What the Air Force Tried in May 2025
In May 2025 the Air Force tried 21 courts-martial, Only 20% of cases with a recorded plea were contested, compared with 41% for the Air Force in all of 2025. The median confinement was 1 year, compared with 6 months for the year.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 6 min read
Short answer: In May 2025 the Air Force tried 21 courts-martial, Only 20% of cases with a recorded plea were contested, compared with 41% for the Air Force in all of 2025. The median confinement was 1 year, compared with 6 months for the year.
Most Cases Were Guilty Pleas
Plea information exists for 15 of the 21 cases. Of those, 12 accused pleaded guilty and 3 pleaded not guilty to at least one charge. The contested share was 20%. Across the Air Force in 2025, 41% of cases were contested.
All 3 contested cases that reached a verdict ended in a full acquittal, meaning not guilty of all charges. That is only 3 cases, too few to show a pattern. Air Force results give one verdict per case, so a partial acquittal would show only when an appeals opinion reports it.
Confinement Was Longer Than the Annual Median
There were 16 convictions on at least one charge, and 12 of those sentences included confinement (75%). The median confinement was 1 year, compared with 6 months for the Air Force over the year.
A quarter of sentences were 6.6 years or longer. These are adjudged sentences, set at trial for every charge. A plea-agreement cap, clemency, or an appeal can reduce them later.
Drug and Child-Offense Charges
Every one of the 21 records lists the charges, and each article counts once per case. Article 112a, wrongful use or possession of controlled substances, appeared in 7 cases (33%), compared with 21% for the year. Article 134, the general article, appeared in 6 (29%), compared with 23%.
Article 120b, rape and sexual assault of a child, appeared in 4 cases (19%), compared with 9% across the service. Article 121 (larceny), Article 120 (rape and sexual assault), and Article 128 (assault) each appeared in 2. Article 107, false official statements, and Article 121b, false pretenses to obtain services, each appeared once.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, the Air Force for all of 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 7 | 33% | 21% |
| Art. 134 General article | 6 | 29% | 23% |
| Art. 120b Rape and sexual assault of a child | 4 | 19% | 9% |
| Art. 121 Larceny | 2 | 10% | 5% |
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 2 | 10% | 14% |
| Art. 128 Assault | 2 | 10% | 12% |
| Art. 107 False official statements | 1 | 5% | 8% |
| Art. 121b False pretenses to obtain services | 1 | 5% | 0% |
Punitive Discharges for Enlisted Members, None for Officers
Of 14 convicted enlisted members, 10 received a punitive discharge: 5 bad-conduct discharges and 5 dishonorable discharges. That rate of 71% is higher than the 60% for the Air Force in 2025. Only a general court-martial can adjudge a dishonorable discharge. A special court-martial can impose a bad-conduct discharge.
Neither of the 2 convicted officers or warrant officers was dismissed. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation, which these records do not track.
Court Level and Sentence
General courts-martial made up 48% of cases (10 of 21), and special courts-martial the rest. A general court-martial can impose long confinement and a dishonorable discharge. A special court-martial is limited to one year of confinement.
At the 10 general courts-martial, the median confinement was 1.3 years. At the 11 special courts-martial, the median was 3 months. The overall median of 1 year falls between the general and special medians. Only a general court-martial can adjudge more than one year of confinement.
Most Cases Were Judge-Alone Trials
The accused usually chooses between a military judge alone and a panel of members. A military judge alone decided guilt in 18 of 21 cases (86%). Members decided 3: 2 enlisted panels and 1 officer panel. Most judge-alone cases are guilty pleas, so the forum split mostly follows how many cases were contested.
A More Senior Group
The accused were 11 junior enlisted members, 8 NCOs, and 2 officers. That mix is more senior than the Air Force as a whole that year.
Tyndall AFB, Florida, Beale AFB, California, Fairchild AFB, Washington, and Eglin AFB, Florida, each tried 2 cases, and Robins AFB, Georgia, tried 1. These five accounted for 43% of the month's cases. Larger installations try more cases of every kind.
Changes Since May 2024
May 2024 had 20 cases, and May 2025 had 21. The contested share went from 44% to 20%. Full acquittals in contested cases that reached a verdict went from 3 of 8 to 3 of 3. Median confinement went from 3 months to 1 year. Punitive discharges for convicted enlisted members went from 43% to 71%. Convictions with confinement went from 88% to 75%. The general court-martial share went from 55% to 48%.
Monthly groups this small can change a lot with a few cases, so the comparison shows direction only.
| May 2024 | May 2025 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cases | 20 | 21 |
| Contested (of pleas recorded) | 44% | 20% |
| Full acquittals (decided contested) | 3 of 8 | 3 of 3 |
| Convictions with confinement | 88% | 75% |
| Median confinement | 3 months | 1 year |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 43% | 71% |
| General courts-martial | 55% | 48% |
Law Changes and Limits
Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel, not commanders, decide whether to prosecute covered offenses such as sexual assault, domestic violence, and murder. When every guilty finding involves an offense after December 27, 2023, the military judge sets the sentence within new sentencing parameters. The records give trial dates, not offense dates. Trials in 2025 therefore include cases under the old rules and the new rules. The records cannot show whether either change affected these results.
Nonjudicial punishment, administrative separations, evidence, and plea terms are also outside the records.
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 2025 (21 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)
- April 2025 at Air Force Courts-Martial: 13 Cases (previous / next)
- Air Force Courts-Martial, June 2025: The Month in Review (previous / next)
- How 2025 Went at Air Force Courts-Martial (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.