Article 128b Sentences in the Air Force: Confinement and Discharges, 2016–2025

Trends › By Offense › Article 128b › Article 128b Sentences in the Air Force:

Based on 96 cases · 2016–2025 · Air Force records · data updated October 24, 2026

A Newer Offense With More Cases Each Period

Article 128b applies only to offenses on or after January 1, 2019. Earlier domestic violence was charged under other articles. The first conviction in these records was in July 2019, and 2016, 2017, and 2018 each show 0.

The yearly count was 1 in 2019, 9 in 2020, 10 in 2021, 8 in 2022, 20 in 2023, 20 in 2024, and 28 in 2025. The counts follow trial dates. The records cannot show whether the increase reflects more incidents, more prosecutions, or something else.

Confinement in Almost Every Case

This page counts only cases that ended in a conviction under Article 128b. Confinement was part of 98% of the 96 convictions. The median term was 9 months, compared with 4 months in all Air Force convictions in the same years. A quarter of the terms were 1.6 years or longer.

Only 2% of convictions included no confinement, compared with 15% Air Force-wide. These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal, and each covers every charge in the case.

Most Terms Between 6 Months and 5 Years

Terms of 6 months to 1 year made up 32% of convictions, compared with 15% Air Force-wide. Terms of more than 1 year and under 5 years made up 27%, compared with 16%. Terms under 6 months were the most common band Air Force-wide, at 48%, but made up 32% here.

Overall, 32 of 96 convictions (33%) included more than one year, compared with 23%. Terms of 5 years or more were about as common as elsewhere: 6%, compared with 7%.

Sentences by Court Level

General courts-martial accounted for 59 of the convictions (61%) and special courts-martial for 37. At general courts-martial, 98% of convictions included confinement, with a median of 1.4 years. At special courts-martial, 97% did, with a median of 4 months.

A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence, including long confinement and a dishonorable discharge. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge.

Discharges and Dismissals

A punitive discharge followed 67% of enlisted convictions: 40 bad-conduct and 20 dishonorable discharges. Air Force-wide, the share was 56%. Of 7 convicted officers or warrant officers, 6 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, which these records do not cover.

Pleas, Panels, and Other Charges

Of 89 records that list a plea, 60 show a guilty plea and 29 a contested case. The contested share was 33%, compared with 31% in all Air Force convictions. A military judge alone decided guilt in 75 cases, enlisted panels in 13, and officer panels in 8. Members heard 21 of the 29 contested cases (72%). The accused usually chooses the forum.

A partial acquittal is a finding of not guilty on at least one charge or specification and guilty on another. 7 of the 29 contested cases ended in a partial acquittal (24%).

Article 128b was the only charge in 36 cases. Other charges included Article 115 (malingering before 2019; communicating threats since) in 19 cases, Article 92 (orders violation) in 15, Article 134 (general article) in 14, Article 128 (assault) in 13, and Article 120 (sexual assault) in 8.

Who Was Convicted, and Where

Junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) made up 61% of the accused, NCOs 31%, and officers 7%. Air Force-wide, junior enlisted members made up 66%. Minot AFB, North Dakota had the most cases, with 6. JB Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii had 5. Offutt AFB, Nebraska; Misawa AB, Japan; and Tinker AFB, Oklahoma had 4 each. Together they account for 24% of the total.

No Acquittal Rate, and Why

Air Force records rarely list the charges in a case that ends in full acquittal. An acquittal rate for one offense would therefore undercount acquittals, and this page leaves it out.

Rules and Record Limits

Every case here was tried after the Military Justice Act of 2016 took effect on January 1, 2019. That law introduced fixed panel sizes, written plea agreements, and judge-alone special courts-martial capped at six months with no punitive discharge.

Domestic violence 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, military judges sentence within new parameters. These rules depend on offense dates, which the records lack, so trials from 2024 on include both old-rule and new-rule cases. The records also omit evidence, plea agreements, nonjudicial punishment, and administrative separations.

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.

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.