Air Force Article 134 Cases in 2021

Trends › By Offense › Article 134 › Air Force, 2021

Based on 39 cases · 2021 · Air Force records · data updated October 24, 2026

Most Sentences Were Longer Than One Year

The records for 2021 run from January to October and hold 39 general article courts-martial. In 20 of them (51%), the adjudged confinement was more than one year. Across all Air Force cases that year, 23% were.

Of those, 14 convictions were between 1 and 5 years (36%, compared with 17% service-wide) and 6 were 5 years or more (15%, compared with 6%). Terms under 6 months made up 28%, compared with 47% for the Air Force. Only 2 convictions included no confinement. Terms of 6 months to 1 year made up 15%, the same as the Air Force share. The differences from the service are at the low and high ends of the range, not in the middle.

Most Cases Were General Courts-Martial

General courts-martial tried 33 of the 39 cases (85%), and special courts-martial tried the rest. Court level matters. A general court-martial can impose long confinement and a dishonorable discharge. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge.

Confinement was part of 95% of the 39 convictions. The median was 1.2 years, compared with 4 months for the Air Force. These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal, and each covers all charges in the case.

Assault Was the Most Common Additional Charge

Article 134 was the only charge in 11 of 39 cases. The most common additional charge was Article 128 (assault), in 10 cases. Article 92 (orders violation) appeared in 6, Article 112a (drug) and Article 114 (endangerment) in 4 each, and Article 120 (sexual assault) in 3.

One sentence covers every charge, so these other charges are part of the confinement figures above. The records do not break a sentence down by article.

Contested Less Often Than Across the Air Force

Of the cases with a plea recorded, 16 were not-guilty or mixed pleas and 23 were guilty pleas. The contested share was 41%, compared with 51% for all Air Force cases in 2021. A contested case is one where the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge.

A partial acquittal is a finding of not guilty on at least one charge or specification and guilty on another. 6 of the 16 contested cases ended in a partial acquittal (38%).

Members heard most of the contested cases. The accused usually decides whether a military judge alone or members determine guilt. Members heard 10 of the 16 contested cases (62%). Overall, a military judge alone decided 29 cases. Members heard 26% of cases with a forum listed: 7 enlisted panels and 3 officer panels.

Punitive Discharges

Of 38 convicted enlisted members, 27 received a punitive discharge: 14 bad-conduct and 13 dishonorable. The Air Force share that year was 56%. The 1 convicted officer or warrant officer was dismissed. The 13 dishonorable discharges could only come from a general court-martial, the level that tried most of these cases.

An enlisted member whose sentence does not include a punitive discharge may still be separated administratively. These records do not track that outcome.

Compared With 2020

The number of cases was about the same: 40 in 2020 and 39 in 2021. The contested share went from 33% to 41%. The median confinement went from 10 months to 1.2 years. The enlisted punitive discharge rate went from 76% to 71%. The share of convictions with confinement was 95% in both years, and the general court-martial share went from 80% to 85%. In small groups, a few cases can change these figures. The longer median occurred in the same year as a larger general court-martial share. The records cannot show whether one caused the other.

Rank of the Accused

The accused included 23 junior enlisted members, 15 NCOs, and 1 officer. Compared with all Air Force cases in 2021, the group was more senior. There was only 1 officer, so the difference comes from the number of NCOs compared with junior enlisted members.

Bases With the Most Cases

Hurlburt Field, Florida tried 3 cases. Grand Forks AFB, North Dakota; Hill AFB, Utah; Cannon AFB, New Mexico; and Ramstein AB, Germany each tried 2. Together these five account for 28% of the 39 cases. The other cases were tried at many other installations. Larger bases try more cases of every kind.

What the Records Cannot Show

Air Force records rarely list charges when a case ends in full acquittal, so no Article 134 acquittal rate is given here. The records give trial dates, not offense dates, and they do not describe evidence or plea terms. Matters handled by nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation are not included.

For what the offense covers and how it is defended, see Article 134 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.