October 2022 at Air Force Courts-Martial: 24 Cases
The Air Force tried 24 courts-martial in October 2022, and sentences were longer than for the year. The median confinement was 1 year, compared with 6 months for the Air Force in all of 2022. Of convicted enlisted members, 78% received a punitive discharge, compared with 59%.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 6 min read
Trends › By Year › October 2022
Short answer: The Air Force tried 24 courts-martial in October 2022, and sentences were longer than for the year. The median confinement was 1 year, compared with 6 months for the Air Force in all of 2022. Of convicted enlisted members, 78% received a punitive discharge, compared with 59%.
A Median Term of 1 Year
Confinement was part of 95% of the 21 convictions. The median confinement was 1 year, and a quarter of the terms were 2 years or longer. For the Air Force as a whole that year, the median was 6 months.
Long terms were more common. Of 21 convictions, 9 (43%) included more than one year of confinement, compared with 28% service-wide. Terms of more than 1 year and under 5 years were part of 33% of convictions, compared with 21%. Terms of 5 years or more were part of 2 sentences.
Only 1 conviction included no confinement. Every figure here is an adjudged sentence, imposed at trial for all charges in the case. A plea-agreement cap, clemency, or an appeal can change it later.
| Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, the Air Force for all of 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|
| No confinement | 1 | 5% | 10% |
| Under 6 months | 9 | 43% | 46% |
| 6 months to 1 year | 2 | 10% | 16% |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 7 | 33% | 21% |
| 5 years or more | 2 | 10% | 7% |
Most Convicted Enlisted Members Received a Punitive Discharge
Among convicted enlisted members, 78% received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge: 10 bad-conduct discharges and 4 dishonorable discharges. The Air Force rate for 2022 was 59%.
For officers, the equivalent of a punitive discharge is a dismissal. All 3 convicted officers or warrant officers in October 2022 were dismissed. A sentence without a punitive discharge can still be followed by administrative separation, which these records do not show.
Which Articles Appeared
Records list charges for 21 of the 24 cases, counting each article once per case. Article 134, the general article, was the most common charge, at 33%, compared with 20% for the year. Article 92 (failure to obey an order or regulation) appeared in 29%, compared with 17%. Article 128 (assault) appeared in 24%, compared with 23%.
Article 112a, the drug article, appeared in 14%, lower than the 33% across the service. Article 113, drunken or reckless operation of a vehicle, and Article 90, willfully disobeying a superior officer, each appeared in 2 cases. Article 120 (rape and sexual assault) appeared in only 1 case, compared with a 15% share for the year.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, the Air Force for all of 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 134 General article | 7 | 33% | 20% |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 6 | 29% | 17% |
| Art. 128 Assault | 5 | 24% | 23% |
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 3 | 14% | 33% |
| Art. 113 Drunken or reckless operation of vehicle | 2 | 10% | 5% |
| Art. 90 Willfully disobeying superior officer | 2 | 10% | 2% |
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 1 | 5% | 15% |
| Art. 128b Domestic violence | 1 | 5% | 4% |
Pleas and Panels
A contested case is one where the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. In October 2022, 16 accused pleaded guilty and 8 cases were contested. The contested share was 33%, compared with 47% for the Air Force in 2022.
A military judge alone decided 19 cases. Members decided 5 (21%): 4 enlisted panels and 1 officer panel. For the year, members decided 32%. Most judge-alone trials are guilty pleas, so the forum split mostly follows the number of contested cases.
Of the 8 contested cases that reached a verdict, 3 ended in a full acquittal, meaning not guilty of all charges. A count this small can change a lot from one month to the next.
Court Level and Rank
There were 15 general and 9 special courts-martial. The general court-martial share was 62%, compared with 57% for the year. Only a general court-martial can impose more than one year of confinement or a dishonorable discharge.
The accused were 13 junior enlisted members, 8 NCOs, and 3 officers or warrant officers. That mix is more senior than the Air Force overall, where 58% of the accused were junior enlisted in 2022.
From October 2021 to October 2022
October 2021 had 22 cases, and October 2022 had 24. Median confinement went from 40 days to 1 year. Punitive discharges for convicted enlisted members went from 33% to 78%.
The general court-martial share went from 36% to 62%. Convictions with confinement went from 83% to 95%. The contested share went from 36% to 33%. Full acquittals in contested cases that reached a verdict went from 4 of 8 to 3 of 8. Monthly groups this small can change with a few cases, and the records do not show why.
| October 2021 | October 2022 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cases | 22 | 24 |
| Contested (of pleas recorded) | 36% | 33% |
| Full acquittals (decided contested) | 4 of 8 | 3 of 8 |
| Convictions with confinement | 83% | 95% |
| Median confinement | 40 days | 1 year |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 33% | 78% |
| General courts-martial | 36% | 62% |
Installations
Misawa AB, Japan, JB Charleston, South Carolina, and Spangdahlem AB, Germany, tried 2 cases each. Ft Meade, Maryland, and McConnell AFB, Kansas, tried 1 each. Together the five accounted for 33% of the month's cases. Larger installations try more cases of every kind, so a high count does not mean a base has a particular problem.
Limits of the Record
These records cover only courts-martial. Misconduct handled through nonjudicial punishment, administrative separation, or no action does not appear. The records do not describe the evidence or the terms of any plea agreement.
Air Force records also rarely list the charges in full acquittals, so the charge shares come mostly from cases with a conviction. Trial dates are given, but offense dates are not.
Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: UCMJ change timeline.
How We Counted
Air Force courts-martial with a trial date in October 2022 (24 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)
- Air Force Courts-Martial, September 2022: The Month in Review (previous / next)
- Air Force Courts-Martial, December 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.