Which Charges Grew and Shrank at Air Force Courts-Martial? 2016–2018 Compared With 2023–2025

Trends › By Offense › Air Force: charges over time

Based on 2795 cases · 2016–2025 · Air Force records · data updated October 24, 2026

Charges That Appeared Less Often

Article 112a (wrongful use, possession of controlled substances) was charged in 48% of cases in 2016–2018 and 24% in 2023–2025. Article 134 (general article) went from 25% to 22%. Smaller decreases appeared for Article 120b (rape and sexual assault of a child), from 10% to 8%, and for Article 121 (larceny) and Article 107 (false official statements), each from 7% to 6%.

The shares use the cases whose records list charges: 787 in 2016–2018 and 571 in 2023–2025. One case can include several articles, so a case can count in more than one row.

Charges That Appeared More Often

Article 128b (domestic violence, numbered since 2019) had a share of 0% in 2016–2018 and 15% in 2023–2025. The article has been numbered as 128b only since 2019, so the earlier period shows no cases under that number. Article 120 (rape and sexual assault) went from 9% to 15%, and Article 128 (assault) went from 11% to 13%.

Smaller increases appeared for Article 90 (willfully disobeying a superior officer), from 1% to 3%, for Article 86 (AWOL), from 4% to 5%, and for Article 120c (other sexual misconduct), from 2% to 3%. Article 92 (failure to obey order or regulation) was charged in 16% of cases in both periods.

The Most Common Charges Across the Whole Period

The charge lists cover 2226 of 2795 cases. Across 2016–2025, Article 112a was the most common charge, in 888 cases (40%). Article 134 followed with 500 cases (22%), then Article 92 with 354 (16%) and Article 128 with 333 (15%). Article 120 appeared in 244 cases (11%) and Article 120b in 183 (8%).

Air Force records list charges mainly for convictions. The charge-by-charge table therefore gives conviction counts and sentences, not conviction rates. For Article 112a, 869 cases had a conviction on that article, with a median confinement of 3 months. For Article 134, the median was 1.1 years.

Confinement and Discharges

Of 2168 convictions, 1851 included confinement (85%). The median confinement was 4 months. There were 3 life sentences. Sentences longer than one year made up 23% of convictions (498 of 2168), and 7% were 5 years or more. These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal, and each covers every charge in the case.

Among 2036 convicted enlisted members, 1146 received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge (56%), and 447 of those were dishonorable. Of 132 convicted officers or warrant officers, 85 were dismissed.

Charge-by-Charge Sentences

For Article 92, 342 cases had a conviction on that article, with a median confinement of 4 months. For Article 128, 311 cases had a conviction on that article, with a median of 6 months. Each sentence covers all charges in the case, so the median for one article also reflects the other charges tried with it.

Pleas and Full Acquittals

A case is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. Of 1352 records with a plea listed, 703 were guilty pleas and 649 were contested (48%). From 2016 to 2019, Air Force records rarely list a guilty plea, so the plea counts cover only part of the 2795 cases.

Of 647 contested cases that reached a verdict, 324 ended in a full acquittal (50%). Another 98 were partial acquittals, meaning not guilty of at least one charge but guilty of another. Air Force results give one verdict per case, so a partial acquittal appears only when an appeals opinion reports it.

Guilty pleas were most common in cases charging Article 112a, at 79% (260 of 329), and least common in cases charging Article 128, at 60% (120 of 199).

Who Decided Guilt?

The accused usually chooses whether a military judge alone or a panel of members decides guilt. Members heard 39% of cases with the forum listed: 561 with enlisted panels and 511 with officer panels. The other 1705 were judge alone. Members heard 487 of the 649 contested cases (75%).

Contested cases decided by members ended in a full acquittal 52% of the time (254 of 486). Contested cases decided by a judge alone ended that way 43% of the time (70 of 161).

Court Level, Rank, and Location

There were 1437 general courts-martial (51%), with a median confinement of 1.2 years and 60% contested. The 1358 special courts-martial had a median of 2 months and 33% contested. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year.

By rank, 1745 accused were junior enlisted (E-1 to E-4), 859 were NCOs (E-5 to E-9), and 191 were officers or warrant officers. Nellis AFB, Nevada had the most cases (88), followed by Ramstein AB, Germany (76), and JB Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii (72). The yearly count ranged from 374 in 2017 to 218 in 2025.

Law Changes and the Limits of These Records

The Military Justice Act of 2016 took effect on January 1, 2019. Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel decide whether to prosecute covered offenses such as domestic violence and sexual assault. These rules apply by offense date, and the records give only trial dates. A change in a charge share during the same years as a law change does not show that the law caused it.

The records cover courts-martial only. They leave out nonjudicial punishment, administrative separations, the evidence, and the plea terms.

Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: 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.