> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.bodiesburied.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # September 2025 at Air Force Courts-Martial: 22 Cases - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/air-force-courts-martial-september-2025/ - Published: 2026-10-28T08:13:23.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-30T08:09:10.000Z - Description: The Air Force tried 22 courts-martial in September 2025. Of cases with a plea recorded, 53% were contested, compared with 41% for the Air Force in all of 2025. Of 10 contested cases that reached a verdict, 3 ended in a full acquittal (30%), lower than the 45% for the 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 2025 **Short answer:** The Air Force tried 22 courts-martial in September 2025\. Of cases with a plea recorded, 53% were contested, compared with 41% for the Air Force in all of 2025\. Of 10 contested cases that reached a verdict, 3 ended in a full acquittal (30%), lower than the 45% for the year. Based on 22 cases · September 2025 · Air Force records · data updated October 24, 2026 ## More Cases Contested A case is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. Of 19 records that list the plea, 10 were contested and 9 were guilty pleas. The contested share of 53% is higher than the 41% for the service that year. Plea information is missing for 3 of the 22 records, so the contested share is based on 19 cases. A mixed plea, guilty to some charges and not guilty to others, also counts as contested. ## Fewer Full Acquittals Of the 10 contested cases that reached a verdict, 3 ended in a full acquittal, meaning not guilty of all charges. That rate of 30% is lower than the 45% for the Air Force across 2025. A partial acquittal means not guilty of at least one charge or specification and guilty of another. The records show 0 partial acquittals this month (0%). Air Force results report one verdict per case, so a partial acquittal shows up only when an appeals opinion reports it. ## Panels Decided Most Contested Cases Members decided 9 of the 10 contested cases (90%). Across the whole month, a military judge alone decided guilt in 13 of 22 cases (59%). Members decided 9: 7 enlisted panels and 2 officer panels. The accused usually chooses whether a military judge alone or a panel decides guilt. Most judge-alone cases are guilty pleas, so the forum split mostly follows how many cases were contested. ## Sentences After Conviction There were 19 convictions, and 18 of them included confinement (95%). The median confinement was 6 months, the same as the 6-month median for the Air Force in 2025\. A quarter of the terms were 1 year or longer. General courts-martial heard 12 of the 22 cases, and the median confinement there was 10 months. Special courts-martial heard the other 10, and the median there was 2 months. A special court-martial cannot impose more than one year of confinement or a dishonorable discharge. These are adjudged sentences, imposed at trial for all charges, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. ## Punitive Discharges Were About the Same as the Year A punitive discharge was part of 59% of enlisted convictions, close to the 60% for the year. There were 6 bad-conduct discharges and 4 dishonorable discharges. Officers receive a dismissal rather than a punitive discharge. Of 2 convicted officers or warrant officers, 1 was dismissed. A sentence without a punitive discharge can still be followed by administrative separation, which these records do not show. ## Charges Across the Month All 22 cases have a charge list, and each article counts once per case. Article 134, the general article, was the most common charge, at 23%, the same as the year. Article 112a, wrongful use or possession of controlled substances, appeared in 18%, compared with 21%. Article 120b, rape and sexual assault of a child, appeared in 14%, higher than the 9% for the year. Article 120 (rape and sexual assault) appeared in 14%, the same as the year. Article 128b (domestic violence) and Article 92 (failure to obey an order or regulation) each appeared in 14%. Article 113 (drunken or reckless operation of a vehicle) and Article 133 (conduct unbecoming an officer) each appeared in 2 cases. | UCMJ Article | Cases | Share here | Share, the Air Force for all of 2025 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----- | ---------- | ------------------------------------ | | [Art. 134](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-134/?ref=bodiesburied.com) General article | 5 | 23% | 23% | | [Art. 112a](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/ucmj/article-112a-drug-offenses/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances | 4 | 18% | 21% | | [Art. 128b](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/ucmj/article-128b-domestic-violence/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Domestic violence | 3 | 14% | 16% | | [Art. 120](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/ucmj/article-120-sexual-assault/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Rape and sexual assault | 3 | 14% | 14% | | [Art. 120b](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-120b/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Rape and sexual assault of a child | 3 | 14% | 9% | | [Art. 92](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-92/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Failure to obey order or regulation | 3 | 14% | 17% | | [Art. 113](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-113/?ref=bodiesburied.com) Drunken or reckless operation of vehicle | 2 | 9% | 6% | | Art. 133 Conduct unbecoming an officer | 2 | 9% | 3% | ## Rank and Location The accused were 12 junior enlisted members, 7 NCOs, and 3 officers. That group is more senior than the Air Force overall in 2025\. General courts-martial were 55% of the month's cases, compared with 51% for the year. Malmstrom AFB, Montana, tried 3 cases. JB Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, RAF Lakenheath, United Kingdom, and Aviano AB, Italy, tried 2 each, and Ramstein AB, Germany, tried 1\. These five installations accounted for 45% of the month's cases. Larger bases try more cases of every kind, so a count alone does not mean a base has a particular problem. ## New Rules, Missing Dates Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel, not commanders, decide whether to prosecute covered offenses such as sexual assault, domestic violence, and murder. When every guilty finding in a case involves an offense after December 27, 2023, the military judge sets the sentence under new sentencing parameters. Both rules depend on offense dates, which these records do not give. Trials in 2025 can therefore include cases under the old rules and the new rules. The records also do not include the evidence, plea terms, nonjudicial punishment, or administrative separations. Air Force records never report plea agreements. 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 2025 (22 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) - [Air Force Courts-Martial, August 2025: The Month in Review](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/air-force-courts-martial-august-2025/) (previous / next) - [Air Force Courts-Martial, October 2025: The Month in Review](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/air-force-courts-martial-october-2025/) (previous / next) - [How 2025 Went at Air Force Courts-Martial](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/air-force-courts-martial-2025-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: [Air Force Courts-Martial, August 2025: The Month in Review](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/air-force-courts-martial-august-2025/)Next: [Air Force Courts-Martial, October 2025: The Month in Review](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/air-force-courts-martial-october-2025/) → **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.