Air Force Article 85 Cases by the Numbers, 2016–2025
The records hold 23 Air Force courts-martial charging desertion under Article 85 from May 2016 through November 2025. That is 1% of the 2,795 Air Force cases in those years.
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Trends › By Offense › Article 85 › Air Force
Short answer: The records hold 23 Air Force courts-martial charging desertion under Article 85 from May 2016 through November 2025. That is 1% of the 2,795 Air Force cases in those years. The median confinement was 4 months, the same as the rest of the Air Force, and a punitive discharge followed 86% of enlisted convictions, compared with 56% across the Air Force.
Desertion Cases by Year
The yearly counts from 2016 through 2025 were 4, 2, 3, 3, 2, 2, 1, 1, 0, and 5. The highest count was 5, in 2025. The lowest was 0, in 2024.
Desertion was part of 9 of 786 Air Force convictions with offenses listed in 2016–2018. It was part of 6 of 494 in 2023–2025. Both are 1% of convictions. The share for 2025 alone was 3%. With counts this small, a few cases can change the yearly share.
| Year | Convictions incl. Art. 85 | All convictions with offenses listed | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 4 | 205 | 2% |
| 2017 | 2 | 294 | 1% |
| 2018 | 3 | 287 | 1% |
| 2019 | 3 | 271 | 1% |
| 2020 | 2 | 186 | 1% |
| 2021 | 2 | 202 | 1% |
| 2022 | 1 | 208 | 0% |
| 2023 | 1 | 152 | 1% |
| 2024 | 0 | 173 | 0% |
| 2025 | 5 | 169 | 3% |
Punitive Discharges Followed Most Convictions
Of the enlisted members convicted in these cases, 86% received a punitive discharge. That compares with 56% across all Air Force cases in those years. The records count 13 bad-conduct discharges and 5 dishonorable discharges. The records also show 2 convicted officers or warrant officers, and both were dismissed. A dismissal is the officer equivalent of a punitive discharge.
For an enlisted member, a punitive discharge is a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge. A sentence without one does not rule out a later administrative separation.
Most Confinement Was Short
All 23 cases ended in a conviction on at least one charge, and 22 of those sentences included confinement (96%). The median confinement was 4 months, the same as the rest of the Air Force. A quarter of the sentences were 2 years or longer, and 1 sentence was confinement for life.
In the rest of the Air Force, 48% of convictions had a sentence under 6 months. In these desertion cases, 61% did. In the rest of the Air Force, 15% of convictions had no confinement. Here, 4% did. At the longer end, 6 of 23 convictions (26%) included more than one year, compared with 23% across the Air Force, and 9% included 5 years or more, compared with 7%.
These are adjudged sentences, set at trial before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. They cover every charge in the case.
| Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, the rest of the Air Force |
|---|---|---|---|
| No confinement | 1 | 4% | 15% |
| Under 6 months | 14 | 61% | 48% |
| 6 months to 1 year | 2 | 9% | 15% |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 4 | 17% | 16% |
| 5 years or more | 2 | 9% | 7% |
General and Special Courts-Martial
General courts-martial heard 12 cases (52%). Special courts-martial heard 11. The median confinement was 2 years at general courts-martial and 3 months at special courts-martial.
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. Among cases with a plea listed, 1 of 4 general courts-martial and 0 of 5 special courts-martial were contested.
Other Charges in Desertion Cases
Drug charges under Article 112a were the most common companion charge, in 6 cases. Article 134 (the general article) and Article 92 (orders violation) each appeared in 4. Article 86 (AWOL) appeared in 3, and Article 91 (insubordination) in 2. Desertion was the only charge in 11 of the 23 cases.
A sentence covers every finding in a case. The confinement and discharge figures above therefore include these companion charges.
Who Decided Guilt?
A military judge alone decided 21 of the cases, and an enlisted panel decided 1. Members heard 5% of the cases, compared with 39% across all Air Force cases. The accused usually chooses whether a military judge alone or a panel of members decides guilt. Most judge-alone cases are guilty pleas.
Rank and Installations
Of the 23 accused, 18 were junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4). There were 3 NCOs (E-5 to E-9) and 2 officers or warrant officers. Across all Air Force cases, 62% of the accused were junior enlisted, so this group is more junior.
The 5 installations with the most of these cases account for 39% of the total. Each had 2 cases or fewer: Hurlburt Field, Florida (2), Travis AFB, California (2), Grand Forks AFB, North Dakota (2), Nellis AFB, Nevada (2), and Maxwell AFB, Alabama (1). Larger installations try more cases of every kind.
Rule Changes and Record Gaps
The Military Justice Act of 2016 took effect on January 1, 2019. Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel, not commanders, decide whether to prosecute covered offenses. Both changes depend on offense dates, which the records do not give. Cases tried near each change may fall under either set of rules.
Air Force records never report plea agreements and rarely list charges in a full acquittal. From 2016 to 2019, they rarely list a guilty plea. The records also do not include the evidence or anything handled outside a court-martial.
Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: UCMJ change timeline.
How We Counted
Air Force courts-martial tried 2016–2025 that charged Article 85 (23 cases). The trend line uses convictions whose records list the offenses found, by trial year.
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 85 (Desertion): Court-Martial Data and Trends (hub)
- Air Force Courts-Martial: Data and Trends (hub)
- By Offense (hub)
- Fewer or More? Desertion Charges at Army Courts-Martial, 2021–2025 (another service)
- Is Navy-Marine Corps Desertion Prosecution Rising or Falling? Article 85, 2017–2025 (another service)
- Air Force Article 109 Cases by the Numbers, 2016–2025
- Air Force Article 113 Cases by the Numbers, 2021–2025
- Air Force Article 115 Cases by the Numbers, 2021–2025
- How Much Confinement for an Article 85 Conviction in the Air Force?
- 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.