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# What the Air Force Tried in September 2019
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/air-force-courts-martial-september-2019/
- Published: 2026-10-28T08:12:36.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-30T08:08:01.000Z
- Description: The Air Force tried 27 courts-martial in September 2019. Drug charges under Article 112a appeared in 71% of cases with charges listed, compared with 51% for the Air Force in all of 2019. The median confinement was 4 months, and only 14% of convictions included more than one year.
- Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart
- Tags: Understanding Trends, Air Force

[Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [By Year](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/by-year/) › September 2019

**Short answer:** The Air Force tried 27 courts-martial in September 2019\. Drug charges under Article 112a appeared in 71% of cases with charges listed, compared with 51% for the Air Force in all of 2019\. The median confinement was 4 months, and only 14% of convictions included more than one year. Of convicted enlisted members, 50% received a punitive discharge, compared with 57%.

Based on 27 cases · September 2019 · Air Force records · data updated October 24, 2026

## Drug Charges in Most Cases

Records list charges for 21 of the 27 cases, and an article counts once per case however many times it was charged. Article 112a, which covers wrongful use or possession of controlled substances, appeared in 15 of those 21.

Most other articles appeared less often than usual. Article 134, the general article, appeared in 14%, compared with 23% for the year. Article 128 (assault) appeared in 10%, compared with 15%. Article 92 (failure to obey an order or regulation) appeared in 10%, compared with 14%. Article 120b, rape and sexual assault of a child, appeared in 2 cases (10%), compared with 7%.

One case charged Article 113, which the records label misbehavior of a sentinel before 2019 and drunken or reckless driving since. Air Force records rarely list charges for full acquittals, so these shares come mostly from cases with a conviction.

| UCMJ Article                                                                                                                                                                      | Cases | Share here | Share, the Air Force for all of 2019 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----- | ---------- | ------------------------------------ |
| [Art. 112a](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/ucmj/article-112a-drug-offenses/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances                                | 15    | 71%        | 51%                                  |
| [Art. 134](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-134/?ref=bodiesburied.com) General article                                                          | 3     | 14%        | 23%                                  |
| [Art. 120b](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-120b/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Rape and sexual assault of a child                                     | 2     | 10%        | 7%                                   |
| [Art. 92](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-92/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Failure to obey order or regulation                                        | 2     | 10%        | 14%                                  |
| [Art. 128](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-128/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Assault                                                                  | 2     | 10%        | 15%                                  |
| [Art. 121](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-121/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Larceny                                                                  | 1     | 5%         | 6%                                   |
| [Art. 120](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/ucmj/article-120-sexual-assault/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Rape and sexual assault                                                           | 1     | 5%         | 8%                                   |
| [Art. 113](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-113/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Misbehavior of a sentinel before 2019, drunken or reckless driving since | 1     | 5%         | 1%                                   |

## Most Sentences Were Short

Of 21 convictions, 20 included confinement. The median confinement was 4 months, the same as the Air Force median for 2019\. A quarter of terms were 9 months or longer.

Terms under 6 months were part of 62% of convictions, compared with 50% for the year. Terms of 6 months to 1 year were part of another 19%. Only 3 of 21 convictions (14%) included more than one year, compared with 20% across the service. Only 1 included 5 years or more.

These are adjudged sentences, set at trial and covering all charges. Plea-agreement caps, clemency, and appeals can lower them afterward.

| Adjudged confinement            | Convictions | Share here | Share, the Air Force for all of 2019 |
| ------------------------------- | ----------- | ---------- | ------------------------------------ |
| No confinement                  | 1           | 5%         | 15%                                  |
| Under 6 months                  | 13          | 62%        | 50%                                  |
| 6 months to 1 year              | 4           | 19%        | 15%                                  |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 2           | 10%        | 12%                                  |
| 5 years or more                 | 1           | 5%         | 8%                                   |

## More Special Courts-Martial Than General

There were 12 general courts-martial and 15 special courts-martial. The general court-martial share of 44% is lower than the 50% for the Air Force in 2019.

A general court-martial can order long confinement and a dishonorable discharge. A special court-martial is capped at one year of confinement and a bad-conduct discharge. In September 2019, the median confinement was 2 years at general courts-martial and 4 months at special courts-martial.

## Punitive Discharges

A punitive discharge was part of 50% of enlisted convictions, lower than the 57% for the year. Of those discharges, 7 were bad-conduct and 3 were dishonorable.

The 1 convicted officer or warrant officer was dismissed. Dismissal is the officer equivalent of a punitive discharge. An enlisted member with no punitive discharge may still face administrative separation, which these records do not include.

## Acquittals and the Choice of Forum

Full acquittals, meaning not guilty of all charges, were 6 of the 27 cases (22%), compared with 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.

A military judge alone decided 18 cases. Members decided the rest (31%): 2 enlisted panels and 6 officer panels. The accused usually chooses between a military judge alone and a panel. Without plea data, the records cannot show how many judge-alone cases were guilty pleas.

## September 2018 Compared

September 2018 had 28 cases, and September 2019 had 27\. Median confinement went from 5 months to 4 months. Convictions with confinement went from 88% to 95%.

Punitive discharges for convicted enlisted members went from 61% to 50%. The general court-martial share went from 54% to 44%. A single month has few cases, so these comparisons show direction only. The records do not explain them.

|                               | September 2018 | September 2019 |
| ----------------------------- | -------------- | -------------- |
| Cases                         | 28             | 27             |
| Contested (of pleas recorded) | —              | —              |
| Convictions with confinement  | 88%            | 95%            |
| Median confinement            | 5 months       | 4 months       |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 61%            | 50%            |
| General courts-martial        | 54%            | 44%            |

## Who Was Tried and Where

The accused were 21 junior enlisted members, 5 NCOs, and 1 officer. That group is more junior than the Air Force overall in 2019.

Dyess AFB, Texas, Kunsan AB, South Korea, USAF Academy, Colorado, and Eglin AFB, Florida, tried 2 cases each, and Scott AFB, Illinois, tried 1\. Those five accounted for 33% of the month's cases. Larger installations try more cases of every kind, so a count alone does not mean a base has a particular problem.

## Rules and Record Gaps

Since 2019, a special court-martial can also be tried by a military judge alone, capped at six months of confinement with no punitive discharge. Which rules applied to each case depends on the offense date, and the records give only trial dates.

They also do not include the evidence, any plea terms, or misconduct resolved 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 September 2019 (27 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)
- [August 2019 at Air Force Courts-Martial: 18 Cases](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/air-force-courts-martial-august-2019/) (previous / next)
- [Air Force Courts-Martial, October 2019: The Month in Review](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/air-force-courts-martial-october-2019/) (previous / next)
- [Air Force Courts-Martial in 2019: Year in Review](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/air-force-courts-martial-2019-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)

← Previous: [August 2019 at Air Force Courts-Martial: 18 Cases](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/air-force-courts-martial-august-2019/)Next: [Air Force Courts-Martial, October 2019: The Month in Review](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/air-force-courts-martial-october-2019/) →

**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.