AWOL at Air Force Courts-Martial, 2020: The Year in Numbers
Air Force records hold 15 courts-martial from 2020 that charged Article 86 (AWOL). A military judge alone decided all 15, and only 1 of the 12 cases with a plea recorded was contested. All 15 convictions included confinement, with a median of 3 months.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 4 min read
Trends › By Offense › Article 86 › Air Force, 2020
Short answer: Air Force records hold 15 courts-martial from 2020 that charged Article 86 (AWOL). A military judge alone decided all 15, and only 1 of the 12 cases with a plea recorded was contested. All 15 convictions included confinement, with a median of 3 months.
No Case Went to a Panel of Members
All 15 cases were tried by a military judge alone. No case went to an enlisted panel or an officer panel. Members heard 0% of these cases, compared with 35% of all Air Force cases in 2020.
The accused usually chooses whether a military judge alone or a panel of members decides guilt.
Guilty Pleas Were the Norm
Of the 15 cases, 12 records list the plea. Among those, 11 accused pleaded guilty and 1 contested at least one charge. A case is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge.
The contested share was 8%, lower than the 48% for all Air Force cases in 2020. Air Force records never report plea agreements, so the records do not show whether these guilty pleas came with one.
Short Terms of Confinement
Of the 15 convictions, 15 included confinement. The median confinement was 3 months, close to the 4 months for all Air Force cases in 2020. Among the sentences that included confinement, a quarter were 4 months or longer.
These are adjudged sentences, set at trial before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each one covers every charge in the case.
Bad-Conduct Discharges
8 of the 15 convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge, and all 8 were bad-conduct discharges. Across all Air Force cases in 2020, the share was 50%. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.
What Else Was Charged
No case charged Article 86 by itself. Article 112a (drug) appeared in 11 cases and Article 92 (orders violation) in 5. Article 134 (general article) appeared in 3. Article 111 (drunken or reckless driving before 2019; leaving the scene of an accident since) and Article 107 (false official statement) appeared in 2 each.
Junior Enlisted Members and Special Courts-Martial
12 accused were junior enlisted (E-1 to E-4), 3 were NCOs (E-5 to E-9), and none was an officer or warrant officer. Junior enlisted members were 66% of the accused in all Air Force cases in 2020, so this group was more junior.
Only 1 of the 15 cases was a general court-martial (7%), the level that can impose long confinement and a dishonorable discharge. Special courts-martial made up the rest. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge.
What These Records Leave Out
The records give trial dates, not offense dates. They do not describe the evidence or the plea terms, and they do not show nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation. Air Force records rarely list the charges in a full acquittal, so acquittals are not reported here.
For what the offense covers and how it is defended, see Article 86 on the law firm's website. Dates and sources for the law changes: UCMJ change timeline.
How We Counted
Air Force courts-martial with a trial date in 2020 that charged Article 86 (15 cases), compared with all Air Force cases that year and with 2019.
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 86 (AWOL): Court-Martial Data and Trends (hub)
- By Year (hub)
- AWOL at Air Force Courts-Martial, 2016: The Year in Numbers (previous / next)
- Air Force Article 86 Cases by the Numbers, 2016–2025 (the full trend)
- AWOL at Army Courts-Martial, 2021: The Year in Numbers
- AWOL at Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial, 2019: The Year in Numbers
- Army Article 86 Cases in 2022
- Army Article 86 Cases in 2023
- Article 86 Sentences in the Air Force: Confinement and Discharges, 2016–2025
- Article 86 explained on the law firm's website
- 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.