September 2021 at Air Force Courts-Martial: 19 Cases
The records show 19 Air Force courts-martial tried in September 2021. 14 of the 15 convictions included confinement, and the median confinement was 5 months, close to the 4-month median for the Air Force in 2021. Of 8 contested cases that reached a verdict, 4 ended in a full acquittal.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 4 min read
Trends › By Year › September 2021
Short answer: The records show 19 Air Force courts-martial tried in September 2021. 14 of the 15 convictions included confinement, and the median confinement was 5 months, close to the 4-month median for the Air Force in 2021. Of 8 contested cases that reached a verdict, 4 ended in a full acquittal.
Confinement in Nearly Every Conviction
Of 15 convictions, 14 carried confinement. The median confinement was 5 months, close to the 4-month median for the Air Force in all of 2021. A quarter of the confinement terms were 1 year or longer.
These are adjudged sentences, set at trial for every charge of conviction. Any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal would come afterward.
Punitive Discharges
8 of 14 convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge: 5 bad-conduct and 3 dishonorable. In the Air Force for 2021, the share was 56%.
The month's 1 convicted officer or warrant officer was dismissed. A sentence with no punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.
Pleas and Verdicts
11 accused pleaded guilty and 8 entered a not-guilty or mixed plea. The contested share was 42%, lower than the 51% for the Air Force in 2021.
Of the 8 contested cases that reached a verdict, 4 ended in a full acquittal, meaning not guilty of all charges.
September 2020 Compared With September 2021
September 2020 had 26 cases and September 2021 had 19. The contested share was 42% in both months. Full acquittals in contested cases that reached a verdict went from 7 of 11 to 4 of 8.
The median confinement went from 2 months to 5 months. Punitive discharges for convicted enlisted members went from 53% to 57%, and the general court-martial share went from 46% to 53%. Convictions with confinement went from 95% to 93%. Each month has few cases, so these figures show direction only.
| September 2020 | September 2021 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cases | 26 | 19 |
| Contested (of pleas recorded) | 42% | 42% |
| Full acquittals (decided contested) | 7 of 11 | 4 of 8 |
| Convictions with confinement | 95% | 93% |
| Median confinement | 2 months | 5 months |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 53% | 57% |
| General courts-martial | 46% | 53% |
Which Articles Were Charged
15 of the 19 records list the charges. Article 112a (drug offenses) appeared in 5 cases (33%), about the same as the 35% for the year. Article 134 (general article) and Article 128 (assault) appeared in 3 cases each.
Article 115 (communicating threats), Article 127 (extortion), Article 128b (domestic violence), Article 92 (failure to obey order or regulation), and Article 120 (rape and sexual assault) appeared in 1 case each. Air Force records rarely list charges in a full acquittal.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, the Air Force for all of 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 5 | 33% | 35% |
| Art. 134 General article | 3 | 20% | 19% |
| Art. 128 Assault | 3 | 20% | 27% |
| Art. 115 Communicating threats | 1 | 7% | 4% |
| Art. 127 Extortion | 1 | 7% | 0% |
| Art. 128b Domestic violence | 1 | 7% | 5% |
| Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation | 1 | 7% | 18% |
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 1 | 7% | 11% |
Forum, Rank, and Court Level
A military judge alone decided 12 cases. Members heard 37% of cases with the forum listed: 3 enlisted panels and 4 officer panels.
By rank, the accused were 11 junior enlisted members, 7 NCOs, and 1 officer, a more senior group than the Air Force as a whole in 2021. There were 10 general and 9 special courts-martial, a general share of 53%, the same as for the year. A special court-martial is limited to one year of confinement and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge.
Limits of the Records
Only cases that reached a courtroom are in these records. Nonjudicial punishment, administrative separations, and cases with no action are not, and the records do not describe the evidence or plea terms. Air Force records never report plea agreements.
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 2021 (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)
- What the Air Force Tried in August 2021 (previous / next)
- Air Force Courts-Martial, October 2021: The Month in Review (previous / next)
- The Air Force Court-Martial Year, 2021 (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.