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# Assault at Army Courts-Martial, 2025: The Year in Numbers
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-128-2025/
- Published: 2026-10-28T08:15:21.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-03T01:46:56.000Z
- Description: Army assault cases in 2025 were contested more often than other Army cases. 31% of the 80 cases charging Article 128 (assault) were contested, compared with 20% for all Army cases in 2025. The median confinement was 7 months, close to the 8 months Army-wide.
- 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, 2025

**Short answer:** Army assault cases in 2025 were contested more often than other Army cases. 31% of the 80 cases charging Article 128 (assault) were contested, compared with 20% for all Army cases in 2025\. The median confinement was 7 months, close to the 8 months Army-wide.

Based on 80 cases · 2025 · Army records · data updated October 24, 2026

## More Cases Were Contested

The records list 25 contested cases, where the accused pleaded not guilty to at least one charge, and 55 guilty pleas. All 55 guilty pleas are recorded with a plea agreement. Army records say whether an agreement existed, not what it said.

The contested share was 31%, higher than the 20% for the Army as a whole. It was about the same as the 32% for assault cases in 2024.

## Verdicts After a Not-Guilty Plea

10 of the 25 contested cases that reached a verdict ended in a full acquittal. The full-acquittal rate was 40%, lower than the 45% across the Army. 11 ended in a partial acquittal: not guilty of at least one charge but guilty of another. Army findings are listed charge by charge, which is why partial acquittals are common.

Members decided 18 of 23 contested cases with the forum listed (78%). Overall, a military judge alone decided 59 cases, enlisted panels 17, and officer panels 2\. Members heard 24% of cases, compared with 15% Army-wide. The accused usually chooses the forum, and most judge-alone cases are guilty pleas.

## A Median of 7 Months

80% of the 70 convictions included confinement. The median confinement was 7 months. A quarter of the sentences were 1.5 years or longer. In 2024, the median for assault cases was 4 months.

These are adjudged sentences, announced at trial before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each covers every charge in a case, not only the assault charge.

## Sentence Lengths

18 of 70 convictions (26%) were sentenced to more than one year, compared with 30% for all Army cases. 15 of those were more than 1 year and under 5 years. 3 were 5 years or more (4%, compared with 11% Army-wide).

14 convictions (20%) had no confinement, and 26 (37%) were sentenced to under 6 months. Both shares are close to the service-wide shares.

| Adjudged confinement            | Convictions | Share here | Share, all Army cases in 2025 |
| ------------------------------- | ----------- | ---------- | ----------------------------- |
| No confinement                  | 14          | 20%        | 19%                           |
| Under 6 months                  | 26          | 37%        | 36%                           |
| 6 months to 1 year              | 12          | 17%        | 15%                           |
| More than 1 year, under 5 years | 15          | 21%        | 18%                           |
| 5 years or more                 | 3           | 4%         | 11%                           |

## General and Special Courts-Martial

Only a general court-martial can impose more than one year of confinement or a dishonorable discharge. A special court-martial is capped at one year. 57 of the 78 cases with a court level listed were general courts-martial (73%), compared with 66% across the Army. 21 were special courts-martial, and 2 list no level.

At general courts-martial, 80% of convictions included confinement, and the median was 1 year. At special courts-martial, 89% did, and the median was 2 months.

## What Changed Since 2024?

The number of cases went from 108 to 80\. The median confinement went from 4 months to 7 months. The share of convictions with any confinement went from 91% to 80%. Full acquittals went from 12 of 35 to 10 of 25\. Punitive discharges for convicted enlisted members went from 69% to 74%.

In groups this small, a few cases can change a percentage, so these changes show direction, not precise size.

|                                     | 2024     | 2025     |
| ----------------------------------- | -------- | -------- |
| Cases                               | 108      | 80       |
| Contested (of pleas recorded)       | 32%      | 31%      |
| Full acquittals (decided contested) | 12 of 35 | 10 of 25 |
| Convictions with confinement        | 91%      | 80%      |
| Median confinement                  | 4 months | 7 months |
| Punitive discharge (enlisted)       | 69%      | 74%      |
| General courts-martial              | 80%      | 73%      |

## Discharges for Enlisted Members and Officers

46 of 62 convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge (74%): 42 bad-conduct and 4 dishonorable. Across the Army in 2025, the share was 73%. 8 officers or warrant officers were convicted, and 5 were dismissed.

A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out an administrative separation later.

## Rank, Other Charges, and Installations

The group included 41 junior enlisted members, 30 NCOs, and 9 officers, a mix similar to the Army overall. Article 128 was the only charge in 23 cases. The most common other charges were Article 120 (sexual assault) in 14, Article 128b (domestic violence) in 13, Article 90 (disobeying an officer) and Article 92 (orders violation) in 10 each, and Article 134 (general article) in 9\. When assault is charged with sexual assault or domestic violence, the assault charge can describe part of the same incident.

Vilseck (Europe) tried the most of these cases, 10\. Fort Hood and Fort Campbell had 8 each, Camp Humphreys 7, and Fort Benning 5\. Those 5 locations account for 48% of the 80 cases. Larger installations try more cases of every type.

## 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. Assault is not itself a covered offense, but special trial counsel may also take a related assault. When all guilty findings are for offenses after December 27, 2023, the military judge sets the sentence within new sentencing parameters. The records do not give offense dates, so they cannot sort 2025 trials into old-rule and new-rule cases.

The records also do not show the evidence, the plea terms, or conduct handled outside a court-martial.

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 2025 that charged Article 128 (80 cases), compared with all Army cases that year and with 2024.

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)
- [Assault at Army Courts-Martial, 2024: The Year in Numbers](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-128-2024/) (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/)
- [How Army Assault Cases Ended in 2023](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-128-2023/)
- [Air Force Article 128 Cases in 2018](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/air-force-article-128-2018/)
- [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: [Assault at Army Courts-Martial, 2024: The Year in Numbers](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-128-2024/)

**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.