Army Cases Charging Both Article 128 and Article 92

Trends › By Offense › Article 128 › Army, with Article 92

Based on 89 cases · 2021–2026 · Army records · data updated October 24, 2026

NCOs Outnumbered Junior Enlisted

By rank, 46 accused were NCOs (E-5 to E-9), 40 were junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4), and 3 were officers or warrant officers. In all Army Article 128 cases from 2021 to 2026, 56% of the accused were junior enlisted. This group is more senior.

Article 93 (maltreatment) was charged in 12 of these cases. Other common charges were Article 120 (sexual assault) in 24, Article 134 (general article) in 24, and Article 128b (domestic violence) in 13. An assault count next to sexual assault or domestic violence can describe part of the same incident.

A Longer Median, but Fewer Long Terms

80 cases ended in a conviction on at least one charge, and 67 of those sentences included confinement (84%). The median confinement was 8 months. In all Army Article 128 cases, the median was 6 months.

At the top of the range, this group was close to or below the wider group. 19 of 80 convictions (24%) carried more than one year, compared with 27%. Terms of 5 years or more made up 10%, compared with 9%, and terms of more than 1 year but under 5 years made up 14%, compared with 18%.

The middle band was larger. Terms of 6 months to 1 year made up 21% of convictions, compared with 14%. Terms under 6 months made up 39%, compared with 42%, and no confinement 16%, compared with 17%.

How the Sentences Are Measured

Every figure is an adjudged sentence. It is the sentence announced at trial and comes before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. A sentence covers all charges in the case together.

General courts-martial heard 70 of the 88 cases with a court level listed (80%), and their median confinement was 9 months. The 18 special courts-martial had a median of 4 months. Contested shares were 46% at the general level and 33% at the special level. The court level is not listed for 1 case.

Pleas in These Cases

88 of the 89 records list the plea. Of those, 50 accused pleaded guilty and 38 contested at least one charge. That is 43% contested, against 37% in all Army Article 128 cases. A contested case includes a mixed plea, where the accused admits some charges and denies others.

46 of the 50 guilty pleas are recorded with a plea agreement, and 4 have no entry. What an agreement said is not in the records.

Verdicts in Contested Cases

Of 38 contested cases with a verdict, 9 ended in a full acquittal (24%). The rate in all Army Article 128 cases was 30%. 27 cases (71%) ended in a partial acquittal, with not-guilty findings on at least one charge or specification and guilty findings on another.

The forum is listed for 37 of these decided contested cases. Members acquitted in full in 5 of 21 (24%), and a military judge alone in 3 of 16 (19%). The accused usually chooses the forum, so these groups are not alike.

Military Judge or Members

A military judge alone decided guilt in 66 cases. Enlisted panels heard 20 and officer panels heard 2. Members heard 25% of the cases, compared with 23% in all Army Article 128 cases. Among contested cases, members heard 21 of 37 (57%). Most judge-alone cases are guilty pleas.

Discharges

49 of 77 convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge: 37 bad-conduct and 12 dishonorable. In all Army Article 128 cases, 70% of convicted enlisted members received one. Only a general court-martial can impose a dishonorable discharge.

3 convicted officers or warrant officers appear here, and none was dismissed. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out an administrative separation.

Years and Installations

From January 2021 to June 2026, the cases by year were 29 in 2021, 21 in 2022, 12 in 2023, 14 in 2024, 10 in 2025, and 3 in 2026, a partial year.

Fort Bragg had 11 cases, Joint Base Lewis-McChord 9, Vilseck (Europe) 7, Fort Hood 6, and Fort Campbell 6. These five account for 44% of the 89 cases. Larger installations try more cases of every kind, so these counts do not by themselves point to a problem at any base.

Outside the Records

Offense dates are not in the records, only trial dates. So it is not possible to tell which trials from 2024 on fell under the special trial counsel system that began December 28, 2023, or under the new sentencing parameters for offenses after December 27, 2023. Article 128 assault is not itself a covered offense.

The evidence, plea terms, nonjudicial punishment, and administrative separations are also missing. Army records in this data are sparse before 2021.

For what the offense covers and how it is defended, see Article 128 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.