August 2024 at Air Force Courts-Martial: 21 Cases
Air Force records list 21 courts-martial in August 2024. Sexual assault under Article 120 was charged in 33% of them, compared with 16% for the Air Force across 2024. Of cases with a recorded plea, 31% were contested, compared with 45% for the year.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 5 min read
Trends › By Year › August 2024
Short answer: Air Force records list 21 courts-martial in August 2024. Sexual assault under Article 120 was charged in 33% of them, compared with 16% for the Air Force across 2024. Of cases with a recorded plea, 31% were contested, compared with 45% for the year.
Sexual Offenses Were the Most Common Charges
All 21 records list their charges, and each article counts once per case. Article 120, rape and sexual assault, appeared in 7 cases. Its 33% share is higher than the 16% for the Air Force over the year.
Article 120b, rape and sexual assault of a child, appeared in 4 cases (19%), compared with 7% for the year. Drug charges under Article 112a appeared in 6 cases (29%), compared with 22%. Article 134, the general article, appeared in 4 cases (19%), slightly lower than its annual 22%. Assault under Article 128 appeared in 1 case (5%), compared with 15%.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, the Air Force for all of 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 7 | 33% | 16% |
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 6 | 29% | 22% |
| Art. 120b Rape and sexual assault of a child | 4 | 19% | 7% |
| Art. 134 General article | 4 | 19% | 22% |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 3 | 14% | 13% |
| Art. 108 Military property; loss, damage, destruction | 2 | 10% | 1% |
| Art. 128 Assault | 1 | 5% | 15% |
| Art. 107 False official statements | 1 | 5% | 4% |
Less Common Charges
Article 92, failure to obey an order or regulation, appeared in 3 cases (14%), about the same as the 13% for the year. Article 108, which covers loss, damage, or destruction of military property, appeared in 2 cases (10%), compared with 1%. Article 107, false official statements, appeared in 1 case (5%), compared with 4%.
One case can be counted under several of these articles. The shares therefore add up to more than the number of cases.
Most Accused Pleaded Guilty
The plea is recorded for 16 of the 21 cases. In 11, the accused pleaded guilty. In 5, the accused pleaded not guilty to at least one charge, which makes the case contested. The contested share was 31%, compared with 45% across the Air Force in 2024.
Who Decided Guilt?
The accused usually chooses whether a military judge alone or a panel of members decides guilt. A military judge alone decided 17 of the 21 cases (81%). Members decided the other 4, all with enlisted panels. No case had an officer panel this month.
Most judge-alone cases are guilty pleas. The small number of panels in August 2024 follows the small number of contested cases.
Most Terms Were Short, and a Quarter Were Long
Of 15 convictions, 93% included confinement. The median confinement was 4 months, slightly lower than the 5 months for the year. Half of the terms were 4 months or less, and a quarter were 4.1 years or longer.
These are adjudged sentences, announced at trial before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each covers all charges in the case.
More Punitive Discharges Than the Year
A punitive discharge followed 71% of enlisted convictions, compared with 62% for the Air Force in 2024. The month had 5 bad-conduct discharges and 5 dishonorable discharges. Only a general court-martial can impose a dishonorable discharge.
The month's 1 convicted officer or warrant officer was not dismissed. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.
Court Level and Rank
There were 13 general and 8 special courts-martial. The general share was 62%, compared with 57% for the year. A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge.
Junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) made up 52% of the accused, NCOs 43%, and officers 5%. The junior enlisted share for the year was 54%.
Where the Trials Took Place
JBSA - Lackland, Texas, RAF Lakenheath, United Kingdom, and Grand Forks AFB, North Dakota, each tried 2 cases. FE Warren AFB, Wyoming, and Whiteman AFB, Missouri, tried 1 each. Together they account for 38% of the month's cases, and no base tried more than 2. Larger installations try more cases of every kind, so these counts do not show a problem at any single base.
New Rules and Old Rules in the Same Month
Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel, rather than commanders, decide whether to prosecute covered offenses such as sexual assault and domestic violence. When every guilty finding in a case is for an offense after December 27, 2023, the military judge sets the sentence under new sentencing parameters. Both rules depend on the offense date, which the records do not give. August 2024 trials can therefore include cases under either set of rules.
Sexual assault is one of the covered offenses, and Article 120 appeared in 7 of the 21 cases. The records cannot show which of those cases special trial counsel referred or which sentences were set under the new parameters.
The records do not show the evidence, the plea terms, nonjudicial punishment, or administrative separations. Air Force records do not report plea agreements.
Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: UCMJ change timeline.
How We Counted
Air Force courts-martial with a trial date in August 2024 (21 cases), compared with the whole year.
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
- Air Force Courts-Martial: Data and Trends (hub)
- By Year (hub)
- Air Force Courts-Martial, July 2024: The Month in Review (previous / next)
- October 2024 at Air Force Courts-Martial: 28 Cases (previous / next)
- The Air Force Court-Martial Year, 2024 (the whole year)
- Air Force Courts-Martial, April 2018: The Month in Review
- Air Force Courts-Martial, April 2019: The Month in Review
- Air Force Courts-Martial, August 2018: The Month in Review
- Air Force Courts-Martial, August 2020: The Month in Review
- 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.