June 2017 at Air Force Courts-Martial: 33 Cases
The Air Force tried 33 courts-martial in June 2017. Drunken or reckless driving under Article 111 appeared in 15% of cases with charge lists, compared with 4% for the Air Force across 2017. Punitive discharges for convicted enlisted members went from 67% in June 2016 to 48%.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 6 min read
Short answer: The Air Force tried 33 courts-martial in June 2017. Drunken or reckless driving under Article 111 appeared in 15% of cases with charge lists, compared with 4% for the Air Force across 2017. Punitive discharges for convicted enlisted members went from 67% in June 2016 to 48%.
Driving and Child Sexual Assault Charges
Charges are listed for 27 of the 33 cases. Each article counts once per case, so a case with several charges appears in several rows. Article 111, drunken or reckless driving, appeared in 4 cases. That is 15% of cases, compared with 4% for the year.
Article 120b, rape and sexual assault of a child, also appeared in 15%, compared with 8% across the Air Force. Article 120 (rape and sexual assault) appeared in 11%, compared with 7%. Article 133, conduct unbecoming an officer, appeared in 2 cases (7%), compared with 1%.
Drug charges appeared less often than in the year overall. Article 112a, wrongful use or possession of controlled substances, was the most common charge, in 44% of cases. The Air Force share for 2017 was 52%. Article 134 (the general article), Article 92 (failure to obey an order or regulation), and Article 128 (assault) appeared at about the same rates as in the year.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, the Air Force for all of 2017 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 12 | 44% | 52% |
| Art. 134 General article | 5 | 19% | 21% |
| Art. 120b Rape and sexual assault of a child | 4 | 15% | 8% |
| Art. 111 Drunken or reckless driving | 4 | 15% | 4% |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 4 | 15% | 17% |
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 3 | 11% | 7% |
| Art. 128 Assault | 3 | 11% | 11% |
| Art. 133 Conduct unbecoming an officer | 2 | 7% | 1% |
Fewer Punitive Discharges Than a Year Earlier
Of 25 convicted enlisted members, 12 received a punitive discharge: 9 bad-conduct and 3 dishonorable. The Air Force share for 2017 was 51%. Of 2 convicted officers or warrant officers, 1 was dismissed. Dismissal is the officer equivalent of a punitive discharge.
In June 2016, the same rate was 67%. The June 2017 rate was lower than both June 2016 and the Air Force for 2017. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.
Compared With June 2016
June 2016 had 37 cases, and June 2017 had 33. The median confinement was 5 months in both months. Convictions with confinement went from 90% to 85%, and the general court-martial share went from 54% to 52%.
These are small monthly groups, so a few cases can change any figure. The comparison shows direction. The records cannot show what caused the change in punitive discharges.
| June 2016 | June 2017 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cases | 37 | 33 |
| Contested (of pleas recorded) | — | — |
| Convictions with confinement | 90% | 85% |
| Median confinement | 5 months | 5 months |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 67% | 48% |
| General courts-martial | 54% | 52% |
How Much Confinement
Confinement was part of 85% of the 27 convictions. The median confinement was 5 months, higher than the 4-month Air Force median. A quarter of the terms were 1.2 years or longer.
Terms under 6 months came in 12 convictions (44%). Terms from 6 months to 1 year came in 5 (19%, compared with 11% for the year). Terms longer than one year came in 6 of 27 convictions (22%), compared with 23% for the Air Force. Another 4 included no confinement (15%, compared with 21%).
These are adjudged sentences, covering every charge of conviction, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal.
| Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, the Air Force for all of 2017 |
|---|---|---|---|
| No confinement | 4 | 15% | 21% |
| Under 6 months | 12 | 44% | 46% |
| 6 months to 1 year | 5 | 19% | 11% |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 4 | 15% | 14% |
| 5 years or more | 2 | 7% | 8% |
Confinement by Court Level
The median confinement was 1.2 years at the 17 general courts-martial and 2 months at the 16 special courts-martial. General courts-martial made up 52% of the month's cases.
A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge.
Full Acquittals Across All Cases
Of the 33 cases, 6 ended in a full acquittal (18%), compared with 21% for the Air Force in 2017. Air Force records from 2016 to 2019 rarely list a guilty plea, so this rate uses every case as the base, not only contested cases. A full acquittal is a finding of not guilty on every charge, and the case ends without a sentence.
Rank and Forum
Of the accused, 24 were junior enlisted (E-1 to E-4), 7 were NCOs (E-5 to E-9), and 2 were officers or warrant officers. That group was more junior than the Air Force overall, where 61% were junior enlisted.
A military judge alone decided guilt in 20 of 33 cases (61%). Members heard 13: 7 with enlisted panels and 6 with officer panels. The accused usually chooses the forum. Most guilty pleas go to a military judge alone. Pleas were rarely recorded in this period, so the records cannot show how many of the 13 panel cases were contested.
Installations and Limits of the Records
JB Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona, and Vandenberg SFB, California, each tried 3 cases. Holloman AFB, New Mexico, and Kirtland AFB, New Mexico, tried 2 each. Together they account for 39% of the month's cases. Larger installations try more cases of every kind.
These trials took place before the Military Justice Act of 2016 took effect on January 1, 2019. The records list trial dates, not offense dates. They do not include nonjudicial punishment or administrative actions, 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 June 2017 (33 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 May 2017 (previous / next)
- July 2017 at Air Force Courts-Martial: 18 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.