Communicating Threats at Army Courts-Martial, 2024: The Year in Numbers

Trends › By Offense › Article 115 › Army, 2024

Based on 20 cases · 2024 · Army records · data updated October 24, 2026

Domestic Violence Charges in 13 Cases

No case in this group charged Article 115 by itself. Article 128b (domestic violence) appeared in 13 of the 20 cases. Article 92 (orders violation) appeared in 6, Article 128 (assault) in 5, Article 120 (sexual assault) in 4, and Article 131b (obstruction) in 3.

Each sentence covers every charge in the case. The sentences described below are therefore not sentences for the threat charge alone.

Contested More Often Than Army-Wide

11 accused pleaded guilty and 9 contested at least one charge. A contested case is one where the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge, including a mixed plea. The 45% contested share compares with 27% for all Army cases in 2024.

Of the 11 guilty pleas, 10 are recorded with a plea agreement and 1 has no entry. Army records say whether there was an agreement, not what it said.

Confinement and Discharges

17 cases ended in a conviction on at least one charge, and 16 of those sentences included confinement (94%). The median confinement was 4 months, shorter than the 6 months for all Army cases in 2024. Among the sentences that included confinement, a quarter were 1.1 years or longer.

A punitive discharge followed 75% of enlisted convictions: 10 bad-conduct and 2 dishonorable. Across all Army cases in 2024, the share was 72%. 1 convicted officer or warrant officer appears here, and 1 was dismissed.

These sentences are as adjudged at trial, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.

Mostly General Courts-Martial

General courts-martial made up 80% of these cases (16 of 20), 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.

Installations With the Most Cases

Fort Bragg tried 4 of these cases. Kaiserslautern (Europe), Fort Benning, Fort Polk, and Fort Hood tried 2 each. Together those five installations account for 60% of the 20 cases.

Larger installations try more cases of every kind, so a high count alone does not mean a base has a problem with this offense.

Rank and Forum

13 accused were junior enlisted (E-1 to E-4), 6 were NCOs (E-5 to E-9), and 1 was an officer or warrant officer. That mix is more junior than all Army cases in 2024, where 53% were junior enlisted.

A military judge alone decided guilt in 15 of the 20 cases (75%). Members heard 5, all enlisted panels.

Old and New Rules in 2024 Trials

Special trial counsel, not commanders, have decided whether to prosecute covered offenses such as sexual assault, domestic violence, and murder since December 28, 2023. For offenses after December 27, 2023, the military judge sets the sentence within new sentencing parameters when every guilty finding falls after that date.

The records do not give offense dates, so these 2024 trials mix cases under the old rules and the new ones.

What This Leaves Out

Only cases that reached a courtroom appear here. The records do not describe the evidence or the plea terms, and they do not show cases handled by nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation.

For what the offense covers and how it is defended, see Article 115 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.