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# Assault at Army Courts-Martial, 2024: The Year in Numbers
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-128-2024/
- Published: 2026-10-28T08:15:20.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-03T01:46:57.000Z
- Description: In 2024, 108 Army courts-martial charged Article 128 (assault). The median confinement was 4 months, compared with 6 months for all Army cases in 2024.
- Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart
- Tags: Understanding Trends, Article 128, Army

[Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [By Offense](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/by-offense/) › [Article 128](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-128-courts-martial/) › Army, 2024

**Short answer:** In 2024, 108 Army courts-martial charged Article 128 (assault). The median confinement was 4 months, compared with 6 months for all Army cases in 2024\. 32% of these cases were contested, compared with 27% Army-wide, and 12 of 35 contested cases that reached a verdict ended in a full acquittal.

Based on 108 cases · 2024 · Army records · data updated October 24, 2026

## Most Convictions Included Confinement

96 of 108 cases ended in a conviction on at least one charge, and 87 of those sentences included confinement (91%). 9 convictions (9%) had no confinement, compared with 13% across the Army.

The median confinement was 4 months. 49 convictions (51%) were sentenced to under 6 months, compared with 43% service-wide. All figures are adjudged sentences, set at trial before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal, and they cover every charge in the case.

## Sentences Longer Than One Year

A quarter of the sentences were 2.2 years or longer. 29 of 96 convictions (30%) were sentenced to more than one year, close to the 28% Army-wide. 23 convictions (24%) were sentenced to more than 1 year and under 5 years, and 6 convictions to 5 years or more.

Only a general court-martial can adjudge more than one year. 83 of the 104 cases with a court level listed (80%) were general courts-martial. Their median confinement was 10 months, and 37% were contested. At the 21 special courts-martial, the median confinement was 2 months, and 14% were contested. The court level is not listed for 4 cases.

| Adjudged confinement            | Convictions | Share here | Share, all Army cases in 2024 |
| ------------------------------- | ----------- | ---------- | ----------------------------- |
| No confinement                  | 9           | 9%         | 13%                           |
| Under 6 months                  | 49          | 51%        | 43%                           |
| 6 months to 1 year              | 9           | 9%         | 15%                           |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 23          | 24%        | 21%                           |
| 5 years or more                 | 6           | 6%         | 7%                            |

## Guilty Pleas and Contested Cases

73 accused pleaded guilty, and all 73 pleas are recorded with a plea agreement. The records do not show the terms. The other 35 cases were contested, meaning a not-guilty plea to at least one charge.

12 of those 35 contested cases that reached a verdict ended in a full acquittal (34%), close to the 37% for all Army cases. 17 ended in a partial acquittal: not guilty of some charges and guilty of others.

## Who Decided Guilt?

In most courts-martial, the accused chooses whether a military judge alone or a panel of members decides guilt. A military judge alone decided 89 of 103 cases with the forum listed (86%). Members heard 14: 13 enlisted panels and 1 officer panel.

Among the 30 decided contested cases with the forum listed, members heard 14 (47%). Members returned a full acquittal in 4 of 14 (29%). Military judges alone returned a full acquittal in 3 of 16 (19%). The accused chooses the forum, so the cases each one heard are not alike.

## What Changed Since 2023?

The number of cases went from 119 in 2023 to 108 in 2024\. The contested share went from 37% to 32%. Full acquittals went from 14 of 44 to 12 of 35\. The median confinement was 4 months in both years. The share of convictions with confinement went from 86% to 91%.

Punitive discharges for convicted enlisted members went from 74% to 69%. In small groups, a few cases can change a percentage.

|                                     | 2023     | 2024     |
| ----------------------------------- | -------- | -------- |
| Cases                               | 119      | 108      |
| Contested (of pleas recorded)       | 37%      | 32%      |
| Full acquittals (decided contested) | 14 of 44 | 12 of 35 |
| Convictions with confinement        | 86%      | 91%      |
| Median confinement                  | 4 months | 4 months |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted)       | 74%      | 69%      |
| General courts-martial              | 79%      | 80%      |

## Discharges and Dismissals

62 of 90 convicted enlisted members received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge (69%), slightly lower than the 72% Army-wide. 15 were dishonorable discharges. 3 of 6 convicted officers or warrant officers were dismissed. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.

A dismissal is the officer equivalent of a punitive discharge. Both are part of the sentence adjudged at trial. An administrative separation is not, and these records do not show it.

## What Else Was Charged

Article 128 was the only charge in 33 cases. Article 134 (general article) and Article 120 (sexual assault) were each charged in 22, Article 128b (domestic violence) in 15, Article 92 (orders violation) in 14, and Article 90 (disobeying an officer) in 8\. When assault is charged with sexual assault or domestic violence, the assault charge can describe part of the same incident. The sentence covers the whole case.

The accused were 60 junior enlisted members, 42 NCOs, and 6 officers, a mix similar to the Army overall. Fort Bliss had the most cases, 9\. Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Kaiserslautern (Europe), Fort Hood, and Fort Bragg had 8 each. Together they account for 38% of the 108 cases.

## Rule Changes and What the Records Do Not Show

Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel, not commanders, decide whether to prosecute covered offenses such as domestic violence. Article 128 assault is not itself a covered offense, but special trial counsel can also take a related assault. When every guilty finding is for an offense after December 27, 2023, the military judge sets the sentence within new sentencing parameters. The records give trial dates, not offense dates, so the 2024 trials include cases under both the old and new rules.

The records also do not show the evidence, the plea terms, or assaults handled by nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation.

For what the offense covers and how it is defended, see [Article 128 on the law firm's website](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-128/?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 with a trial date in 2024 that charged Article 128 (108 cases), compared with all Army cases that year and with 2023.

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 128 (Assault): Court-Martial Data and Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-128-courts-martial/) (hub)
- [By Year](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/by-year/) (hub)
- [How Army Assault Cases Ended in 2023](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-128-2023/) (previous / next)
- [Assault at Army Courts-Martial, 2025: The Year in Numbers](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-128-2025/) (previous / next)
- [Army Article 128 Cases by the Numbers, 2021–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-128-trend-2021-2025/) (the full trend)
- [Army Article 128 Cases in 2021](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-128-2021/)
- [How Army Assault Cases Ended in 2022](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-128-2022/)
- [Article 128 Sentences in the Army: Confinement and Discharges, 2021–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-128-sent-2021-2025/)
- [Article 128 explained on the law firm's website](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-128/?ref=bodiesburied.com)
- [Search every case in Military Trial Results](https://www.bodiesburied.com/military-trial-results/) (members)

← Previous: [How Army Assault Cases Ended in 2023](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-128-2023/)Next: [Assault at Army Courts-Martial, 2025: The Year in Numbers](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-128-2025/) →

**Compare: federal court.** [Aggravated Assault: Federal Sentences vs. Army Courts-Martial](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-aggravated-assault-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.