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# What the Air Force Tried in October 2018
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/air-force-courts-martial-october-2018/
- Published: 2026-10-28T06:53:16.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-30T05:19:22.000Z
- Description: The Air Force tried 41 courts-martial in October 2018, and sentences were more severe than for the year. Of convicted enlisted members, 66% received a punitive discharge, compared with 58% for the Air Force in all of 2018.
- Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart
- Tags: Understanding Trends, Air Force

[Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [By Year](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/by-year/) › October 2018

**Short answer:** The Air Force tried 41 courts-martial in October 2018, and sentences were more severe than for the year. Of convicted enlisted members, 66% received a punitive discharge, compared with 58% for the Air Force in all of 2018\. Confinement of more than one year was part of 30% of convictions, compared with 20%.

Based on 41 cases · October 2018 · Air Force records · data updated October 24, 2026

## Most Cases Were General Courts-Martial

General courts-martial heard 25 of the 41 cases (61%). A general court-martial can adjudge any lawful sentence, including long confinement and a dishonorable discharge or dismissal. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge.

The median confinement was 1.5 years at the 25 general courts-martial and 3 months at the 16 special courts-martial. In October 2017, general courts-martial were only 33% of the month's cases.

## How Long Were the Confinement Terms?

Of 33 convictions, 28 included confinement (85%). The median confinement was 4 months, the same as for the full Air Force year. A quarter of the terms were 2 years or longer.

Terms of 5 years or more were part of 15% of convictions, compared with 8% service-wide in 2018\. Terms of more than 1 year and under 5 years were part of another 15%, compared with 12%. Terms under 6 months were 48% of convictions, the same as the year.

All of these figures are adjudged sentences. They cover every charge in a case and come before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal.

| Adjudged confinement            | Convictions | Share here | Share, the Air Force for all of 2018 |
| ------------------------------- | ----------- | ---------- | ------------------------------------ |
| No confinement                  | 5           | 15%        | 18%                                  |
| Under 6 months                  | 16          | 48%        | 48%                                  |
| 6 months to 1 year              | 2           | 6%         | 13%                                  |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 5           | 15%        | 12%                                  |
| 5 years or more                 | 5           | 15%        | 8%                                   |

## Discharges and Dismissals

Of 29 convicted enlisted members, 19 received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge (66%), compared with 58% across the Air Force in 2018\. Of those 19, 10 were dishonorable discharges.

For officers, the equivalent of a punitive discharge is a dismissal. Of 4 convicted officers or warrant officers, 2 were dismissed. A sentence without a punitive discharge or dismissal does not rule out a later administrative separation, which the court records do not show.

## The Charge Mix

Charge lists exist for 33 of the 41 cases, and each article is counted once per case. Article 134, the general article, appeared in 33% of them, compared with 27% for the year. Article 120 (rape and sexual assault) appeared in 18%, compared with 12%. Article 120b (rape and sexual assault of a child) appeared in 15%, compared with 12%.

Drug charges were less common. Article 112a, wrongful use or possession of controlled substances, appeared in 30% of cases with charges listed, lower than the 47% for the Air Force in 2018\. Article 133, conduct unbecoming an officer, appeared in 3 cases, and Article 85 (desertion) in 1.

| UCMJ Article                                                                                                                                       | Cases | Share here | Share, the Air Force for all of 2018 |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----- | ---------- | ------------------------------------ |
| [Art. 134](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-134/?ref=bodiesburied.com) General article                           | 11    | 33%        | 27%                                  |
| [Art. 112a](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/ucmj/article-112a-drug-offenses/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 10    | 30%        | 47%                                  |
| [Art. 120](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/ucmj/article-120-sexual-assault/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Rape and sexual assault                            | 6     | 18%        | 12%                                  |
| [Art. 120b](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-120b/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Rape and sexual assault of a child      | 5     | 15%        | 12%                                  |
| [Art. 92](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-92/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Failure to obey order or regulation         | 5     | 15%        | 15%                                  |
| [Art. 121](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-121/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Larceny                                   | 3     | 9%         | 5%                                   |
| Art. 133 Conduct unbecoming an officer                                                                                                             | 3     | 9%         | 2%                                   |
| Art. 85 Desertion                                                                                                                                  | 1     | 3%         | 1%                                   |

## Convictions on the Leading Charges

All 11 cases charging Article 134 in the table ended in a conviction under it (11 of 11). The median confinement for those convictions was 1.5 years. There were 10 convictions under Article 112a, and the median was 3 months.

These are not conviction rates. Air Force records rarely list charges when a case ends in full acquittal, so the charge counts come mostly from convicted cases.

| Article                                                     | Cases charging it | Convicted of it | Median confinement when convicted of it |
| ----------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------- | --------------- | --------------------------------------- |
| Art. 134 General article                                    | 11                | 11              | 1.5 years                               |
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 10                | 10              | 3 months                                |

## Acquittals and Who Decided Guilt

Full acquittals, meaning not guilty of all charges, were 8 of the 41 cases (20%). For the Air Force across 2018, the rate was 22%. Air Force records from 2016 to 2019 rarely list a guilty plea, so this rate uses all cases as its base, not only contested cases.

A military judge alone decided 22 cases. Panels of members decided the rest: 4 enlisted panels and 13 officer panels. Members decided 44% of the month's cases, compared with 48% for the year. The accused usually chooses between a military judge alone and a panel.

## October 2017 Compared With October 2018

October 2017 had 30 cases. Median confinement went from 6 months to 4 months. Convictions with confinement went from 71% to 85%.

Punitive discharges for convicted enlisted members went from 42% to 66%. Monthly groups this size can change with a few cases, so these changes show direction, not precise size. The records do not explain them.

|                               | October 2017 | October 2018 |
| ----------------------------- | ------------ | ------------ |
| Cases                         | 30           | 41           |
| Contested (of pleas recorded) | —            | —            |
| Convictions with confinement  | 71%          | 85%          |
| Median confinement            | 6 months     | 4 months     |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 42%          | 66%          |
| General courts-martial        | 33%          | 61%          |

## Who Stood Trial, Where, and the Gaps

The accused were 22 junior enlisted members, 15 NCOs, and 4 officers. That group is more senior than the Air Force overall in 2018.

Barksdale AFB, Louisiana, tried 3 cases. Holloman AFB, New Mexico, Moody AFB, Georgia, JB Andrews, Maryland, and Kadena AB, Japan, tried 2 each. Those five bases accounted for 27% of the month's cases. Larger installations try more cases of every kind.

These trials came before January 1, 2019, when the Military Justice Act of 2016 took effect. The records give trial dates, not offense dates. They do not include the evidence, any plea terms, or conduct handled through nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation.

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 October 2018 (41 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 September 2018](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/air-force-courts-martial-september-2018/) (previous / next)
- [What the Air Force Tried in November 2018](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/air-force-courts-martial-november-2018/) (previous / next)
- [Air Force Courts-Martial in 2018: Year in Review](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/air-force-courts-martial-2018-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)

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**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.