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# What the Air Force Tried in May 2017
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/air-force-courts-martial-may-2017/
- Published: 2026-10-28T06:53:03.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-30T05:19:05.000Z
- Description: The Air Force tried 38 courts-martial in May 2017. Of the convictions, 91% included confinement. The median confinement was 3 months, slightly lower than the 4 months for the Air Force in all of 2017.
- Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart
- Tags: Understanding Trends, Air Force

[Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [By Year](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/by-year/) › May 2017

**Short answer:** The Air Force tried 38 courts-martial in May 2017\. Of the convictions, 91% included confinement. The median confinement was 3 months, slightly lower than the 4 months for the Air Force in all of 2017\. Of convicted enlisted members, 58% received a punitive discharge, compared with 51% for the year.

Based on 38 cases · May 2017 · Air Force records · data updated October 24, 2026

## Confinement Was Common but Mostly Short

Of the 33 convictions this month, 91% included some confinement. Only 3 convictions (9%) included no confinement, compared with 21% across the Air Force in 2017.

Most terms were short. The median was 3 months. Terms under 6 months were part of 19 convictions (58%), compared with 46% for the year. A quarter of terms were 1.1 years or more.

Each figure is the sentence adjudged at trial for every charge in the case. Clemency, an appeal, or a plea-agreement cap can reduce it later.

## Sentences of 5 Years or More

Confinement of 5 years or more was part of 4 convictions. That is 12% of the month's convictions, compared with 8% service-wide. Another 4 convictions included terms of more than 1 year and under 5 years.

In total, 8 of 33 convictions (24%) included more than one year, about the same as the 23% for 2017\. Only a general court-martial can adjudge more than one year of confinement. A special court-martial is capped at one year.

| Adjudged confinement            | Convictions | Share here | Share, the Air Force for all of 2017 |
| ------------------------------- | ----------- | ---------- | ------------------------------------ |
| No confinement                  | 3           | 9%         | 21%                                  |
| Under 6 months                  | 19          | 58%        | 46%                                  |
| 6 months to 1 year              | 3           | 9%         | 11%                                  |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 4           | 12%        | 14%                                  |
| 5 years or more                 | 4           | 12%        | 8%                                   |

## Sentences at Each Court Level

General courts-martial heard 18 cases. A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence, including a dishonorable discharge. Special courts-martial heard 20 cases. The general court-martial share was 47%, compared with 45% for the Air Force that year.

At general courts-martial, 93% of convictions included confinement, and the median was 1.3 years. At special courts-martial, 89% did, and the median was 2 months. Special courts-martial heard more of the month's cases than general courts-martial did.

## Punitive Discharges Were More Common Than for the Year

Of 31 convicted enlisted members, 18 received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge (58%), compared with 51% across the Air Force. Of those, 11 were bad-conduct discharges and 7 were dishonorable discharges.

Both of the 2 convicted officers or warrant officers were dismissed. A member who receives no punitive discharge at trial may still face administrative separation. These records do not show administrative separations.

## Fewer Acquittals Than Usual

Full acquittals, meaning not guilty of all charges, were 5 of the 38 cases (13%). Across the Air Force in 2017, the rate was 21%.

Air Force records from 2016 to 2019 rarely list a guilty plea. This rate is therefore measured against all cases, not only contested cases. The records for this period do not allow a rate for contested cases alone.

## What Was Charged

Of 38 records, 33 list the charges, and each article counts once per case. Article 112a, wrongful use or possession of controlled substances, was the most common charge, in 16 cases (48%), slightly lower than the 52% for 2017\. Article 134, the general article, appeared in 7 (21%), the same as the year.

Article 92 appeared in 5 cases and assault under Article 128 in 4\. Article 120 (rape and sexual assault), Article 120b (rape and sexual assault of a child), and Article 107 (false official statements) each appeared in 3\. For Article 107, that is 9%, compared with 4% for the year. Article 111, drunken or reckless driving under the pre-2019 numbering, appeared in 2.

| UCMJ Article                                                                                                                                       | Cases | Share here | Share, the Air Force for all of 2017 |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----- | ---------- | ------------------------------------ |
| [Art. 112a](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/ucmj/article-112a-drug-offenses/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 16    | 48%        | 52%                                  |
| [Art. 134](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-134/?ref=bodiesburied.com) General article                           | 7     | 21%        | 21%                                  |
| [Art. 92](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-92/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Failure to obey order or regulation         | 5     | 15%        | 17%                                  |
| [Art. 128](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-128/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Assault                                   | 4     | 12%        | 11%                                  |
| [Art. 120](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/ucmj/article-120-sexual-assault/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Rape and sexual assault                            | 3     | 9%         | 7%                                   |
| [Art. 120b](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-120b/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Rape and sexual assault of a child      | 3     | 9%         | 8%                                   |
| [Art. 107](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-107/?ref=bodiesburied.com) False official statements                 | 3     | 9%         | 4%                                   |
| Art. 111 Drunken or reckless driving                                                                                                               | 2     | 6%         | 4%                                   |

## Forum, Rank, and Location

The accused usually chooses whether a military judge alone or a panel of members decides guilt. Where the forum is listed, members decided 37% of cases: 7 enlisted panels and 7 officer panels. A military judge alone decided 24\. Records from this period rarely list a guilty plea, so they cannot show how many of those cases were contested.

The accused included 23 junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4), 13 NCOs (E-5 to E-9), and 2 officers or warrant officers. That mix is similar to the Air Force overall, where 61% were junior enlisted.

Ramstein AB, Germany, tried 3 cases, and Holloman AFB, New Mexico, Sheppard AFB, Texas, Peterson SFB, Colorado, and JB Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, tried 2 each. Together they accounted for 29% of the month's cases.

## May 2016 Compared With May 2017

May 2016 had 29 cases; May 2017 had 38\. Median confinement went from 9 months to 3 months. Punitive discharges for convicted enlisted members went from 78% to 58%. Convictions with confinement went from 86% to 91%. The general court-martial share went from 59% to 47%. A single month has few cases, so a few cases can change these figures.

|                               | May 2016 | May 2017 |
| ----------------------------- | -------- | -------- |
| Cases                         | 29       | 38       |
| Contested (of pleas recorded) | —        | —        |
| Convictions with confinement  | 86%      | 91%      |
| Median confinement            | 9 months | 3 months |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 78%      | 58%      |
| General courts-martial        | 59%      | 47%      |

## Rules of the Time and Record Gaps

These cases came 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 show trial dates, not offense dates. They do not include 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 May 2017 (38 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)
- [What the Air Force Tried in April 2017](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/air-force-courts-martial-april-2017/) (previous / next)
- [June 2017 at Air Force Courts-Martial: 33 Cases](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/air-force-courts-martial-june-2017/) (previous / next)
- [Air Force Courts-Martial in 2017: Year in Review](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/air-force-courts-martial-2017-year-in-review/) (the whole year)
- [Air Force Courts-Martial, April 2018: The Month in Review](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/air-force-courts-martial-april-2018/)
- [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: [What the Air Force Tried in April 2017](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/air-force-courts-martial-april-2017/)Next: [June 2017 at Air Force Courts-Martial: 33 Cases](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/air-force-courts-martial-june-2017/) →

**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.