Air Force Courts-Martial, September 2017: The Month in Review
The Air Force tried 30 courts-martial in September 2017: 15 general courts-martial and 15 special courts-martial. The median confinement was 3 years at general courts-martial and 3 months at special courts-martial.
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Trends › By Year › September 2017
Short answer: The Air Force tried 30 courts-martial in September 2017: 15 general courts-martial and 15 special courts-martial. The median confinement was 3 years at general courts-martial and 3 months at special courts-martial. Overall, the median confinement was 5 months, and 52% of convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge.
Sentences at Each Court Level
There were 15 general courts-martial and 15 special courts-martial. The general court-martial share of 50% is higher than the 45% for the Air Force across 2017.
A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence, including long confinement and a dishonorable discharge. A special court-martial is capped at one year of confinement and a bad-conduct discharge. In September 2017, the median confinement was 3 years at general courts-martial and 3 months at special courts-martial.
The month-wide median of 5 months combines both court levels. It is lower than the general court-martial median and higher than the special court-martial median.
More Convictions Without Confinement
Of 25 convictions, 18 included confinement and 7 (28%) did not, compared with 21% for the year. The median confinement of 5 months is close to the 4 months across the service.
A quarter of the terms were 3 years or more. Terms of more than one year were part of 7 of 25 convictions (28%), compared with 23%. Terms of 5 years or more were part of 2 convictions.
These are adjudged sentences, set at trial for all charges in the case, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal.
| Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, the Air Force for all of 2017 |
|---|---|---|---|
| No confinement | 7 | 28% | 21% |
| Under 6 months | 9 | 36% | 46% |
| 6 months to 1 year | 2 | 8% | 11% |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 5 | 20% | 14% |
| 5 years or more | 2 | 8% | 8% |
Punitive Discharges Were About the Same as the Year
Of 25 convicted enlisted members, 13 received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge (52%), about the same as the 51% for the Air Force that year. Of the 13, 4 were dishonorable discharges.
No officers were tried this month. An enlisted member with no punitive discharge could still face administrative separation, which these records do not show.
Fewer Drug Cases Than Usual
Charge lists exist for 25 of the 30 cases, with each article counted once per case. Article 112a, wrongful use or possession of controlled substances, was still the most common charge, at 40%. That is lower than the 52% for the Air Force across 2017.
Article 107, false official statements, appeared in 12% of cases, compared with 4% for the year. Article 120b (rape and sexual assault of a child) also appeared in 12%, compared with 8%. Article 128 (assault) appeared in 12%, compared with 11%. Article 134 and Article 92 each appeared in 16%, and Article 85 (desertion) in 1 case. Article 121 (larceny) appeared in 8%, compared with 6% for the year. Air Force records rarely list charges in full acquittals, so these shares come mostly from cases with a conviction.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, the Air Force for all of 2017 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 10 | 40% | 52% |
| Art. 134 General article | 4 | 16% | 21% |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 4 | 16% | 17% |
| Art. 107 False official statements | 3 | 12% | 4% |
| Art. 120b Rape and sexual assault of a child | 3 | 12% | 8% |
| Art. 128 Assault | 3 | 12% | 11% |
| Art. 121 Larceny | 2 | 8% | 6% |
| Art. 85 Desertion | 1 | 4% | 1% |
Acquittals and Forum
Full acquittals, meaning not guilty of all charges, were 5 of the 30 cases (17%), lower than the 21% for the year. Air Force records from 2016 to 2019 rarely list guilty pleas, so this rate uses all cases as its base, not only contested cases.
Members decided guilt in 50% of the cases with the forum listed: 4 enlisted panels and 11 officer panels. A military judge alone decided the other 15. The accused usually chooses the forum. The records cannot show how many judge-alone cases were guilty pleas.
Compared With September 2016
September 2016 had 33 cases, and September 2017 had 30. Convictions with confinement went from 96% to 72%. Median confinement went from 4 months to 5 months.
Punitive discharges for convicted enlisted members went from 63% to 52%. The general court-martial share went from 52% to 50%. A single month has few cases, so these figures show direction only. The records do not explain the changes.
| September 2016 | September 2017 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cases | 33 | 30 |
| Contested (of pleas recorded) | — | — |
| Convictions with confinement | 96% | 72% |
| Median confinement | 4 months | 5 months |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 63% | 52% |
| General courts-martial | 52% | 50% |
The Accused and Their Bases
By rank, the accused were 17 junior enlisted members and 13 NCOs, with no officers. That mix is more senior than the Air Force overall in 2017.
Goodfellow AFB, Texas, Dover AFB, Delaware, Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona, Kadena AB, Japan, and JB Langley-Eustis, Virginia, tried 2 cases each. Together they accounted for 33% of the month's cases. Larger installations try more cases of every kind, so these counts do not mean any base is unusual.
Context and Limits
These trials came before January 1, 2019, when the Military Justice Act of 2016 took effect. That law brought fixed panel sizes, judge-alone special courts-martial, and written plea agreements. None of those changes applied to these cases.
The records list charges, findings, and sentences. They do not list the evidence, any plea terms, or offense dates. Nonjudicial punishment and administrative separations are not included, and Air Force records rarely list charges for full acquittals.
Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: UCMJ change timeline.
How We Counted
Air Force courts-martial with a trial date in September 2017 (30 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)
- What the Air Force Tried in August 2017 (previous / next)
- October 2017 at Air Force Courts-Martial: 30 Cases (previous / next)
- Air Force Courts-Martial in 2017: 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.