Is Army Drunken Or Reckless Driving Prosecution Rising or Falling? Article 113, 2021–2025

Trends › By Offense › Article 113 › Army

Based on 70 cases · 2021–2025 · Army records · data updated October 24, 2026

Fewer Punitive Discharges Than Across the Army

A punitive discharge is a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge for enlisted members, or a dismissal for officers. Among 61 enlisted members convicted in Article 113 cases, 26 received one (43%), less often than the 73% Army-wide. Of those 26, 4 were dishonorable.

The group also includes 7 convicted officers or warrant officers, and 0 of them were dismissed. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation, which these records do not track.

Most Cases Were Guilty Pleas

A case is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least 1 charge. Of the 70 cases, 62 were guilty pleas and 8 were contested, so 11% were contested, compared with 30% across the rest of the Army.

Plea agreements are recorded for 60 of the 62 guilty pleas, and 2 have no entry. Army records say whether an agreement existed, not what it contained.

The forum figures are similar. The accused usually chooses whether a military judge alone or a panel of members decides guilt, and a judge alone decided 65 of 70 cases (93%). Members heard 5, all enlisted panels.

Most Terms Were Under 6 Months

Confinement was part of 78% of the 68 convictions. Half of those terms were 4 months or less, compared with a 6-month median across the Army. A quarter were 7 months or longer.

Terms under 6 months were given in 35 convictions (51%), compared with 39% Army-wide. No confinement was given in 15 (22%). Terms longer than one year were given in 9 of 68 convictions (13%), compared with 28% in the rest of the Army. Of those, 8 (12%) were more than 1 year but under 5 years, compared with 20%, and 1 (1%) was 5 years or more, compared with 8%. General courts-martial heard 28 of these cases, and 100% of their convictions included confinement, with a median of 6 months. Special courts-martial heard 26, and 58% of their convictions included confinement, with a median of 47 days. The court level is not listed for 16 cases. These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal, and each covers every charge in the case.

Other Charges in the Same Case

In 40 of the 70 cases, at least 1 other article was charged with Article 113. The most common were Article 128 (assault) in 16 cases, Article 134 (general article) in 10, Article 92 (orders violation) in 9, Article 90 (disobeying an officer) in 6, and Article 114 (endangerment) in 5. A sentence covers all of those charges together.

Fewer General Courts-Martial Than Across the Army

General courts-martial heard 28 of the 54 cases with a court level listed (52%), compared with 73% across all Army cases. A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence. A special court-martial is limited to one year of confinement and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge. Only a general court-martial can adjudge more than a year of confinement.

The accused were 51% junior enlisted (E-1 to E-4), 39% NCOs, and 10% officers. Across the Army, junior enlisted members made up 55% of the accused.

Is the Count Rising or Falling?

The trials took place from February 2021 through December 2025, with 9 cases in 2021, 11 in 2022, 22 in 2023, 18 in 2024, and 10 in 2025. Together they make up 3% of the 2,422 Army courts-martial in those years.

As a share of all Army convictions with offenses listed, Article 113 was 2% in 2021 and 2022. It was 5% in 2023, 4% in 2024, and 3% in 2025. Convictions including the article were highest in 2023, at 22. Shares make years with more or fewer total cases comparable. Counts this small can change with a few cases.

Convictions per Year at a Glance

The chart counts Army convictions that included Article 113: 9 in 2021, 8 in 2022, 22 in 2023, 16 in 2024, and 10 in 2025.

Where These Cases Were Tried

Fort Wainwright tried 15 of the cases, the most of any installation. Camp Humphreys tried 7, Fort Hood and Fort Leonard Wood 5 each, and Fort Bliss 4. Those 5 installations account for 51% of the 70 cases. Larger installations try more cases of every kind, so a high count alone does not show that a base has a particular problem with this offense.

Law Changes and Missing Context

Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel rather than commanders decide whether to prosecute covered offenses such as sexual assault, domestic violence, and murder. Judges sentence under new parameters when every guilty finding is for an offense after December 27, 2023. The records give trial dates, not offense dates, so trials from 2024 on include cases under both sets of rules. The same gap affects Article 113 itself. A case tried in these years could involve either the older sentinel offense or the newer driving offense, and the records cannot separate them. The services were required to begin publishing trial records under Article 140a by December 2020. Army records in this data are sparse before 2021.

The records show charges, pleas, findings, and sentences. They do not show the evidence, the plea terms, or conduct handled outside a court-martial through nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation.

For what the offense covers and how it is defended, see Article 113 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.