What the Air Force Tried in February 2017
Air Force records hold 30 courts-martial tried in February 2017. The median confinement was 6 months, compared with 4 months for the Air Force across 2017. Terms of 5 years or more came in 16% of convictions, compared with 8% for the year.
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Trends › By Year › February 2017
Short answer: Air Force records hold 30 courts-martial tried in February 2017. The median confinement was 6 months, compared with 4 months for the Air Force across 2017. Terms of 5 years or more came in 16% of convictions, compared with 8% for the year.
More Terms of 5 Years or More
Of 25 convictions, 4 included adjudged confinement of 5 years or more. That is 16% of the month's convictions, compared with 8% across the Air Force in 2017. One of those sentences was confinement for life.
Another 3 convictions had terms from 1 year to under 5 years. In all, 7 of 25 convictions (28%) included more than one year of confinement. The share for the Air Force across the year was 23%. Only a general court-martial can adjudge a term longer than one year.
| Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, the Air Force for all of 2017 |
|---|---|---|---|
| No confinement | 2 | 8% | 21% |
| Under 6 months | 11 | 44% | 46% |
| 6 months to 1 year | 5 | 20% | 11% |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 3 | 12% | 14% |
| 5 years or more | 4 | 16% | 8% |
The Median and the Middle Range
Confinement was part of 23 of the 25 sentences. The median confinement was 6 months, higher than the 4-month median for the year. A quarter of the terms were 2.1 years or longer.
Only 2 convictions (8%) included no confinement, compared with 21% across the Air Force in 2017. Terms from 6 months to 1 year were also more common: 20% of convictions, compared with 11%.
These are adjudged sentences, recorded as imposed at trial. Plea-agreement caps, clemency, and appeals can lower them later. Each sentence covers every charge of conviction in the case.
General and Special Courts-Martial
The month had 15 general and 15 special courts-martial. The general share was 50%, higher than the 45% across the Air Force that year.
Sentences differed by court level. Every conviction at a general court-martial included confinement, with a median of 1.5 years. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge. At special courts-martial, 83% of convictions included confinement, and the median was 45 days.
Larceny and the General Article
Charges are listed for 25 of the 30 cases. A case with three articles is counted three times, once under each. Article 112a, which covers wrongful use or possession of controlled substances, was the most common charge, in 48% of cases. That is slightly lower than the 52% across the Air Force.
Larceny under Article 121 appeared in 20% of these cases, compared with 6% for the Air Force in 2017. Article 134, the general article, appeared in 28%, compared with 21%. Article 120 (rape and sexual assault) appeared in 12%, compared with 7%. Article 86 (AWOL) appeared in 8%, compared with 3%.
Other shares were close to the year. Article 92 (failure to obey an order or regulation) appeared in 16% of cases, Article 128 (assault) in 12%, and Article 120b (rape and sexual assault of a child) in 8%.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, the Air Force for all of 2017 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 12 | 48% | 52% |
| Art. 134 General article | 7 | 28% | 21% |
| Art. 121 Larceny | 5 | 20% | 6% |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 4 | 16% | 17% |
| Art. 128 Assault | 3 | 12% | 11% |
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 3 | 12% | 7% |
| Art. 120b Rape and sexual assault of a child | 2 | 8% | 8% |
| Art. 86 AWOL | 2 | 8% | 3% |
How Many Cases Ended in a Full Acquittal?
Of the 30 cases, 5 ended in a full acquittal (17%), with the accused acquitted of all charges. For the Air Force across 2017, the rate was 21%.
This rate is measured against all cases, not only contested ones. Air Force records from 2016 to 2019 rarely note the plea when an accused pleaded guilty. The number of contested cases in the month therefore cannot be counted reliably.
Punitive Discharges
Of 25 convicted enlisted members, 13 received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge (52%). That is about the same as the 51% for the year. Of those 13, 7 were dishonorable. Only a general court-martial can adjudge a dishonorable discharge.
A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation. Administrative separations are not in these records.
Rank, Forum, and Bases
Junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) made up 57% of the accused, and NCOs 43%. No officers were tried. The junior enlisted share across the Air Force in 2017 was 61%.
A military judge alone decided 17 cases. Members decided the rest: 6 with enlisted panels and 7 with officer panels. Members heard 43% of cases, about the same as the 42% for the year. The accused usually chooses between a military judge alone and a panel.
Whiteman AFB, Missouri, Scott AFB, Illinois, Yokota AB, Japan, and Holloman AFB, New Mexico, each tried 2 cases. JB Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, tried 1. Those 5 installations account for 30% of the 30 cases.
The Rules in Force, and the Gaps
These trials took place before the Military Justice Act of 2016 took effect on January 1, 2019. That law fixed panel sizes, added judge-alone special courts-martial capped at six months with no punitive discharge, and introduced written plea agreements. None of those changes applied to these cases.
The records list trial dates, not offense dates. They cover courts-martial only, not nonjudicial punishment or administrative action, and they do not describe the evidence. Air Force records rarely list charges in full acquittals and 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 February 2017 (30 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)
- What the Air Force Tried in January 2017 (previous / next)
- March 2017 at Air Force Courts-Martial: 38 Cases (previous / next)
- Air Force Courts-Martial in 2017: Year in Review (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.