What the Air Force Tried in February 2019
Air Force records show 32 courts-martial in February 2019. Of 27 convicted enlisted members, 16 received a punitive discharge: 8 bad-conduct and 8 dishonorable. A quarter of the confinement terms were 3.5 years or longer.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 6 min read
Trends › By Year › February 2019
Short answer: Air Force records show 32 courts-martial in February 2019. Of 27 convicted enlisted members, 16 received a punitive discharge: 8 bad-conduct and 8 dishonorable. A quarter of the confinement terms were 3.5 years or longer.
Equal Numbers of Bad-Conduct and Dishonorable Discharges
For enlisted members, a punitive discharge is a bad-conduct discharge or a dishonorable discharge. Only a general court-martial can adjudge a dishonorable discharge. In February 2019, 16 of 27 convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge: 8 bad-conduct and 8 dishonorable.
That is 59%, compared with 57% across the Air Force for all of 2019. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation. These records do not cover what happens after trial.
Longer Confinement at General Courts-Martial
The median confinement at the 15 general courts-martial was 3.5 years. Special courts-martial are capped at one year of confinement. The median at the 17 special courts-martial was 3 months.
General courts-martial were 47% of the month's cases, about the same as the 50% Air Force share for 2019. A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence, including long confinement and a dishonorable discharge.
Confinement Across All Convictions
There were 27 convictions on at least one charge, and 23 of them (85%) included confinement. The overall median confinement was 4 months, the same as the 4-month median across the Air Force.
A quarter of the terms were 3.5 years or longer. Terms longer than one year came in 7 of 27 convictions (26%), compared with 20% for the year. Terms of 5 years or more came in 3 convictions (11%), compared with 8%.
No confinement was imposed in 4 convictions (15%), the same as the 15% across the Air Force. These are adjudged sentences, set before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each covers every charge of conviction.
| Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, the Air Force for all of 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|
| No confinement | 4 | 15% | 15% |
| Under 6 months | 13 | 48% | 50% |
| 6 months to 1 year | 3 | 11% | 15% |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 4 | 15% | 12% |
| 5 years or more | 3 | 11% | 8% |
Drug Charges in Most Cases
Charges are listed for 27 of the 32 cases, and each article counts once per case. Article 112a, wrongful use or possession of controlled substances, appeared in 59%. That is higher than the 51% for the Air Force in 2019.
Article 92 (failure to obey an order or regulation) appeared in 19%, compared with 14%. Article 134 (the general article) appeared in 26%, compared with 23%. Article 86 (AWOL) appeared in 11%, compared with 4%. Article 107 (false official statements), Article 120b (rape and sexual assault of a child), and Article 128 (assault) also each appeared in 11%. Article 120 (rape and sexual assault) appeared in 7%.
Air Force records rarely list the charges in a full acquittal. The charge shares therefore mostly describe cases that ended in a conviction. They show little about the charges in cases that ended in a full acquittal.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, the Air Force for all of 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 16 | 59% | 51% |
| Art. 134 General article | 7 | 26% | 23% |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 5 | 19% | 14% |
| Art. 107 False official statements | 3 | 11% | 8% |
| Art. 86 AWOL | 3 | 11% | 4% |
| Art. 120b Rape and sexual assault of a child | 3 | 11% | 7% |
| Art. 128 Assault | 3 | 11% | 15% |
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 2 | 7% | 8% |
Full Acquittals
Of the 32 cases, 5 ended in a full acquittal, or 16%. The Air Force rate for 2019 was 21%.
This rate is measured against every case, not only contested ones. Air Force records from 2016 to 2019 rarely list a guilty plea, so the contested share for the month cannot be computed.
Compared With February 2018
February 2018 had 28 cases, and February 2019 had 32. The median confinement went from 3 months to 4 months. Convictions with confinement went from 77% to 85%. Punitive discharges for convicted enlisted members went from 55% to 59%. The general court-martial share went from 46% to 47%.
These monthly groups are small. A few cases can change every figure, so the comparison shows direction only.
| February 2018 | February 2019 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cases | 28 | 32 |
| Contested (of pleas recorded) | — | — |
| Convictions with confinement | 77% | 85% |
| Median confinement | 3 months | 4 months |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 55% | 59% |
| General courts-martial | 46% | 47% |
A Higher Share of NCOs
Junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) made up 56% of the accused, and NCOs 44%. No officers were tried. Across the Air Force in 2019, junior enlisted members were 68% of the accused, so February had a higher share of NCOs.
A military judge alone decided 19 cases. Members heard the rest: 3 with enlisted panels and 9 with officer panels, or 39% of cases, compared with 42% for the year. The accused usually chooses the forum. Most guilty pleas are heard by a military judge alone, so the forum split usually follows the number of contested cases. These records cannot count contested cases for this period.
Bases and Limits of the Records
Nellis AFB, Nevada, tried the most cases, 3. Kadena AB, Japan, McConnell AFB, Kansas, and Hill AFB, Utah, each tried 2, and Sheppard AFB, Texas, tried 1. Those 5 bases account for 31% of the month's cases.
Since 2019, a special court-martial can also be tried by a military judge alone, with confinement capped at six months and no punitive discharge. The records give only trial dates, so they cannot show which rules applied to each offense. They also do not include nonjudicial punishment, the evidence, or plea terms.
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 2019 (32 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, January 2019: The Month in Review (previous / next)
- March 2019 at Air Force Courts-Martial: 30 Cases (previous / next)
- Air Force Courts-Martial in 2019: 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.