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# Guilty Pleas in Army Drug Cases: How Often, and What Came Next
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-112a-plea-2021-2025/
- Published: 2026-10-28T08:05:42.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-03T01:47:05.000Z
- Description: Army records list 183 guilty-plea courts-martial from 2021–2025 with a drug charge under Article 112a.
- Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart
- Tags: Understanding Trends, Article 112a, Army

[Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [By Offense](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/by-offense/) › [Article 112a](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-112a-courts-martial/) › Guilty Pleas in Army Drug Cases: How Oft

**Short answer:** Army records list 183 guilty-plea courts-martial from 2021–2025 with a drug charge under Article 112a. The median confinement was 5 months, the same as for all Army guilty pleas, Punitive discharges were more common: 82% of convicted enlisted members received one, compared with 75% across Army guilty pleas.

Based on 183 cases · 2021–2025 · Army records · data updated October 24, 2026

## Punitive Discharges More Common Than in All Army Guilty Pleas

A punitive discharge was adjudged in 82% of enlisted convictions: 128 bad-conduct discharges and 14 dishonorable discharges. Across all Army guilty pleas in those years, the share was 75%.

Officers and warrant officers were a small group: 9 were convicted, and 5 of them were dismissed. A dismissal is the officer equivalent of a punitive discharge. A sentence without a punitive discharge can still be followed by an administrative separation, which these records do not include. Only a general court-martial can impose a dishonorable discharge.

## Median Confinement the Same as the Army's

Of 183 convictions, 168 included confinement. The median term was 5 months, the same as the median for all Army guilty pleas. A quarter of sentences were 11 months or longer.

Those figures are adjudged sentences, announced at trial before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each one covers every charge in the case, not only the drug offense.

## More Mid-Length Terms, Fewer Long Ones

Short and middle terms were more common in drug pleas. Terms under 6 months made up 51% of convictions, compared with 44% across Army guilty pleas. Terms of 6 months to 1 year made up 27%, compared with 18%.

Long terms were less common. Only 25 of 183 convictions (14%) included more than one year, compared with 24% for Army guilty pleas generally. Terms of 5 years or more were given in 4 convictions (2%), compared with 6%. Only 15 convictions (8%) included no confinement, lower than the 14% for the wider group.

| Adjudged confinement            | Convictions | Share here | Share, all Army guilty pleas in those years |
| ------------------------------- | ----------- | ---------- | ------------------------------------------- |
| No confinement                  | 15          | 8%         | 14%                                         |
| Under 6 months                  | 94          | 51%        | 44%                                         |
| 6 months to 1 year              | 49          | 27%        | 18%                                         |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 21          | 11%        | 17%                                         |
| 5 years or more                 | 4           | 2%         | 6%                                          |

## General and Special Courts-Martial

General courts-martial heard 91 of the 180 cases with a court level listed (51%), lower than the 68% general share across all Army guilty pleas in those years. Special courts-martial heard 89, and the court level is not listed for 3.

The median confinement was 7 months at general courts-martial and 4 months at special courts-martial. A special court-martial is limited to one year of confinement and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge. A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence.

## The Accused Were More Junior

Junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) made up 141 of the accused, with 33 NCOs (E-5 to E-9) and 9 officers or warrant officers. That mix is more junior than all Army guilty pleas in those years, where junior enlisted members made up 60%.

Rank figures describe the accused at the time of trial. These records do not connect rank to sentence length in this group. The numbers do not show any link between rank and outcome.

## Drug Charges Alone and in Combination

In 53 of the 183 cases, Article 112a was the only charge. In the other cases, the most common other charge was Article 92 (orders violation), in 52 cases, followed by Article 90 (disobeying an officer) in 28, Article 81 (conspiracy) in 24, Article 128 (assault) in 22, and Article 134 (the general article) in 19.

Each sentence covers every charge in the case, so a term cannot be assigned to the drug charge alone. A military judge alone decided all 183 cases. No case went to a panel of members. Most judge-alone cases are guilty pleas.

## Cases by Year and Installation

These trials took place from January 2021 through December 2025\. The count fell from 55 in 2021 to 49 in 2022 and 33 in 2023\. There were 34 in 2024 and 12 in 2025.

Fort Bliss tried the most of these cases, 25\. Fort Riley, Fort Carson, and Joint Base Lewis-McChord tried 13 each, and Fort Huachuca tried 12\. Those five installations tried 42% of the total. Large installations try more cases of every type, so a high count does not measure drug use at any base.

## Changes in the Rules

The rules changed late in the period. Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel decide whether covered offenses such as sexual assault, domestic violence, and murder are prosecuted. When every guilty finding involves an offense after December 27, 2023, the military judge sets the sentence within new sentencing parameters.

Both rules depend on offense dates, which these records do not give. Trials from 2024 on include cases under each set of rules. Army records here are sparse before 2021\. The services were required to begin publishing trial records under Article 140a by December 2020.

## What the Records Do Not Show

Trial records do not include test results, other evidence, or the terms of plea agreements. Drug cases handled through nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation are not counted. The records give trial dates, not offense dates, so the time between alleged use and trial cannot be measured.

For what the offense covers and how it is defended, see [Article 112a on the law firm's website](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/ucmj/article-112a-drug-offenses/?ref=bodiesburied.com). Dates and sources for the law changes: [UCMJ change timeline](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/ucmj-change-timeline/).

### How We Counted

Army courts-martial tried 2021–2025: where the accused pleaded guilty to charges including Article 112a (drug) (183 cases), compared with all Army guilty pleas in those years.

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

- [Article 112a (Wrongful Use, Possession of Controlled Substances): Court-Martial Data and Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-112a-courts-martial/) (hub)
- [Sentences](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/sentences/) (hub)
- [Army Article 112a Cases by the Numbers, 2021–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-112a-trend-2021-2025/)
- [What Sentence Follows an Army Drug Conviction?](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-112a-sent-2021-2025/)
- [How Often Are Contested Army Article 112a Cases Acquitted?](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-112a-acq-2021-2025/)
- [Pleading Guilty to Article 112a in the Air Force: What Sentences Followed?](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/air-force-article-112a-plea-2016-2025/) (another service)
- [When Navy-Marine Corps Accused Plead Guilty to Drug](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-112a-plea-2017-2025/) (another service)
- [S3 E52: What You Need to Know About Positive UAs in the Military](https://www.bodiesburied.com/s3e52-what-you-need-to-know-about-positive-uas-in-the-military/) (podcast, members)
- [Article 112a explained on the law firm's website](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/ucmj/article-112a-drug-offenses/?ref=bodiesburied.com)
- [Search every case in Military Trial Results](https://www.bodiesburied.com/military-trial-results/) (members)

**Compare: federal court.** [Drug Use: Federal Sentences vs. Army Courts-Martial](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-use-vs-army/) · [Drug Distribution: Federal Sentences vs. Army Courts-Martial](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-distribution-vs-army/)

**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.