July 2018 at Air Force Courts-Martial: 21 Cases

Trends › By Year › July 2018

Based on 21 cases · July 2018 · Air Force records · data updated October 24, 2026

More Full Acquittals Than the Year

Of the 21 cases, 6 ended with the accused found not guilty of every charge. That 29% full-acquittal rate is higher than the 22% for the Air Force over all of 2018.

This rate uses all cases as its base. Air Force records from 2016 to 2019 rarely note a guilty plea, so the number of contested cases in the month cannot be counted. A rate for contested cases alone is therefore not available.

A full acquittal ends the court-martial without a sentence or a punitive discharge. It does not rule out administrative action over the same events, and administrative action is not in these records.

Few Punitive Discharges

Of 13 convicted enlisted members, 4 received a punitive discharge: 2 bad-conduct and 2 dishonorable. Across the Air Force in 2018, the share was 58%, so July had a lower rate than the year.

A punitive discharge is a bad-conduct discharge or a dishonorable discharge. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation, which these records do not cover.

A Higher Share of Officers

Officers or warrant officers made up 14% of the accused in July. Junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) were 57%, and NCOs 29%. Across the Air Force in 2018, junior enlisted members were 63% of those tried, so the month had a more senior group.

Both convicted officers or warrant officers were dismissed. Dismissal is the officer equivalent of a punitive discharge.

Members Decided Most Cases

Of 20 cases with the forum recorded, members decided 12: 3 with enlisted panels and 9 with officer panels. A military judge alone decided the other 8 (40%).

The accused usually chooses whether a military judge alone or a panel of members decides guilt. Most guilty pleas are heard by a military judge alone. A month with many panel cases may therefore also have many contested cases. Plea data is missing for this period, so the records cannot confirm that.

Confinement After Conviction

There were 15 convictions on at least one charge, and 13 included confinement (87%). The median confinement was 3 months, about the same as the 4-month median for the year. A quarter of the terms were 1 year or longer.

These are adjudged sentences: the sentence imposed at trial, covering every charge of conviction, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal.

Mostly Special Courts-Martial

The month had 8 general and 13 special courts-martial. The general share was 38%, lower than the 50% for the Air Force in 2018.

A special court-martial can adjudge no more than one year of confinement and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge. A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence, including long confinement. The court level therefore sets the maximum sentence before any evidence is heard.

Drug Charges Were the Most Common

Charges are listed for 15 of the 21 cases, and a case with three articles appears in three rows. Article 112a, wrongful use or possession of controlled substances, appeared in 60%, compared with 47% for the year.

Article 120, rape and sexual assault, appeared in 20%, compared with 12%. Article 134 (the general article) appeared in 20%, lower than the 27% across the Air Force. Article 121 (larceny), Article 92 (failure to obey an order or regulation), and Article 120b (rape and sexual assault of a child) each appeared in 1 case.

The month had 6 full acquittals, and Air Force records rarely list charges for full acquittals. These shares therefore mostly describe cases with a conviction.

Bases With 2 Cases Each

Nellis AFB, Nevada, Tyndall AFB, Florida, JB Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, Offutt AFB, Nebraska, and Whiteman AFB, Missouri, each tried 2 cases. Together they account for 48% of the 21 cases. Larger installations try more cases of every kind, so a count alone shows little about any base.

Rules of the Period and Limits of the Records

These trials took place before the Military Justice Act of 2016 took effect on January 1, 2019. That law brought fixed panel sizes, judge-alone special courts-martial, and written plea agreements.

The records give trial dates, not offense dates. They do not include nonjudicial punishment or administrative separations, and they do not describe the evidence or the terms of any plea. Air Force records do not report plea agreements.

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.