Air Force Courts-Martial, May 2021: The Month in Review
The Air Force tried 30 courts-martial in May 2021. Of 16 contested cases that reached a verdict, 9 ended in a full acquittal (56%), compared with 47% for the Air Force in all of 2021. Assault under Article 128 appeared in 33% of cases with a charge list, compared with 27% for the year.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 5 min read
Short answer: The Air Force tried 30 courts-martial in May 2021. Of 16 contested cases that reached a verdict, 9 ended in a full acquittal (56%), compared with 47% for the Air Force in all of 2021. Assault under Article 128 appeared in 33% of cases with a charge list, compared with 27% for the year.
Full Acquittals in Contested Cases
In a contested case, the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. This month, 16 cases were contested and 14 accused pleaded guilty. The contested share of 53% was close to the 51% for the year.
Of the 16 contested cases with a verdict, 9 ended in a full acquittal. That rate of 56% is higher than the 47% across the Air Force in 2021. Only 1 contested case was a partial acquittal, meaning not guilty of some charges and guilty of others. Air Force results give one verdict per case, so a partial acquittal shows only when an appeals opinion reports it.
Assault Was the Most Common Charge
Charge lists are available for 21 of the 30 cases, with each article counted once per case. Assault under Article 128 appeared in 7 (33%), and drug charges under Article 112a in 6 (29%), lower than the 35% for the year.
Article 120 (rape and sexual assault) and Article 134 (the general article) each appeared in 3 cases. Article 113, drunken or reckless operation of a vehicle, appeared in 2 (10%), compared with 6% for 2021. Article 87a, resistance, flight, or breach of arrest, also appeared in 2 (10%), compared with 2% for the year.
Article 92 appeared in 2 cases, less often than its 18% annual share. Article 111, leaving the scene of a vehicle accident under its post-2019 numbering, in 1.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, the Air Force for all of 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 128 Assault | 7 | 33% | 27% |
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 6 | 29% | 35% |
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 3 | 14% | 11% |
| Art. 134 General article | 3 | 14% | 19% |
| Art. 113 Drunken or reckless operation of vehicle | 2 | 10% | 6% |
| Art. 87a Resistance, flight, breach of arrest | 2 | 10% | 2% |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 2 | 10% | 18% |
| Art. 111 Leaving scene of vehicle accident | 1 | 5% | 1% |
Short Terms and Long Terms
Of 21 convictions, 17 included confinement (81%). The median confinement was 5 months, close to the 4 months for the Air Force in 2021. A quarter of terms were 1.3 years or more.
Terms under 6 months were part of 9 convictions (43%). Terms of more than 1 year and under 5 years were part of 6 convictions (29%), compared with 17% for the year. Overall, 6 of 21 convictions (29%) included more than one year, compared with 23%. No conviction included 5 years or more, compared with 6% service-wide.
These are adjudged sentences for all charges in a case. Clemency, an appeal, or a plea-agreement cap can lower them later.
| Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, the Air Force for all of 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|
| No confinement | 4 | 19% | 15% |
| Under 6 months | 9 | 43% | 47% |
| 6 months to 1 year | 2 | 10% | 15% |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 6 | 29% | 17% |
| 5 years or more | 0 | 0% | 6% |
Court Level and Contested Trials
There were 14 general and 16 special courts-martial. The general court-martial share of 47% was lower than the 53% for the year. A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence, while a special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot adjudge a dishonorable discharge.
At general courts-martial, the median confinement was 1.3 years, and 57% of cases were contested. At special courts-martial, the median was 2 months, and 50% were contested. Since 2019, a special court-martial can also be heard by a military judge alone, with confinement capped at six months and no punitive discharge available.
Punitive Discharges
A punitive discharge was part of 60% of enlisted convictions: 7 bad-conduct discharges and 5 dishonorable discharges. Across the Air Force in 2021, the share was 56%. Only a general court-martial can impose a dishonorable discharge. A special court-martial can impose a bad-conduct discharge.
The month's 1 convicted officer or warrant officer was not dismissed. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out later administrative separation.
Fewer Cases Decided by Members
The accused usually decides between a military judge alone and a panel of members. Judges alone decided 21 cases, enlisted panels 7, and officer panels 2. Members decided 30% of cases, compared with 38% for the year.
Among contested cases, members decided 9 of 16 (56%). Most judge-alone cases are guilty pleas.
A Junior Group of Accused
The accused included 24 junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4), 5 NCOs (E-5 to E-9), and 1 officer. That mix is more junior than the Air Force overall, where 65% were junior enlisted.
Ramstein AB, Germany, Goodfellow AFB, Texas, and Hill AFB, Utah, tried 2 cases each, and Osan AB, South Korea, and JB Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, tried 1 each. Those five accounted for 27% of the month's cases. Larger bases try more cases of every kind, so a high count does not mean a base has a particular problem.
What Falls Outside
The trial records cover charges, pleas, findings, and sentences. They do not show the evidence, plea terms, offense dates, or conduct handled through nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation. Air Force records also rarely list charges after a full acquittal.
Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: UCMJ change timeline.
How We Counted
Air Force courts-martial with a trial date in May 2021 (30 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 April 2021 (previous / next)
- What the Air Force Tried in June 2021 (previous / next)
- The Air Force Court-Martial Year, 2021 (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.