What Sentence Follows an Air Force Resisting Apprehension Conviction?
The Air Force records hold 16 courts-martial from 2016–2025 that ended in a conviction under Article 87a (resisting apprehension, numbered since 2019). A military judge alone decided all 16.
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Short answer: The Air Force records hold 16 courts-martial from 2016–2025 that ended in a conviction under Article 87a (resisting apprehension, numbered since 2019). A military judge alone decided all 16. 21% of the convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge, compared with 56% for all Air Force convictions in those years.
No Cases Went to Members
A military judge alone decided guilt in each of the 16 cases. No enlisted or officer panels appear. The accused usually chooses whether a military judge alone or a panel of members decides guilt.
Most of the accused pleaded guilty. 15 of the 16 records list the plea: 12 guilty pleas and 3 contested cases. The contested share, 20%, was lower than the 31% for all Air Force convictions in those years.
Few Punitive Discharges
21% of the convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge: 2 bad-conduct discharges and 1 dishonorable discharge. The share for all Air Force convictions from 2016 to 2025 was 56%.
2 officers or warrant officers were convicted, and 1 was dismissed. A sentence without a punitive discharge or dismissal does not rule out a later administrative separation.
Confinement Matched the Air Force Median
15 of the 16 convictions carried confinement. The median was 4 months, the same as for all Air Force convictions in those years. A quarter of the sentences with confinement were 7 months or longer.
All of these are adjudged sentences, set at trial before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each sentence also covers the other charges in the case.
Other Articles Charged in These Cases
Article 113 (misbehavior of a sentinel before 2019; drunken or reckless driving since) was the most common other charge, in 9 of the 16 cases. Article 86 (AWOL) appeared in 6, Article 112a (drug) and Article 92 (orders violation) in 5 each, and Article 128 (assault) in 4.
Court Level and Rank
4 of the 16 cases were general courts-martial (25%). Across all Air Force convictions in those years, 46% were general courts-martial. The rest were special courts-martial, which cap confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge.
By rank, the accused were 11 junior enlisted members, 3 NCOs, and 2 officers. That mix was similar to all Air Force convictions in those years.
Timing and the 2019 Renumbering
Article 87a has carried this number since 2019, and the first conviction here was tried in October 2019. The last was in September 2025. The yearly counts were 1 in 2019, 2 in 2020, 4 in 2021, 2 in 2022, 4 in 2023, 1 in 2024, and 2 in 2025.
The Military Justice Act of 2016 took effect on January 1, 2019. Since December 28, 2023, further changes to prosecution and sentencing apply based on the offense date. The records give only trial dates, so trials from 2024 on mix old-rule and new-rule cases.
What the Records Leave Out
The records show charges, pleas, findings, and sentences. They do not show the evidence, the plea terms, or conduct handled outside a court-martial. Air Force records never report plea agreements and rarely list the charges in a full acquittal, so this page gives no acquittal figures for this offense.
Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: UCMJ change timeline.
How We Counted
Air Force courts-martial tried 2016–2025: ending in a conviction under Article 87a (resisting apprehension) (16 cases), compared with all Air Force convictions in those years.
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 87a (Resisting Apprehension, Numbered Since 2019): Court-Martial Data and Trends (hub)
- Sentences (hub)
- How Has Article 87a Changed in Air Force Courts-Martial Since 2016?
- Pleading Guilty to Article 87a in the Air Force: What Sentences Followed?
- What Sentence Follows an Army Resisting Apprehension Conviction? (another service)
- What Sentence Follows a Navy-Marine Corps Resisting Apprehension Conviction? (another service)
- Article 118 Sentences in the Air Force: Confinement and Discharges, 2016–2025
- 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.