guilt. Members heard 29% of these cases with a forum listed: 7 enlisted panels and 3 officer panels. A military judge alone heard the other 24 cases.
Of the 15 contested cases, members heard 10 (67%). Guilty pleas are almost always heard by a military judge alone, so the overall forum figures closely follow the plea figures.
Confinement in Every Conviction
All 28 convictions included confinement. The median term was 9 months, compared with 6 months for all Air Force cases in 2025. A quarter of terms were 1.6 years or longer. These figures are adjudged at trial, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal, and each covers all charges in a case.
Terms of 6 months to 1 year were more common than across the service: 32% of convictions (9), compared with 18% Air Force-wide. Terms under 6 months made up another 32%, lower than the 43% service-wide. No conviction was without confinement.
| Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, all Air Force cases in 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| No confinement | 0 | 0% | 12% |
| Under 6 months | 9 | 32% | 43% |
| 6 months to 1 year | 9 | 32% | 18% |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 8 | 29% | 15% |
| 5 years or more | 2 | 7% | 11% |
Sentences Over One Year
Confinement longer than one year was imposed in 10 of 28 convictions (36%), compared with 27% for the Air Force. Of those 10, 8 were between 1 and 5 years, and 2 were 5 years or more.
Only general courts-martial can adjudge more than one year of confinement or a dishonorable discharge. General courts-martial tried 23 of the 34 cases (68%). Their median confinement was 1.2 years. The 11 special courts-martial, capped at one year, had a median of 4 months.
Did Convictions End Careers?
Of 24 convicted enlisted members, 15 received a punitive discharge: 9 bad-conduct and 6 dishonorable. The Air Force share in 2025 was 60%. All 4 convicted officers or warrant officers were dismissed.
A member whose sentence does not include a punitive discharge may later be separated administratively. Those outcomes are not part of this data.
Changes Since 2024
The number of cases went from 28 to 34. The median confinement went from 1.2 years to 9 months. The enlisted punitive discharge rate went from 84% to 62%. The general court-martial share went from 75% to 68%. Confinement was part of 100% of convictions in both years. These changes show direction, not precise measurement.
| 2024 | 2025 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cases | 28 | 34 |
| Contested (of pleas recorded) | 46% | 56% |
| Convictions with confinement | 100% | 100% |
| Median confinement | 1.2 years | 9 months |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 84% | 62% |
| General courts-martial | 75% | 68% |
Charges and the Covered-Offense Rules
Article 128b was the only charge in 16 of 34 cases. The most common additional charges were Article 134 (general article) in 5, Article 120 (sexual assault) in 3, and Article 133 (conduct unbecoming), Article 90 (disobeying an officer), and Article 92 (orders violation) in 2 each.
Article 128b is a covered offense. Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel rather than commanders decide whether to prosecute it. For offenses after December 27, 2023, the military judge sets the sentence within new parameters. The records have no offense dates, so 2025 trials may include both old-rule and new-rule cases. The records cannot show whether these rules affected the numbers. The article covers only offenses on or after January 1, 2019.
Rank and Installations
Junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) made up 56% of the accused, NCOs 32%, and officers 12%. Across all Air Force cases, junior enlisted members made up 60%. Misawa AB, Japan tried 4 cases and JB Langley-Eustis, Virginia tried 3. Buckley SFB, Colorado; Ramstein AB, Germany; and Fairchild AFB, Washington had 2 each. These five account for 38% of the cases. Larger installations try more cases of all kinds.
What the Records Do Not Show
Air Force records rarely list charges in full acquittals, so this page gives no Article 128b acquittal rate. The data also omits evidence, plea terms, offense dates, and cases closed by nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation.
For what the offense covers and how it is defended, see Article 128b on the law firm's website. Dates and sources for the law changes: UCMJ change timeline.
How We Counted
Air Force courts-martial with a trial date in 2025 that charged Article 128b (34 cases), compared with all Air Force cases that year and with 2024.
Source: public court-martial records (Article 140a, UCMJ) in Military Trial Results, data updated October 24, 2026. Definitions, sources, and known gaps: how this data was built. Errors: content@bodiesburied.com.
Related Analysis
- Article 128b (Domestic Violence, Numbered Since 2019): Court-Martial Data and Trends (hub)
- By Year (hub)
- Domestic Violence at Air Force Courts-Martial, 2024: The Year in Numbers (previous / next)
- Air Force Article 128b Cases by the Numbers, 2016–2025 (the full trend)
- How Air Force Domestic Violence Cases Ended in 2023
- Army Article 128b Cases in 2022
- Domestic Violence at Army Courts-Martial, 2021: The Year in Numbers
- Domestic Violence at Army Courts-Martial, 2025: The Year in Numbers
- Article 128b Sentences in the Air Force: Confinement and Discharges, 2016–2025
- Article 128b explained on the law firm's website
- Search every case in 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. This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.