What the Air Force Tried in September 2018
Only 3 of the 28 Air Force courts-martial in September 2018 ended in a full acquittal (11%), compared with 22% for the service in all of 2018. Of the 25 convictions, 32% included more than one year of confinement, compared with 20% for the year. The median confinement was 5 months.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 6 min read
Trends › By Year › September 2018
Short answer: Only 3 of the 28 Air Force courts-martial in September 2018 ended in a full acquittal (11%), compared with 22% for the service in all of 2018. Of the 25 convictions, 32% included more than one year of confinement, compared with 20% for the year. The median confinement was 5 months.
Few Full Acquittals
A full acquittal means not guilty of all charges. In September 2018, 3 of 28 cases ended in a full acquittal. Across the Air Force in 2018, the rate was 22%.
The rate uses all cases as its base. A contested case is one where the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. Air Force records from 2016 to 2019 rarely list a guilty plea, so the number of contested cases cannot be measured for this month.
Air Force records rarely include a charge list for a case that ended in a full acquittal. The 3 full acquittals therefore cannot be tied to particular articles. The charge figures below describe mostly the cases that ended in a conviction.
More Long Sentences
Confinement was part of 88% of the 25 convictions. The median confinement was 5 months, compared with 4 months for the year. A quarter of the terms were 2.5 years or longer.
Sentences longer than one year were part of 8 of 25 convictions (32%), compared with 20% service-wide. Terms of 5 years or more were part of 16% of convictions, compared with 8% for the year. Terms under 6 months were 48% of convictions, the same as the year.
These are adjudged sentences. They cover every charge in the 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 | 3 | 12% | 18% |
| Under 6 months | 12 | 48% | 48% |
| 6 months to 1 year | 2 | 8% | 13% |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 4 | 16% | 12% |
| 5 years or more | 4 | 16% | 8% |
Sentencing by Court Level
General courts-martial heard 15 of the 28 cases (54%), compared with 50% for the Air Force that year. Only a general court-martial can adjudge more than one year of confinement or a dishonorable discharge. A special court-martial is capped at one year.
At general courts-martial, 92% of convictions included confinement, and the median was 2.2 years. At the 13 special courts-martial, 83% did, and the median was 4 months.
Which Charges Appeared
Charge lists exist for 25 cases, and each article counts once per case. Article 112a, wrongful use or possession of controlled substances, appeared in 48%, about the same as the 47% for the year. Article 134, the general article, appeared in 36%, compared with 27%.
Article 92 (failure to obey an order or regulation) appeared in 20%, compared with 15%. Article 111, labeled drunken or reckless driving in these records, appeared in 12%, compared with 5%. Article 120 (rape and sexual assault) appeared in 8%, compared with 12%, and Article 120c (other sexual misconduct) in 1 case.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, the Air Force for all of 2018 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 12 | 48% | 47% |
| Art. 134 General article | 9 | 36% | 27% |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 5 | 20% | 15% |
| Art. 128 Assault | 3 | 12% | 10% |
| Art. 111 Drunken or reckless driving | 3 | 12% | 5% |
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 2 | 8% | 12% |
| Art. 107 False official statements | 2 | 8% | 7% |
| Art. 120c Other sexual misconduct | 1 | 4% | 2% |
Outcomes for the 2 Leading Articles
All 12 cases listed under Article 112a show a conviction under it, and the median confinement was 4 months. All 9 cases listed under Article 134 show a conviction under it, and the median was 1.2 years.
Air Force records list charges mainly for convictions, so these rows show counts and sentences rather than conviction rates.
| Article | Cases charging it | Convicted of it | Median confinement when convicted of it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 12 | 12 | 4 months |
| Art. 134 General article | 9 | 9 | 1.2 years |
Discharges, Dismissals, and Forum
A punitive discharge was part of 61% of enlisted convictions, compared with 58% for the year. There were 8 bad-conduct discharges and 6 dishonorable discharges. Of 2 convicted officers or warrant officers, 1 was dismissed. Dismissal is the officer equivalent of a punitive discharge. Administrative separation can still follow a sentence without one.
A military judge alone decided guilt in 17 of 28 cases (61%). Members decided 11: 9 officer panels and 2 enlisted panels. The accused usually decides whether a military judge alone or members decide guilt.
Change Since September 2017
September 2017 had 30 cases, and September 2018 had 28. Median confinement was 5 months in both months. Convictions with confinement went from 72% to 88%.
Punitive discharges for convicted enlisted members went from 52% to 61%. The general court-martial share went from 50% to 54%. These are small monthly groups, so the changes show direction, not precise size. The records do not show causes.
| September 2017 | September 2018 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cases | 30 | 28 |
| Contested (of pleas recorded) | — | — |
| Convictions with confinement | 72% | 88% |
| Median confinement | 5 months | 5 months |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 52% | 61% |
| General courts-martial | 50% | 54% |
Rank, Bases, and Missing Context
The accused were 18 junior enlisted members, 8 NCOs, and 2 officers or warrant officers. That mix is similar to the Air Force overall, where 63% were junior enlisted. Whiteman AFB, Missouri, and Barksdale AFB, Louisiana, tried 3 cases each. Dyess AFB, Texas, JB Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, and Moody AFB, Georgia, tried 2 each. Those five bases accounted for 43% of the month's cases. Larger installations try more cases of every kind.
The Military Justice Act of 2016 took effect on January 1, 2019, after these trials. The records give trial dates, not offense dates. They do not include the evidence, plea terms, nonjudicial punishment, or administrative separations. Air Force records also rarely list the charges in 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 2018 (28 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, August 2018: The Month in Review (previous / next)
- What the Air Force Tried in October 2018 (previous / next)
- Air Force Courts-Martial in 2018: 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 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.