> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.bodiesburied.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Guilty Pleas in Air Force General Article Cases: How Often, and What Came Next - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/air-force-article-134-plea-2016-2025/ - Published: 2026-10-28T06:33:19.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-30T05:11:57.000Z - Description: Air Force guilty pleas that included Article 134, the general article, carried longer sentences than other Air Force guilty pleas. Across 163 cases, the median confinement was 1.2 years, compared with 4 months in all Air Force guilty pleas. - Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart - Tags: Understanding Trends, Article 134, Air Force [Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [By Offense](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/by-offense/) › [Article 134](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-134-courts-martial/) › Guilty Pleas in Air Force General Articl **Short answer:** Air Force guilty pleas that included Article 134, the general article, carried longer sentences than other Air Force guilty pleas. Across 163 cases, the median confinement was 1.2 years, compared with 4 months in all Air Force guilty pleas. A punitive discharge followed 81% of enlisted convictions, compared with 60%. Based on 163 cases · 2016–2025 · Air Force records · data updated October 24, 2026 ## Guilty Pleas With Long Sentences This post covers only Air Force cases where the accused pleaded guilty to charges that included Article 134\. Every case in the group ended in a conviction, so the main finding is the sentence. On that measure, these cases differ sharply from other Air Force guilty pleas. Of the 163 convictions, 158 included confinement (97%). The median confinement was 1.2 years, compared with 4 months across all Air Force guilty pleas in the same years. A quarter of the sentences were 2.7 years or longer. These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each sentence covers every charge in the case. ## Confinement by Length Sentences longer than one year came in 84 of 163 convictions (52%), compared with 22% in all Air Force guilty pleas. Sentences of more than 1 year but under 5 years made up 41% of convictions here, compared with 17%. Sentences of 5 years or more made up 10%, compared with 5%. Short sentences were less common. Sentences under 6 months made up 26% of these convictions, compared with 55% of Air Force guilty pleas overall. | Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, all Air Force guilty pleas in those years | | ------------------------------- | ----------- | ---------- | ------------------------------------------------ | | No confinement | 5 | 3% | 7% | | Under 6 months | 43 | 26% | 55% | | 6 months to 1 year | 31 | 19% | 16% | | More than 1 year, under 5 years | 67 | 41% | 17% | | 5 years or more | 17 | 10% | 5% | ## What the General Article Covers Article 134 is a general article. It covers conduct that is prejudicial to good order and discipline or service-discrediting, along with a list of specific offenses defined under it. The records name the article but not which offense under it was charged. As a result, this group includes cases with very different conduct. In 74 of the 163 cases, Article 134 was the only article charged. The other cases included other charges. The most common were Article 92 (orders violation) in 23 cases, Article 120b (child sexual abuse) in 20, Article 112a (drug offenses) in 18, Article 128 (assault) in 17, and Article 128b (domestic violence, numbered since 2019) in 9. ## Most Were General Courts-Martial General courts-martial heard 128 of these cases, and special courts-martial heard 35\. The general court-martial share was 79%, compared with 43% in all Air Force guilty pleas. Sentences differed by court level. At general courts-martial, 99% of convictions included confinement, with a median of 1.6 years. At special courts-martial, 89% did, with a median of 4 months. A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence, including long confinement and a dishonorable discharge or dismissal. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge. ## More Dishonorable Than Bad-Conduct Discharges A punitive discharge followed 81% of enlisted convictions. That includes 72 dishonorable discharges and 50 bad-conduct discharges. Across all Air Force guilty pleas, the share was 60%. All 13 convicted officers or warrant officers were dismissed. A dismissal is the officer equivalent of a punitive discharge. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation. ## Who Pleaded Guilty Junior enlisted airmen (E-1 to E-4) made up 56% of the accused, NCOs 36%, and officers 8%. Across all Air Force guilty pleas, junior enlisted airmen made up 68%, so this group is more senior. A military judge alone heard all 163 cases. That is typical of guilty pleas, because there is no contested trial for a panel to decide. ## Cases From 2020 On The records hold 0 cases in this group for 2016 through 2019\. They hold 163 cases from March 2020 to December 2025: 22 in 2020, 23 in 2021, 32 in 2022, 23 in 2023, 33 in 2024, and 30 in 2025\. Air Force records from 2016 to 2019 rarely list a guilty plea, so guilty pleas from those years cannot be identified and are not counted here. Minot AFB, North Dakota, had the most cases (11). Next were JB Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii (7), Nellis AFB, Nevada (7), Osan AB, South Korea (6), and JB McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey (6). Together they account for 23% of the 163 cases. Larger installations try more cases of every kind. ## Rule Changes The Military Justice Act of 2016 took effect on January 1, 2019\. It brought in written plea agreements. When every guilty finding is for an offense after December 27, 2023, the military judge sets the sentence within new sentencing parameters. Both rules depend on offense dates, which the records do not give. ## Limits of the Records Air Force records never report plea agreements, so any sentence cap set by an agreement does not appear here. The records also do not include the evidence. They do not include cases handled through nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation. For what the offense covers and how it is defended, see [Article 134 on the law firm's website](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-134/?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 tried 2016–2025: where the accused pleaded guilty to charges including Article 134 (general article) (163 cases), compared with all Air Force guilty pleas in those years. 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 134 (General Article): Court-Martial Data and Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-134-courts-martial/) (hub) - [Sentences](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/sentences/) (hub) - [Air Force Article 134 Cases by the Numbers, 2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/air-force-article-134-trend-2016-2025/) - [What Sentence Follows an Air Force General Article Conviction?](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/air-force-article-134-sent-2016-2025/) - [Guilty Pleas in Army General Article Cases: How Often, and What Came Next](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-134-plea-2021-2025/) (another service) - [When Navy-Marine Corps Accused Plead Guilty to General Article](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-134-plea-2017-2025/) (another service) - [Guilty Pleas in Air Force Child Sexual Abuse Cases: How Often, and What Came Next](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/air-force-article-120b-plea-2016-2025/) - [Article 134 explained on the law firm's website](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-134/?ref=bodiesburied.com) - [Search every case in Military Trial Results](https://www.bodiesburied.com/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](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.