What Happens to Air Force Junior Enlisted (E-1 to E-4) Facing Obstruction Charges?

Trends › By Offense › Article 131b › Junior Enlisted (E-1 to E-4)

Based on 22 cases · 2016–2025 · Air Force records · data updated October 24, 2026

Punitive Discharges in Most Convictions

18 of the 21 convicted members received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge (86%). That is more often than the 81% in all Air Force Article 131b cases. 6 of the 18 were dishonorable discharges.

A punitive discharge is part of the court-martial sentence. A sentence without one does not rule out a later administrative separation, which these records do not show.

Obstruction Rarely Appeared Alone

19 of the 22 cases charged at least one other article. Drug offenses under Article 112a were the most common companion, in 8 cases. Orders violations under Article 92 appeared in 7 and assault under Article 128 in 6.

The general article, Article 134, appeared in 5, and Article 115 (malingering before 2019; communicating threats since) in 4. A sentence covers every charge in the case, so the confinement figures reflect these other charges as well.

Sentences by Length

21 cases ended in a conviction on at least one charge, and 19 sentences included confinement. The median confinement was 9 months, the same as the 9 months in all Air Force Article 131b cases.

The most common band was 6 months to 1 year, with 9 convictions (43%), compared with 35% for the offense overall. Sentences longer than one year were less common: 4 of 21 convictions (19%), against 26%. These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal.

General and Special Courts-Martial Split Evenly

11 cases were general courts-martial and 11 were special courts-martial. The general share of 50% is lower than the 61% in all Air Force Article 131b cases.

The median confinement was 1.6 years in the general courts-martial and 5 months in the special courts-martial. Only a general court-martial can adjudge more than one year of confinement or a dishonorable discharge.

Guilty Pleas Were the Norm

20 of the 22 records list a plea. 14 accused pleaded guilty and 6 entered a not-guilty or mixed plea. The contested share of 30% is lower than the 37% for all Air Force Article 131b cases.

A military judge alone decided 17 cases. Enlisted panels heard 5 and officer panels heard none. Members heard 23% of the cases, compared with 30% for the offense overall.

Where and When

Fairchild AFB, Washington, tried 2 cases. JB Andrews, Maryland, Spangdahlem AB, Germany, Barksdale AFB, Louisiana, and JB Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, each tried 1. These 5 installations account for 27% of the 22 cases.

By year, the records show 1 case in 2019, 5 in 2020, 4 in 2021, 6 in 2022, 2 in 2023, 3 in 2024, and 1 in 2025. All 22 accused were junior enlisted, so the group is more junior than all Air Force Article 131b cases.

Rules and Record Limits

Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel rather than commanders decide whether to prosecute covered offenses. When every guilty finding is for an offense after December 27, 2023, the military judge sets the sentence under new sentencing parameters. The records show trial dates rather than offense dates, so they cannot sort the 2024 and 2025 trials by rule.

Courts-martial are the only cases counted. Air Force records never report plea agreements and rarely list the charges in a full acquittal, so no acquittal rate appears here.

Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: UCMJ change timeline.

Compare: federal court. Obstruction of Justice: Federal Sentences vs. Air Force Courts-Martial

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.