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# Air Force Courts-Martial, March 2018: The Month in Review
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/air-force-courts-martial-march-2018/
- Published: 2026-10-28T06:53:11.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-30T05:19:15.000Z
- Description: The Air Force tried 34 courts-martial in March 2018. Drug charges under Article 112a appeared in 59% of the cases with a charge list, compared with 47% for the Air Force across 2018.
- Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart
- Tags: Understanding Trends, Air Force

[Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [By Year](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/by-year/) › March 2018

**Short answer:** The Air Force tried 34 courts-martial in March 2018\. Drug charges under Article 112a appeared in 59% of the cases with a charge list, compared with 47% for the Air Force across 2018\. The median confinement was 4 months, the same as the yearly median, and 63% of convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge.

Based on 34 cases · March 2018 · Air Force records · data updated October 24, 2026

## Drug Charges in Most Cases

Charges are listed for 27 cases, and 16 of them included Article 112a, wrongful use or possession of controlled substances. That 59% share compares with 47% for the Air Force over the whole year.

Each article is counted once per case, so a single case can appear in several rows. Article 134, the general article, appeared in 4 cases (15%), lower than its 27% annual share. Article 92 (failure to obey an order or regulation), Article 128 (assault), Article 120 (rape and sexual assault), and Article 120b (rape and sexual assault of a child) each appeared in 3 cases, or 11%.

Article 107, false official statements, appeared in 2 cases (7%), the same as the annual share. Article 120c, other sexual misconduct, appeared in 1.

| UCMJ Article                                                                                                                                       | Cases | Share here | Share, the Air Force for all of 2018 |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----- | ---------- | ------------------------------------ |
| [Art. 112a](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/ucmj/article-112a-drug-offenses/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 16    | 59%        | 47%                                  |
| [Art. 134](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-134/?ref=bodiesburied.com) General article                           | 4     | 15%        | 27%                                  |
| [Art. 120](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/ucmj/article-120-sexual-assault/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Rape and sexual assault                            | 3     | 11%        | 12%                                  |
| [Art. 128](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-128/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Assault                                   | 3     | 11%        | 10%                                  |
| [Art. 92](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-92/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Failure to obey order or regulation         | 3     | 11%        | 15%                                  |
| [Art. 120b](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-120b/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Rape and sexual assault of a child      | 3     | 11%        | 12%                                  |
| [Art. 107](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-107/?ref=bodiesburied.com) False official statements                 | 2     | 7%         | 7%                                   |
| [Art. 120c](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-120c/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Other sexual misconduct                 | 1     | 4%         | 2%                                   |

## More Punitive Discharges Than the Year

For enlisted members, a punitive discharge is a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge. This month, 17 of 27 convicted enlisted members received one (63%): 12 bad-conduct and 5 dishonorable. Across the Air Force in 2018, the share was 58%.

A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation, which these records do not track.

## Most Terms Were Measured in Months

Confinement was part of 22 of the 27 sentences after conviction. The median confinement was 4 months, the same as the Air Force median for the year. A quarter of the terms were 8 months or longer.

Terms under 6 months came in 14 convictions (52%), compared with 48% across the Air Force. Terms longer than one year came in 4 of 27 convictions (15%), less often than the 20% for 2018\. No conviction this month included 5 years or more.

Each figure is the sentence adjudged at trial for all charges together. A plea-agreement cap, clemency, or an appeal can reduce it later.

| Adjudged confinement            | Convictions | Share here | Share, the Air Force for all of 2018 |
| ------------------------------- | ----------- | ---------- | ------------------------------------ |
| No confinement                  | 5           | 19%        | 18%                                  |
| Under 6 months                  | 14          | 52%        | 48%                                  |
| 6 months to 1 year              | 4           | 15%        | 13%                                  |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 4           | 15%        | 12%                                  |
| 5 years or more                 | 0           | 0%         | 8%                                   |

## Most Cases Were Special Courts-Martial

Special courts-martial accounted for 21 of the 34 cases, and general courts-martial for 13\. A special court-martial cannot impose more than one year of confinement or a dishonorable discharge. A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence.

The general share was 38%, lower than the 50% for the Air Force in 2018\. The median confinement was 1.2 years at general courts-martial and 2 months at special courts-martial.

## Full Acquittals at About the Annual Rate

Of the 34 cases, 7 ended in a full acquittal (21%), meaning not guilty on every charge. The rate across the Air Force was 22%. Records from 2016 to 2019 rarely note a guilty plea, so this rate uses every case as its base, not only contested cases.

Cases resolved by a guilty plea almost never end in a full acquittal. A rate based on all cases is therefore lower than a rate based only on contested cases.

## Who Decided Guilt?

The accused usually decides whether a military judge alone or a panel of members decides guilt. A military judge alone decided 21 of the 34 cases (62%). Members decided the other 13: 10 with officer panels and 3 with enlisted panels.

Guilty pleas are mostly missing from records of this period. The data therefore cannot show how the choice of forum compared with whether a case was contested.

## A More Junior Group of Accused

Junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) made up 68% of the accused, compared with 63% across the Air Force in 2018\. NCOs made up 26%, and officers 6%.

No base tried more than 2 cases. Ramstein AB, Germany, Dyess AFB, Texas, Tinker AFB, Oklahoma, Hill AFB, Utah, and Barksdale AFB, Louisiana, each tried 2\. Together they account for 29% of the month's cases. Larger bases try more cases of all kinds.

## Compared With March 2017

March 2017 had 38 cases, and March 2018 had 34\. The median confinement went from 3 months to 4 months. Punitive discharges for convicted enlisted members went from 48% to 63%.

Convictions with confinement were 81% in both months. General courts-martial went from 39% to 38% of cases. A few cases can change monthly figures, so these comparisons show direction only.

|                               | March 2017 | March 2018 |
| ----------------------------- | ---------- | ---------- |
| Cases                         | 38         | 34         |
| Contested (of pleas recorded) | —          | —          |
| Convictions with confinement  | 81%        | 81%        |
| Median confinement            | 3 months   | 4 months   |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 48%        | 63%        |
| General courts-martial        | 39%        | 38%        |

## Limits and the Later Rule Change

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 capped at six months with no punitive discharge, and written plea agreements. The records give trial dates, not offense dates. They do not include the evidence, plea terms, nonjudicial punishment, or administrative separations.

Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: [UCMJ change timeline](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/ucmj-change-timeline/).

### How We Counted

Air Force courts-martial with a trial date in March 2018 (34 cases), compared with the whole year.

Source: public court-martial records (Article 140a, UCMJ) in [Military Trial Results](https://www.bodiesburied.com/military-trial-results/), data updated October 24, 2026\. Definitions, sources, and known gaps: [how this data was built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/how-the-military-trial-results-data-was-built/). Errors: content@bodiesburied.com.

## Related Analysis

- [Air Force Courts-Martial: Data and Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/air-force-courts-martial/) (hub)
- [By Year](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/by-year/) (hub)
- [Air Force Courts-Martial, February 2018: The Month in Review](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/air-force-courts-martial-february-2018/) (previous / next)
- [Air Force Courts-Martial, April 2018: The Month in Review](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/air-force-courts-martial-april-2018/) (previous / next)
- [Air Force Courts-Martial in 2018: Year in Review](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/air-force-courts-martial-2018-year-in-review/) (the whole year)
- [Air Force Courts-Martial, April 2019: The Month in Review](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/air-force-courts-martial-april-2019/)
- [Air Force Courts-Martial, August 2018: The Month in Review](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/air-force-courts-martial-august-2018/)
- [Air Force Courts-Martial, August 2020: The Month in Review](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/air-force-courts-martial-august-2020/)
- [Search every case in Military Trial Results](https://www.bodiesburied.com/military-trial-results/) (members)

← Previous: [Air Force Courts-Martial, February 2018: The Month in Review](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/air-force-courts-martial-february-2018/)Next: [Air Force Courts-Martial, April 2018: The Month in Review](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/air-force-courts-martial-april-2018/) →

**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](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/?ref=bodiesburied.com). This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.