Junior Enlisted (E-1 to E-4) Charged Under Article 128 in the Army

Trends › By Offense › Article 128 › Junior Enlisted (E-1 to E-4)

Based on 361 cases · 2021–2025 · Army records · data updated October 24, 2026

Fewer Cases Each Year

The 361 cases were tried from January 2021 to December 2025, and the yearly count was lower each year: 120 in 2021, 72 in 2022, 68 in 2023, 60 in 2024, and 41 in 2025. The records show the change but not the reason for it.

The comparison group throughout is all Army Article 128 cases in the same years, where 56% of the accused were junior enlisted.

More Punitive Discharges

258 of 331 convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge (78%): 202 bad-conduct and 56 dishonorable. That share is higher than the 70% in all Army Article 128 cases.

A punitive discharge for an enlisted member is either a bad-conduct or a dishonorable discharge. A sentence with neither does not rule out a later administrative separation.

Guilty Pleas and Contested Cases

360 of 361 records list the plea. 107 cases were contested, meaning a not-guilty or mixed plea to at least one charge, and 253 were guilty pleas. The contested share was 30%, compared with 38% in all Army Article 128 cases.

239 of the 253 guilty pleas are recorded with a plea agreement, and 14 have no entry. Army records show that an agreement existed, not what it said.

Members Acquitted More Often Than Judges

28% of the 107 contested cases that reached a verdict ended in a full acquittal, close to the 30% in all Army Article 128 cases. 60 ended in a partial acquittal: not guilty of at least one charge or specification and guilty of another. Army results record findings charge by charge.

Contested cases heard by members ended in a full acquittal 35% of the time (24 of 68). Contested cases heard by a military judge alone ended in a full acquittal 11% of the time (4 of 37). These 105 cases are the decided contested cases with the forum listed. The accused usually chooses the forum, so the cases each one heard are not alike. The records do not show that the forum caused the difference.

Who Decided the Cases?

A military judge alone decided 288 cases. Enlisted panels heard 68 and officer panels 3. Members heard 20% of the cases, compared with 24% in all Army Article 128 cases. Among contested cases, members heard 68 of 105 (65%). Most judge-alone cases are guilty pleas.

How Much Confinement?

288 of 331 convictions included confinement. The median confinement was 5 months, the same as for all Army Article 128 cases. A quarter of the sentences were 1.5 years or longer. 94 of 331 convictions (28%) were sentenced to more than one year, about the same as the 26% in all Army Article 128 cases.

At the 276 general courts-martial, the median confinement was 10 months, and 33% of cases were contested. At the 77 special courts-martial, the median confinement was 3 months, and 16% were contested. The court level is not listed for 8 cases. General courts-martial were 78% of the 353 cases with a court level listed, compared with 80% in all Army Article 128 cases. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge.

All sentence figures are adjudged at trial, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal, and cover every charge in the case.

Other Charges in the Same Cases

100 of the 361 cases charged Article 128 by itself. The most common other charges were Article 120 (sexual assault) in 93, Article 134 (general article) in 56, Article 90 (disobeying an officer) in 42, Article 92 (orders violation) in 40, and Article 128b (domestic violence) in 35. 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.

Installations With the Most Cases

Fort Campbell tried 40 of these cases, Fort Hood 33, Fort Bliss 29, Joint Base Lewis-McChord 27, and Fort Bragg 25. Together they account for 43% of the 361 cases. Larger installations try more cases of every type, so a high count alone does not mean a base has a problem with this offense.

Rule Changes and What the Records Do Not Show

Article 128 assault is not itself a covered offense, but since December 28, 2023, a special trial counsel who takes a covered offense such as domestic violence can also take a related assault. New sentencing parameters apply when every guilty finding is for an offense after December 27, 2023. The records list trial dates, not offense dates, so the 2024 and 2025 trials include cases under both sets of rules.

Cases resolved by nonjudicial punishment, administrative separation, or no action are not in these records. The records also do not show the evidence or the plea terms.

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.