Air Force Article 92 Cases in 2023
The median confinement in Air Force orders violation cases under Article 92 was 50 days in 2023, compared with 5 months across all Air Force cases. Of 27 courts-martial, only 2 convictions (7%) included more than one year.
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Trends › By Offense › Article 92 › Air Force, 2023
Short answer: The median confinement in Air Force orders violation cases under Article 92 was 50 days in 2023, compared with 5 months across all Air Force cases. Of 27 courts-martial, only 2 convictions (7%) included more than one year. A punitive discharge followed 36% of enlisted convictions, compared with 58% across the service.
A Median of 50 Days
The 2023 records cover January to November and hold 27 orders violation cases. Each ended in a conviction on at least one charge. Confinement was part of 21 of those sentences (78%), and the median confinement was 50 days. For the Air Force as a whole, the median was 5 months. A quarter of the sentences were 6 months or longer.
These are adjudged sentences, announced at trial before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each sentence covers every charge in the case.
Many Convictions Without Confinement
No confinement was imposed in 6 convictions (22%), compared with 9% for all Air Force convictions in 2023. Sentences under 6 months came in another 15 convictions (56%), compared with 49% across the service.
Sentences of 6 months to 1 year came in 4 convictions (15%). Sentences of more than one year came in 2 (7%), compared with 23% for the Air Force. None was 5 years or more.
| Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, all Air Force cases in 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|
| No confinement | 6 | 22% | 9% |
| Under 6 months | 15 | 56% | 49% |
| 6 months to 1 year | 4 | 15% | 18% |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 2 | 7% | 21% |
| 5 years or more | 0 | 0% | 3% |
Fewer Punitive Discharges Than the Air Force Rate
A punitive discharge is a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge. One followed 36% of enlisted convictions: 7 bad-conduct and 2 dishonorable. Across all Air Force cases in 2023, the rate was 58%. The group also includes 2 convicted officers or warrant officers, and 0 were dismissed. Only a general court-martial can impose a dishonorable discharge, and general courts-martial heard a small share of these cases.
A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation. Those outcomes are not in these records.
Mostly Special Courts-Martial
Only 9 of the 27 cases were general courts-martial (33%), compared with 59% 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. Only a general court-martial can adjudge more than one year of confinement.
Since 2019, a special court-martial can also be heard by a military judge alone, with a six-month cap and no punitive discharge. The records do not identify which cases were tried that way.
Pleas and Who Decided Guilt
Of the 27 accused, 18 pleaded guilty and 9 contested at least one charge. The contested share was 33%, lower than the 53% for all Air Force cases in 2023.
The accused usually chooses whether a military judge alone or a panel of members decides guilt. A military judge alone decided 20 cases. Members heard 26% of cases with a forum listed: 4 enlisted panels and 3 officer panels. Guilty pleas are usually heard by a military judge alone, so the high judge-alone share matches the high guilty-plea share.
Other Charges in the Same Case
Article 92 was the only charge in 5 of 27 cases. Article 112a (drug) was the most common companion charge, in 8 cases. Article 86 (AWOL) appeared in 4. Article 107 (false official statement), Article 134 (general article), and Article 113 (drunken or reckless driving) appeared in 3 each. The sentence figures include all of these charges.
Changes From 2022 to 2023
The number of cases was 36 in 2022 and 27 in 2023. The contested share was 33% in both years. The median confinement was 4 months in 2022 and 50 days in 2023. The share of convictions with confinement was 86% and then 78%. The enlisted punitive discharge rate was 57% and then 36%. The general court-martial share was 50% and then 33%. These are small groups, and a few cases can change each figure. The records cannot show the reasons for these changes.
| 2022 | 2023 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cases | 36 | 27 |
| Contested (of pleas recorded) | 33% | 33% |
| Convictions with confinement | 86% | 78% |
| Median confinement | 4 months | 50 days |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 57% | 36% |
| General courts-martial | 50% | 33% |
Rank and Installations
Junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) made up 63% of the accused, NCOs 30%, and officers 7%. That is about the same as the 62% junior enlisted share across the Air Force. The rank mix here is similar to the service as a whole.
Osan AB, South Korea, tried 3 cases. Keesler AFB, Mississippi, JB McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey, JB Charleston, South Carolina, and JB Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, tried 2 each. Those 5 installations account for 41% of the 27 cases. Larger installations try more cases of every kind, so a high count alone does not mean an installation has a problem with this offense.
What the Records Do Not Show
Air Force records rarely list charges in a full acquittal, so no Article 92 acquittal rate is given. The data also does not include offense dates, evidence, plea terms, or cases handled by nonjudicial punishment.
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 2023 that charged Article 92 (27 cases), compared with all Air Force cases that year and with 2022.
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 2022 (previous / next)
- Air Force Article 92 Cases in 2024 (previous / next)
- Air Force Article 92 Cases by the Numbers, 2016–2025 (the full trend)
- Air Force Article 92 Cases in 2021
- How Air Force Orders Violation Cases Ended in 2020
- 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.