Air Force Courts-Martial, May 2022: The Month in Review
The Air Force tried 32 courts-martial in May 2022. Rape and sexual assault charges under Article 120 appeared in 27% of cases with a charge list, compared with 15% for the Air Force in all of 2022.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 6 min read
Short answer: The Air Force tried 32 courts-martial in May 2022. Rape and sexual assault charges under Article 120 appeared in 27% of cases with a charge list, compared with 15% for the Air Force in all of 2022. Of 18 contested cases that reached a verdict, 6 ended in a full acquittal (33%), lower than the 45% for the year.
Sexual Assault Charges Were More Common Than for the Year
Of the 32 cases, 26 have a charge list, and each article is counted once in a case that names it. Article 120, rape and sexual assault, appeared in 7 of those cases. That share of 27% is higher than the 15% for the Air Force over the whole year.
Article 134, the general article, also appeared in 7 cases (27%), compared with 20% for the year. Drug charges under Article 112a appeared in 8 (31%), close to the 33% for 2022. Assault under Article 128 appeared in 6 (23%), the same as the year.
Article 92 appeared in 5 cases (19%). Article 120b and Article 128b, domestic violence, each appeared in 2 (8%). Domestic violence was charged in 4% of cases across the service. Article 131b, obstructing justice, appeared once.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, the Air Force for all of 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 8 | 31% | 33% |
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 7 | 27% | 15% |
| Art. 134 General article | 7 | 27% | 20% |
| Art. 128 Assault | 6 | 23% | 23% |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 5 | 19% | 17% |
| Art. 120b Rape and sexual assault of a child | 2 | 8% | 6% |
| Art. 128b Domestic violence | 2 | 8% | 4% |
| Art. 131b Obstructing justice | 1 | 4% | 3% |
Most Contested Cases Ended in at Least One Conviction
A case is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. This month, 18 cases were contested and 14 accused pleaded guilty. The contested share was 56%, compared with 47% for the year.
Of the 18 contested cases that reached a verdict, 6 ended in full acquittal (33%), lower than the 45% service-wide. Another 7 were partial acquittals: not guilty of some charges and guilty of others. Air Force results report one verdict per case, so a partial acquittal shows only when an appeals opinion reports it.
Panels Decided Half the Cases
The accused usually decides whether a military judge alone or a panel of members determines guilt. Judges alone decided 16 cases, while enlisted panels and officer panels decided 8 each. Members decided 50% of cases, compared with 32% for the Air Force in 2022.
Members decided 16 of the 18 contested cases (89%). Most judge-alone cases are guilty pleas, so the forum split mostly follows how many cases were contested. This month had a higher contested share than the year.
Many Convictions Without Confinement
Confinement was part of 77% of the 26 convictions. No confinement was part of 6 convictions (23%), compared with 10% across the Air Force. The median confinement was 5 months, slightly lower than the 6 months for the year.
A quarter of terms were 3 years or more. Terms of more than one year were part of 8 of 26 convictions (31%), about the same as the 28% for 2022. Of those, 2 were 5 years or more.
These are adjudged sentences for all charges in a case, before any clemency, appeal, or plea-agreement cap.
| Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, the Air Force for all of 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|
| No confinement | 6 | 23% | 10% |
| Under 6 months | 10 | 38% | 46% |
| 6 months to 1 year | 2 | 8% | 16% |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 6 | 23% | 21% |
| 5 years or more | 2 | 8% | 7% |
General and Special Courts-Martial
General and special courts-martial each heard 16 cases, a general court-martial share of 50%, compared with 57% 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 2.5 years, and 75% of cases were contested. At special courts-martial, the median was 3 months, and 38% were contested.
Dishonorable Discharges Outnumbered Bad-Conduct
A punitive discharge was part of 50% of enlisted convictions, compared with 59% for the Air Force in 2022. Of those discharges, 8 were dishonorable and 4 were bad-conduct.
Of 2 convicted officers or warrant officers, 1 was dismissed. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.
A More Senior Group of Accused
The accused were 15 NCOs (E-5 to E-9), 14 junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4), and 3 officers or warrant officers. That mix is more senior than the Air Force overall, where 58% were junior enlisted.
Scott AFB, Illinois, tried 3 cases. Ramstein AB, Germany, MacDill AFB, Florida, and Hill AFB, Utah, tried 2 each, and Ft Meade, Maryland, tried 1. Together they accounted for 31% of the month's cases. Larger installations try more cases of every kind.
Compared With May 2021
May 2021 had 30 cases; May 2022 had 32. The contested share went from 53% to 56%. Full acquittals in contested cases that reached a verdict went from 9 of 16 to 6 of 18. Median confinement was 5 months in both months. Punitive discharges for convicted enlisted members went from 60% to 50%. Convictions with confinement went from 81% to 77%. Monthly groups are small, so these changes show direction more than size.
| May 2021 | May 2022 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cases | 30 | 32 |
| Contested (of pleas recorded) | 53% | 56% |
| Full acquittals (decided contested) | 9 of 16 | 6 of 18 |
| Convictions with confinement | 81% | 77% |
| Median confinement | 5 months | 5 months |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 60% | 50% |
| General courts-martial | 47% | 50% |
Missing From the Data
The records cover only cases that reached a courtroom. They do not include nonjudicial punishment, administrative separations, offense dates, evidence, or plea terms. Air Force records also rarely list charges when a case ends in a full acquittal and never report plea agreements. The charge shares above therefore come mostly from cases with at least one conviction.
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 2022 (32 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 2022 (previous / next)
- Air Force Courts-Martial, June 2022: The Month in Review (previous / next)
- Air Force Courts-Martial in 2022: 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.