> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.bodiesburied.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Air Force Courts-Martial, November 2017: The Month in Review - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/air-force-courts-martial-november-2017/ - Published: 2026-10-28T08:12:13.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-30T05:19:10.000Z - Description: The Air Force tried 32 courts-martial in November 2017, and 12 ended in a full acquittal (38%), compared with 21% for the Air Force in all of 2017. Among cases with a charge list, 60% included drug charges under Article 112a. - Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart - Tags: Understanding Trends, Air Force [Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [By Year](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/by-year/) › November 2017 **Short answer:** The Air Force tried 32 courts-martial in November 2017, and 12 ended in a full acquittal (38%), compared with 21% for the Air Force in all of 2017\. Among cases with a charge list, 60% included drug charges under Article 112a. The median confinement was 3 months, compared with 4 months for the year. Based on 32 cases · November 2017 · Air Force records · data updated October 24, 2026 ## More Full Acquittals Than for the Year Of the month's 32 cases, 12 ended in a full acquittal, meaning not guilty of all charges. That rate of 38% is higher than the 21% for the Air Force in 2017. The rate is measured against all cases. Air Force records from 2016 to 2019 rarely list a guilty plea, so contested cases cannot be separated out. The base for this rate includes guilty pleas as well as contested cases. Air Force records rarely list charges for a full acquittal. Only 20 of the 32 records this month include a charge list. The charge shares below therefore come mostly from cases that ended in a conviction. ## Drug Charges in Most Listed Cases Among the 20 cases with charges listed, Article 112a, wrongful use or possession of controlled substances, appeared in 12 (60%), compared with 52% across the service. Each article counts once per case. Article 134, the general article, appeared in 5 cases (25%), and Article 92, failure to obey an order or regulation, in 4 (20%). Article 120 (rape and sexual assault) and Article 120b (rape and sexual assault of a child) each appeared in 3 cases (15%). For the year, the shares were 7% and 8%. Larceny under Article 121 appeared in 2 cases. Assault under Article 128 and AWOL under Article 86 appeared in 1 each. Service-wide, assault was charged in 11% of cases. | 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 | 12 | 60% | 52% | | [Art. 134](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-134/?ref=bodiesburied.com) General article | 5 | 25% | 21% | | [Art. 92](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-92/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Failure to obey order or regulation | 4 | 20% | 17% | | [Art. 120](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/ucmj/article-120-sexual-assault/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Rape and sexual assault | 3 | 15% | 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 | 15% | 8% | | [Art. 121](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-121/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Larceny | 2 | 10% | 6% | | [Art. 128](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-128/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Assault | 1 | 5% | 11% | | [Art. 86](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-86/?ref=bodiesburied.com) AWOL | 1 | 5% | 3% | ## A Short Median and Some Long Terms Of 20 convictions, 85% included confinement. The median confinement was 3 months, slightly lower than the 4 months for the year. Terms under 6 months were part of 50% of convictions. Long terms were more common than usual. A quarter of terms were 2.5 years or more. Terms of more than one year were part of 6 of 20 convictions (30%), compared with 23% for the Air Force. Of those, 5 convictions (25%) were more than 1 year and under 5 years, compared with 14% across the service. 1 was 5 years or more. Each figure is the adjudged sentence for all charges, before clemency, appeal, or any plea-agreement cap. | Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, the Air Force for all of 2017 | | ------------------------------- | ----------- | ---------- | ------------------------------------ | | No confinement | 3 | 15% | 21% | | Under 6 months | 10 | 50% | 46% | | 6 months to 1 year | 1 | 5% | 11% | | More than 1 year, under 5 years | 5 | 25% | 14% | | 5 years or more | 1 | 5% | 8% | ## General Courts-Martial Heard More Cases General courts-martial heard 18 cases and special courts-martial 14\. The general court-martial share of 56% is higher than the 45% for the Air Force in 2017. A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence, including a dishonorable discharge. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year. The median confinement was 2.5 years at general courts-martial and 3 months at special courts-martial. ## Punitive Discharges Of 19 convicted enlisted members, 11 received a punitive discharge: 6 bad-conduct discharges and 5 dishonorable discharges. The service-wide share for 2017 was 51%. The 1 convicted officer or warrant officer was dismissed. A member with no punitive discharge can still face administrative separation, which these records do not show. Only a general court-martial can impose a dishonorable discharge. A special court-martial can impose a bad-conduct discharge. ## More Judge-Alone Trials Than Panels The accused usually chooses whether guilt is decided by a military judge alone or by a panel of members. A military judge alone decided 22 cases. Enlisted panels and officer panels decided 5 each. Members decided 31% of cases, compared with 42% for the Air Force that year. Guilty pleas are rarely recorded for this period. The records therefore cannot show how many judge-alone or panel cases were contested. ## Rank and Installations The accused were 21 junior enlisted members, 9 NCOs, and 2 officers. That group is more junior than the Air Force overall. Eglin AFB, Florida, and Hurlburt Field, Florida, tried 3 cases each. McConnell AFB, Kansas, Ellsworth AFB, South Dakota, and Goodfellow AFB, Texas, tried 2 each. Those five accounted for 38% of the month's cases. Larger bases try more cases of every kind. ## The Rules of 2017 and the Gaps These trials came before the Military Justice Act of 2016 took effect on January 1, 2019\. That law later brought fixed panel sizes, judge-alone special courts-martial capped at six months, and written plea agreements. None of those changes applied here. 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 November 2017 (32 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) - [October 2017 at Air Force Courts-Martial: 30 Cases](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/air-force-courts-martial-october-2017/) (previous / next) - [What the Air Force Tried in December 2017](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/air-force-courts-martial-december-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: [October 2017 at Air Force Courts-Martial: 30 Cases](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/air-force-courts-martial-october-2017/)Next: [What the Air Force Tried in December 2017](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/air-force-courts-martial-december-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.