Army Cases Charging Both Article 107 and Article 81

Trends › By Offense › Article 107 › Army, with Article 81

Based on 15 cases · 2021–2026 · Army records · data updated October 24, 2026

Shorter Confinement Than Other Article 107 Cases

14 of the 15 cases ended in a conviction. 11 of those 14 sentences included confinement, and the median term was 2 months. Across all Army Article 107 cases in 2021–2026, the median was 5 months.

A quarter of the sentences with confinement were 11 months or longer. The figures are adjudged sentences, as announced at trial, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each one covers all of the charges in the case.

Most of the Accused Pleaded Guilty

10 accused pleaded guilty and 5 contested at least one charge, meaning they entered a not-guilty or mixed plea. The contested share was 33%, compared with 37% across Army Article 107 cases.

8 of the 10 guilty pleas are recorded with a plea agreement, and 2 have no entry. Army records state whether an agreement existed but not its terms.

Punitive Discharges After Conviction

13 enlisted members were convicted, and 7 of them (54%) received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge. 2 of the 7 were dishonorable discharges. The rate across all Army Article 107 cases was 60%, so a punitive discharge was less common in this group.

1 convicted officer or warrant officer appears in these records and was dismissed, which is the officer form of a punitive discharge. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.

Charges Alongside the Conspiracy Count

Every one of the 15 cases charged at least 1 other article besides Article 107. Article 81 appeared in all 15 by definition of this group. Article 112a, drug offenses, appeared in 6 cases. Article 121, larceny, and Article 90, disobeying an officer, each appeared in 3. Article 80, attempt, appeared in 2.

Court Level and Forum

8 of the 15 cases (53%) were general courts-martial, the level that can impose long confinement and a dishonorable discharge. The rest were special courts-martial, where confinement is capped at one year.

A military judge alone decided guilt in 13 of the 15 cases with the forum listed (87%). Members heard 2, both enlisted panels. The accused usually chooses whether a judge or a panel decides guilt.

Who Was Charged?

The accused were 8 junior enlisted members, 6 NCOs, and 1 officer. The group was more junior than Army Article 107 cases overall.

Years of Trial

Trials ran from April 2021 to March 2026. There were 4 in 2021, 9 in 2022, 0 in 2023, 1 in 2024, 0 in 2025, and 1 in 2026, a partial year. Army trial records in this data are sparse before 2021.

Limits of the Records

Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel decide whether to prosecute covered offenses, and new sentencing parameters apply when every guilty finding is for an offense after December 27, 2023. These records give trial dates only, so they cannot show which rules governed a case tried from 2024 on. They also do not show the evidence, the plea terms, or conduct handled outside a court-martial.

For what the offense covers and how it is defended, see Article 107 on the law firm's website. Dates and sources for the law changes: UCMJ change timeline.

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.