> ## 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. # Article 90 Sentences in the Air Force: Confinement and Discharges, 2016–2025 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/air-force-article-90-sent-2016-2025/ - Published: 2026-10-28T08:06:25.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-30T08:04:55.000Z - Description: The median confinement in Air Force convictions under Article 90 (disobeying an officer) from 2016–2025 was 7 months, compared with 4 months for all Air Force convictions. - Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart - Tags: Understanding Trends, Article 90, Air Force [Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [By Offense](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/by-offense/) › [Article 90](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-90-courts-martial/) › Article 90 Sentences in the Air Force: C **Short answer:** The median confinement in Air Force convictions under Article 90 (disobeying an officer) from 2016–2025 was 7 months, compared with 4 months for all Air Force convictions. Across the 41 cases, 66% of convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge, compared with 56% across the service. Based on 41 cases · 2016–2025 · Air Force records · data updated October 24, 2026 ## Many Sentences Were 6 Months to 1 Year Sentences of 6 months to 1 year made up 16 of the 41 convictions (39%). Across all Air Force convictions in the same years, the share was 15%. Shorter sentences were less common. Sentences under 6 months made up 34%, compared with 48% across the service. No confinement was imposed in 4 convictions (10%), compared with 15%. Sentences of more than 1 year but under 5 years came in 4 convictions (10%, compared with 16%). Sentences of 5 years or more came in 3 (7%, the same as the service share). | Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, all Air Force convictions in those years | | ------------------------------- | ----------- | ---------- | ----------------------------------------------- | | No confinement | 4 | 10% | 15% | | Under 6 months | 14 | 34% | 48% | | 6 months to 1 year | 16 | 39% | 15% | | More than 1 year, under 5 years | 4 | 10% | 16% | | 5 years or more | 3 | 7% | 7% | ## A Median of 7 Months Confinement was part of 37 of the 41 sentences (90%). The median confinement was 7 months, longer than the 4-month median across the service. A quarter of the sentences were 1 year or longer. Sentences of more than one year were still less common than across the Air Force: 7 of 41 (17%), compared with 23%. These are adjudged sentences, set at trial before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each sentence covers every charge in the case. ## Other Charges in the Same Case Article 90 was rarely the only charge: 38 of the 41 cases included at least one other article. Article 112a (drug) appeared in 13 cases, Article 134 (general article) in 11, Article 128 (assault) in 10, Article 86 (AWOL) in 9, and Article 92 (orders violation) in 8. A sentence covers all of those charges together. The numbers here therefore do not show the punishment for disobedience alone. ## Sentences by Court Level General courts-martial made up 54% of these cases (22 of 41), and special courts-martial made up the other 19\. 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 adjudge a dishonorable discharge. At general courts-martial, 95% of convictions included confinement, with a median of 11 months. At special courts-martial, 84% did, with a median of 4 months. ## Discharges for Enlisted Members and Officers Of 35 convicted enlisted members, 23 received a punitive discharge: 18 bad-conduct and 5 dishonorable. That share, 66%, is higher than the 56% across Air Force convictions. The group included 6 convicted officers or warrant officers, and 4 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. ## Rank of the Accused Junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) made up 68% of the accused, NCOs 17%, and officers 15%. Across all Air Force convictions, junior enlisted members made up 66%. The junior enlisted share here is about the same as across the service. ## Pleas and Who Decided Guilt Only 22 of the 41 records list a plea, because Air Force records from 2016 to 2019 rarely list a guilty plea. Of those 22, 17 were guilty pleas and 5 were contested. A contested case is one where the accused pleaded not guilty to at least one charge. The contested share was 23%, lower than the 31% across Air Force convictions. A military judge alone decided guilt in 31 cases. Members heard the other cases: 5 enlisted panels and 5 officer panels. That is 24% of cases, compared with 28% across the service. The accused usually chooses the forum, and most judge-alone cases are guilty pleas. ## Years and Installations The cases were tried from May 2016 through December 2025: 1 in 2016, 2 in 2017, 7 in 2018, 6 in 2019, 3 in 2020, 2 in 2021, 5 in 2022, 7 in 2023, 0 in 2024, and 8 in 2025. JBSA - Lackland, Texas, had the most cases, with 5\. JB Langley-Eustis, Virginia, and JB McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey, had 3 each. Holloman AFB, New Mexico, and Shaw AFB, South Carolina, had 2 each. Together these installations account for 37% of the 41 cases. ## What the Records Do Not Show Air Force records rarely list charges in a full acquittal, so this page gives no acquittal rate for this offense. The records do not show the evidence or plea terms. Cases handled by nonjudicial punishment, administrative separation, or no action do not appear. The records give trial dates, not offense dates. They cannot sort cases by the rules under the Military Justice Act of 2016 or the sentencing parameters for offenses after December 27, 2023. For what the offense covers and how it is defended, see [Article 90 on the law firm's website](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-90/?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: ending in a conviction under Article 90 (disobeying an officer) (41 cases), compared with all Air Force convictions 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 90 (Willfully Disobeying Superior Officer): Court-Martial Data and Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-90-courts-martial/) (hub) - [Sentences](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/sentences/) (hub) - [Air Force Article 90 Cases by the Numbers, 2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/air-force-article-90-trend-2016-2025/) - [Guilty Pleas in Air Force Disobeying An Officer Cases: How Often, and What Came Next](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/air-force-article-90-plea-2016-2025/) - [Article 90 Sentences in the Army: Confinement and Discharges, 2021–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-90-sent-2021-2025/) (another service) - [What Sentence Follows a Navy-Marine Corps Disobeying an Officer Conviction?](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-90-sent-2017-2025/) (another service) - [Article 118 Sentences in the Air Force: Confinement and Discharges, 2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/air-force-article-118-sent-2016-2025/) - [Article 90 explained on the law firm's website](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-90/?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.