Air Force Article 86 Cases by the Numbers, 2016–2025

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Based on 100 cases · 2016–2025 · Air Force records · data updated October 24, 2026

Is Article 86 Rising or Falling?

Article 86 was part of 30 of 786 Air Force convictions with offenses listed in 2016–2018 (4%). In 2023–2025, it was part of 28 of 494 (6%), a larger share. The yearly share was 8% in 2020 and 9% in 2023. The shares use convictions with offenses listed, so years with more or fewer total cases can still be compared.

The yearly count of cases was 10 in each of 2016, 2017, and 2018, and 12 in 2019. The highest count was 15, in 2020. The counts were 7 in 2021, 7 in 2022, 14 in 2023, 7 in 2024, and 8 in 2025.

Drug Charges Were the Most Common Companion

Article 112a (drugs) was charged in 62 of the 100 cases. Article 86 was the only charge in 9 cases.

Other common companion charges were Article 92 (orders violation) in 31 cases, Article 107 (false official statement) in 24, Article 134 (general article) in 17, and Article 90 (disobeying an officer) in 10. The sentence covers every charge in a case, so the results below describe whole cases, not the absence alone.

Few Cases Were Contested

Only 53 of the 100 records list a plea. Air Force records from 2016 to 2019 rarely list a guilty plea. Of the 53, 45 were guilty pleas and 8 were not-guilty or mixed pleas.

A contested case is one where the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. The contested share here was 15%, compared with 48% across the Air Force. Air Force records also never report plea agreements.

Court Level and Rank

Special courts-martial heard 80 of the 100 cases, and general courts-martial heard 20. The general court-martial share was 20%, compared with 51% across the Air Force. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge. A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence.

Junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) made up 78% of the accused, NCOs 18%, and officers 4%. Across all Air Force cases in those years, junior enlisted members made up 62%.

Confinement Was Common but Short

All 100 cases ended in a conviction, and 94 of those sentences included confinement (94%). The median confinement was 3 months, about the same as the 4 months across the Air Force. A quarter of the sentences were 6 months or longer.

Sentences under 6 months made up 68% of convictions, compared with 48% across the Air Force. Sentences of 1 year to under 5 years made up 8%, compared with 17%. No conviction included 5 years or more, compared with 7% across the Air Force.

At general courts-martial, the median confinement was 9 months, and 20% of cases were contested. At special courts-martial, the median was 3 months, and 14% were contested. These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal.

Discharges After an AWOL Conviction

Of 96 convicted enlisted members, 45 received a punitive discharge: 42 bad-conduct and 3 dishonorable. In the rest of the Air Force, the share was 56%.

All 4 convicted officers or warrant officers were dismissed. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out an administrative separation. These records do not track administrative separations.

Who Decided Guilt?

Of 99 cases with the forum listed, a military judge alone decided guilt in 84 (85%). Members heard 15 cases: 12 officer panels and 3 enlisted panels.

The accused usually chooses between a military judge alone and a panel of members. Most judge-alone cases are guilty pleas, so the high judge-alone share matches the low contested share.

Where the Cases Were Tried

Dyess AFB, Texas, had the most cases, with 5. Travis AFB, California, Osan AB, South Korea, Cannon AFB, New Mexico, and JB Langley-Eustis, Virginia, had 4 each. Together these installations account for 21% of the 100 cases. Larger installations try more cases of every kind, so a high count alone says little about any one installation.

Rule Changes and Record Gaps

The Military Justice Act of 2016 took effect on January 1, 2019. It created judge-alone special courts-martial capped at six months with no punitive discharge, and it brought in written plea agreements. Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel decide whether to prosecute covered offenses. New sentencing parameters apply when every guilty finding is for an offense after December 27, 2023. These rules depend on offense dates, which the records do not give.

The records also do not show the evidence, the plea terms, or absences handled through nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation. Air Force records rarely list charges in a full acquittal, so this page does not report an acquittal rate for Article 86.

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.

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.