Air Force Courts-Martial, October 2025: The Month in Review
The records show 19 Air Force courts-martial tried in October 2025. Among 12 convicted enlisted members, 3 received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge (25%), compared with 60% across the Air Force in 2025.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 5 min read
Trends › By Year › October 2025
Short answer: The records show 19 Air Force courts-martial tried in October 2025. Among 12 convicted enlisted members, 3 received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge (25%), compared with 60% across the Air Force in 2025. Article 112a (drug offenses) appeared in 41% of cases with charges listed, compared with 21% for the year.
Fewer Punitive Discharges Than the Year
3 of 12 convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge (25%), less often than the 60% for the Air Force in all of 2025. 1 of those 3 was a dishonorable discharge.
The month also had 2 convicted officers or warrant officers, and 2 were dismissed. Dismissal is the officer equivalent of a punitive discharge. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.
Drug Charges
The charge lists cover 17 of 19 cases, and a case with several articles appears under each. Article 112a (drug offenses) appeared in 7 cases (41%), compared with 21% for the year.
Article 120 (rape and sexual assault) and Article 134 (general article) appeared in 3 cases each. Article 92 (failure to obey order or regulation), Article 128 (assault), Article 90 (willfully disobeying superior officer), and Article 107 (false official statements) appeared in 2 each. Article 128b (domestic violence) appeared in 1 case (6%), compared with 16% for the year.
Air Force records rarely list charges in a full acquittal, so these shares mostly describe cases with a conviction.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, the Air Force for all of 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 7 | 41% | 21% |
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 3 | 18% | 14% |
| Art. 134 General article | 3 | 18% | 23% |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 2 | 12% | 17% |
| Art. 128 Assault | 2 | 12% | 12% |
| Art. 90 Willfully disobeying superior officer | 2 | 12% | 4% |
| Art. 107 False official statements | 2 | 12% | 8% |
| Art. 128b Domestic violence | 1 | 6% | 16% |
More Contested Cases
16 of the 19 records list the plea. 9 accused contested at least one charge and 7 pleaded guilty, a contested share of 56%. The Air Force figure for 2025 was 41%. A contested case is a not-guilty or mixed plea.
Members heard 42% of the cases, compared with 26% for the year: 6 with enlisted panels and 2 with officer panels. A military judge alone decided 11.
Confinement
Of 14 convictions, 11 carried confinement. The median confinement was 4 months, shorter than the 6-month median for the Air Force in 2025. A quarter of the confinement terms were 1.3 years or longer.
These are adjudged sentences for every charge of conviction, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal.
October 2024 Compared With October 2025
October 2024 had 28 cases, and October 2025 had 19. Punitive discharges for convicted enlisted members went from 71% to 25%. The median confinement went from 7 months to 4 months.
The contested share went from 41% to 56%. Full acquittals in contested cases that reached a verdict went from 4 of 9 to 5 of 9. Convictions with confinement went from 78% to 79%, and the general court-martial share from 61% to 58%. A few cases can change figures in groups this small.
| October 2024 | October 2025 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cases | 28 | 19 |
| Contested (of pleas recorded) | 41% | 56% |
| Full acquittals (decided contested) | 4 of 9 | 5 of 9 |
| Convictions with confinement | 78% | 79% |
| Median confinement | 7 months | 4 months |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 71% | 25% |
| General courts-martial | 61% | 58% |
Rank and Court Level
10 accused were junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4), 7 were NCOs (E-5 to E-9), and 2 were officers or warrant officers. Across the Air Force in 2025, 60% of the accused were junior enlisted, so this month had a more senior group.
There were 11 general and 8 special courts-martial. The general share was 58%, compared with 51% for the year. A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence, and a special court-martial is limited to one year of confinement with no dishonorable discharge.
Rules in Effect 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 is for an offense after December 27, 2023, the military judge sets the sentence under new sentencing parameters. The records give only trial dates, so they cannot show which rules applied to each case.
The records also do not describe the evidence or plea terms, and they leave out nonjudicial punishment and administrative separations.
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 2025 (19 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)
- September 2025 at Air Force Courts-Martial: 22 Cases (previous / next)
- December 2025 at Air Force Courts-Martial: 15 Cases (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.