September 2023 at Air Force Courts-Martial: 16 Cases
The Air Force tried 16 courts-martial in September 2023. Article 120 (rape and sexual assault) and Article 112a (drug offenses) were each charged in 42% of the cases with charges listed, compared with 16% and 28% for the Air Force in all of 2023.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 5 min read
Trends › By Year › September 2023
Short answer: The Air Force tried 16 courts-martial in September 2023. Article 120 (rape and sexual assault) and Article 112a (drug offenses) were each charged in 42% of the cases with charges listed, compared with 16% and 28% for the Air Force in all of 2023. Half of the accused contested at least one charge: 8 contested and 8 pleaded guilty.
Sexual Assault and Drug Charges Were More Common
Records list the charges for 12 of the 16 cases. Each article counts once per case, so one case can appear under several articles.
Article 120 appeared in 5 cases (42%), compared with 16% for the Air Force in all of 2023. Article 112a, which covers wrongful use and possession of controlled substances, also appeared in 5 cases (42%), compared with 28% for the year.
Article 121 (larceny) appeared in 2 cases (17%), compared with 5% for the year. Article 128b (domestic violence) also appeared in 2 cases (17%), about the same as the 14% service-wide. Article 86 (AWOL), Article 87a, Article 89, and Article 90 each appeared in 1 case.
| UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, the Air Force for all of 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 5 | 42% | 28% |
| Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault | 5 | 42% | 16% |
| Art. 128b Domestic violence | 2 | 17% | 14% |
| Art. 121 Larceny | 2 | 17% | 5% |
| Art. 86 AWOL | 1 | 8% | 9% |
| Art. 87a Resistance, flight, breach of arrest | 1 | 8% | 3% |
| Art. 89 Disrespect toward superior officer; assault of superior officer | 1 | 8% | 1% |
| Art. 90 Willfully disobeying superior officer | 1 | 8% | 5% |
A More Senior Group, Mostly at General Courts-Martial
The accused were 9 junior enlisted members, 6 NCOs, and 1 officer. That mix is more senior than the Air Force as a whole in 2023.
General courts-martial made up 62% of the month's cases (10 of 16), and special courts-martial made up the rest. A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence, including long confinement and a dishonorable discharge. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge.
Pleas and Verdicts
A case is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. In September 2023, 8 accused pleaded guilty and 8 contested, so 50% of cases were contested. For the Air Force in all of 2023, the contested share was 53%.
Of the 8 contested cases that reached a verdict, 3 ended in a full acquittal. Air Force records rarely list the charges in full acquittals, so the charge shares above come mostly from cases that ended in a conviction.
Who Decided Guilt
A military judge alone decided guilt in 11 of the 16 cases (69%). Members heard 5 cases: 4 with enlisted panels and 1 with an officer panel. The accused usually chooses between a military judge alone and a panel of members.
Confinement and Discharges
The month produced 13 convictions, and confinement was part of 92% of them. The median confinement was 5 months, the same as for the Air Force in all of 2023. A quarter of the sentences with confinement were 10 months or longer.
Among 12 convicted enlisted members, 7 received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge (58%). The Air Force rate for 2023 was also 58%. Of those 7 punitive discharges, 4 were dishonorable discharges. The 1 convicted officer was not dismissed.
All of these are adjudged sentences, imposed at trial for every charge in the case. A plea-agreement cap, clemency, or an appeal can change them later. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.
September 2022 Compared With September 2023
September 2022 had 21 cases, and September 2023 had 16. The median confinement went from 3 months to 5 months. Punitive discharges for convicted enlisted members went from 41% to 58%. Convictions with confinement went from 76% to 92%.
The general court-martial share went from 38% to 62%. The contested share went from 52% to 50%. Full acquittals in contested cases that reached a verdict went from 4 of 11 to 3 of 8. Groups this small can change with a few cases, and the records do not show why a figure moved.
| September 2022 | September 2023 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cases | 21 | 16 |
| Contested (of pleas recorded) | 52% | 50% |
| Full acquittals (decided contested) | 4 of 11 | 3 of 8 |
| Convictions with confinement | 76% | 92% |
| Median confinement | 3 months | 5 months |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted) | 41% | 58% |
| General courts-martial | 38% | 62% |
What the Records Do Not Show
The records show charges, pleas, findings, and sentences. They do not show the evidence, the terms of any plea agreement, or offense dates. Air Force records never report plea agreements. Misconduct handled through nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation does not appear.
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 2023 (16 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)
- August 2023 at Air Force Courts-Martial: 17 Cases (previous / next)
- October 2023 at Air Force Courts-Martial: 19 Cases (previous / next)
- How 2023 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.