Air Force Article 92 Cases in 2021
Of 36 Air Force courts-martial charging Article 92 (orders violation) in 2021, only 10 were general courts-martial. That is a 28% share, compared with 53% across all Air Force cases.
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Trends › By Offense › Article 92 › Air Force, 2021
Short answer: Of 36 Air Force courts-martial charging Article 92 (orders violation) in 2021, only 10 were general courts-martial. That is a 28% share, compared with 53% across all Air Force cases. The median confinement was 4 months, the same as the service figure, and 44% of convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge, compared with 56% across the Air Force.
Most Cases Were Special Courts-Martial
Special courts-martial heard 26 of the 36 orders violation cases in 2021, and general courts-martial heard 10. The general court-martial share was 28%, compared with 53% for the Air Force as a whole.
The court level sets the maximum sentence. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge. A general court-martial can adjudge any lawful sentence. The median confinement was 1.1 years at general courts-martial and 3 months at special courts-martial.
Since 2019, a special court-martial can also be heard by a military judge alone, with a limit of six months of confinement and no punitive discharge. These records do not identify those trials.
Contested Cases Were More Common at General Courts-Martial
Overall, 27 accused pleaded guilty and 9 contested at least one charge. The contested share was 25%, compared with 51% across the Air Force. A contested case is one with a not-guilty or mixed plea.
At general courts-martial, the contested share was 50%. At special courts-martial, it was 15%. The records cannot show why a case was sent to one level or the other.
Most Sentences Were Short
Confinement was part of 86% of the 36 convictions. The median confinement was 4 months, the same as for all Air Force cases in 2021. A quarter of the sentences were 10 months or longer. Sentences under 6 months made up 58% of convictions (21), compared with 47% across the service. These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each sentence covers every charge in the case.
Confinement longer than one year came in 5 of 36 convictions (14%), compared with 23% for the Air Force. Of those, 3 were between 1 and 5 years, and 2 were 5 years or more. The share of 5 years or more was the same as the 6% service share. Sentences of 6 months to 1 year came in 5 convictions (14%), about the same as the 15% service figure. Another 5 (14%) included no confinement, compared with 15%.
| Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, all Air Force cases in 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|
| No confinement | 5 | 14% | 15% |
| Under 6 months | 21 | 58% | 47% |
| 6 months to 1 year | 5 | 14% | 15% |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 3 | 8% | 17% |
| 5 years or more | 2 | 6% | 6% |
Punitive Discharges
Of 36 enlisted members convicted, 16 received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge (44%). That is lower than the 56% across the Air Force. Only 2 of the 16 were dishonorable discharges, which only a general court-martial can impose.
No officers were charged. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation, which these records do not include.
All Enlisted, Mostly Junior
The accused were 25 junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) and 11 NCOs (E-5 to E-9). There were 0 officers or warrant officers. That mix is more junior than all Air Force cases, where 65% of the accused were junior enlisted. With no officers in the group, no case could end in a dismissal.
Drug and Assault Charges
Only 3 of the 36 cases charged Article 92 by itself. Article 112a (drug) was the most common companion charge, in 11 cases. Article 128 (assault) appeared in 10. Article 134 (general article) appeared in 6, Article 113 (drunken or reckless driving) in 5, and Article 86 (AWOL) in 3. A sentence covers all of these charges, so the confinement figures describe entire cases.
Who Decided Guilt?
The accused usually chooses whether a military judge alone or a panel of members decides guilt. A military judge alone decided 30 of 36 cases (83%). Members heard 6: 2 enlisted panels and 4 officer panels. Most of these cases were guilty pleas, and guilty pleas are generally heard by a military judge alone.
Compared With 2020
The number of cases was 29 in 2020 and 36 in 2021. The median confinement was 4 months in both years. The share of convictions with any confinement was 97% in 2020 and 86% in 2021. The contested share was 22% and then 25%. The enlisted punitive discharge rate was 45% and then 44%. The general court-martial share was 38% and then 28%. In small groups, a few cases can change these figures.
| 2020 | 2021 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cases | 29 | 36 |
| Contested (of pleas recorded) | 22% | 25% |
| Convictions with confinement | 97% | 86% |
| Median confinement | 4 months | 4 months |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 45% | 44% |
| General courts-martial | 38% | 28% |
Installations and Missing Information
Dyess AFB, Texas, tried 4 cases, and Hurlburt Field, Florida, tried 3. Sheppard AFB, Texas, RAF Mildenhall, United Kingdom, and Fairchild AFB, Washington, tried 2 each. These 5 installations account for 36% of the 36 cases. Larger installations try more cases of every kind.
Air Force records rarely list charges in a full acquittal, so this page has no Article 92 acquittal rate. The records also do not include offense dates, evidence, plea terms, or cases resolved through nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation.
For what the offense covers and how it is defended, see Article 92 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 2021 that charged Article 92 (36 cases), compared with all Air Force cases that year and with 2020.
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 92 (Failure to Obey Order or Regulation): Court-Martial Data and Trends (hub)
- By Year (hub)
- How Air Force Orders Violation Cases Ended in 2020 (previous / next)
- How Air Force Orders Violation Cases Ended in 2022 (previous / next)
- Air Force Article 92 Cases by the Numbers, 2016–2025 (the full trend)
- Air Force Article 92 Cases in 2023
- Air Force Article 92 Cases in 2024
- What Sentence Follows an Air Force Orders Violation Conviction?
- Article 92 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.