Article 115 With Article 128 in the Army: What the Records Show

Trends › By Offense › Article 115 › Army, with Article 128

Based on 62 cases · 2021–2026 · Army records · data updated October 24, 2026

56% of Cases Were Contested

61 of the 62 records list the plea. Of those, 34 were not-guilty or mixed pleas and 27 were guilty pleas. The contested share was 56%, compared with 45% in the rest of the Army. A contested case is one where the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge.

Of the 27 guilty pleas, 24 are recorded with a plea agreement and 3 have no entry. Army records say whether there was an agreement, not what it said.

How Contested Cases Ended

Of 34 contested cases that reached a verdict, 8 ended in a full acquittal. That 24% rate is close to the 26% in Army Article 115 cases as a whole. Another 22 contested cases split the charges, with a finding of not guilty on at least one charge or specification and guilty on another. This is a partial acquittal.

Army results list findings charge by charge, so partial acquittals are common in Army records.

Who Decided Guilt in These Cases

A military judge alone decided guilt in 40 of 60 cases with the forum listed (67%). Members heard 20, all enlisted panels, with 0 officer panels. In contested cases, members heard 20 of 32 (62%).

Among the 32 decided contested cases with the forum listed, members acquitted in full 25% of the time and military judges 8%. The accused chooses the forum in most cases, so the cases heard by each are not alike. These figures do not show that one forum treats the same case differently.

Confinement After a Conviction

Of 54 convictions, 49 carried confinement. The median confinement was 9 months, longer than the 6 months for the rest of the Army. A quarter of the sentences were 1.4 years or longer.

Sentences of more than 1 year came in 17 of 54 convictions (31%), compared with 27% in all Army Article 115 cases in 2021–2026. Terms of 6 months to 1 year made up 31%, compared with 25%. Terms under 6 months made up 28%, compared with 39%. These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal, and each covers every charge in the case.

A More Senior Group of Accused

Junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) made up 48% of the accused. NCOs made up 42% and officers 10%. Across Army Article 115 cases overall, junior enlisted members were 54%.

52 of the 61 cases with a court level listed were general courts-martial (85%), compared with 73% in Army Article 115 cases overall. The court level is not listed for 1 case. A special court-martial caps confinement at 1 year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge.

Discharges and Dismissals

Among 48 enlisted members convicted, 33 received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge (69%). That is the same rate as in Army Article 115 cases overall (69%). 7 of the 33 were dishonorable discharges.

6 convicted officers or warrant officers appear in this group, and 1 was dismissed. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation, which is outside these records.

Other Charges in These Cases

Article 115 was never the only charge. Besides Article 128, the most common charges were Article 128b (domestic violence) in 17 cases, Article 134 (general article) in 16, Article 120 (sexual assault) in 14, and Article 90 (disobeying an officer) in 13.

Years and Installations

The cases run from January 2021 to September 2026. There were 21 in 2021, 17 in 2022, 10 in 2023, 5 in 2024, 6 in 2025, and 3 in 2026, a partial year.

Fort Bragg tried the most (10), followed by Joint Base Lewis-McChord (7), Vilseck (Europe) (5), Fort Hood (5), and Wheeler Army Airfield (4). These five installations account for 50% of the 62 cases. Larger installations try more cases of every kind.

What the Records Cannot Show

The records give trial dates, not offense dates. Domestic violence and sexual assault are covered offenses, which special trial counsel have decided whether to prosecute since December 28, 2023. New sentencing parameters apply to offenses after December 27, 2023. The records cannot show which rules applied to any case. They also do not describe the evidence or plea terms, and they omit nonjudicial punishment and 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.

Compare: federal court. Aggravated Assault: Federal Sentences vs. Army Courts-Martial

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.