Army General Article Cases Against NCOs (E-5 to E-9): Outcomes and Sentences

Trends › By Offense › Article 134 › NCOs (E-5 to E-9)

Based on 198 cases · 2021–2025 · Army records · data updated October 24, 2026

Fewer Punitive Discharges and Shorter Confinement

A punitive discharge followed 62% of enlisted convictions in this group. That is lower than the 78% across all Army Article 134 cases. There were 72 bad-conduct discharges and 42 dishonorable discharges.

Confinement was part of 85% of the 185 convictions. The median confinement was 8 months, compared with 1 year for the article overall. A quarter of the sentences were 2.2 years or longer.

A conviction without a punitive discharge can still lead to a later administrative separation.

Confinement by Length

Sentences longer than one year were 65 of 185 convictions (35%), compared with 42% across the article. Sentences under 6 months were 36% of convictions here, compared with 26%. Sentences of more than 1 year and under 5 years were 24%, compared with 32%.

These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each covers every charge in the case.

General and Special Courts-Martial

148 of the 194 cases with a court level listed were general courts-martial (76%, compared with 84% in all Army Article 134 cases). At general courts-martial, the median confinement was 1.2 years, and 36% of cases were contested. At the 46 special courts-martial, the median was 2 months, and 17% were contested. The court level is not listed for 4 cases.

A special court-martial can impose no more than one year of confinement and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge. This group had a larger share of special courts-martial and a shorter median confinement. The records cannot show whether one caused the other.

Guilty Pleas and Plea Agreements

There were 136 guilty pleas and 62 contested cases. A case is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. The contested share of 31% is higher than the 26% for the article overall.

Plea agreements are recorded for 131 of the 136 guilty pleas, and 5 have no entry. The records show whether an agreement existed, not its terms. Any sentence limits in an agreement are not shown.

Verdicts and Forum

Of 62 contested cases that reached a verdict, 13 ended in a full acquittal (21%). That is lower than the 24% across all Army Article 134 cases. Another 35 ended in a partial acquittal: not guilty of at least one charge or specification and guilty of another.

In contested cases, members acquitted in full 24% of the time and military judges 12% of the time. These 61 cases are the contested cases that reached a verdict and have the forum listed. The accused usually chooses the forum, so the cases are different. The records do not show that the forum caused the difference.

Members decided 19% of cases with the forum listed: 36 by enlisted panels and 2 by officer panels. A judge alone decided 159. Members decided 37 of 61 contested cases (61%).

Other Charges in the Same Cases

In 139 of the 198 cases, at least 1 other article was charged. The most common were Article 128 (assault) in 60 cases, Article 92 (orders violation) in 44, Article 120 (sexual assault) in 31, Article 128b (domestic violence) in 19, and Article 107 (false official statement) in 18.

Article 134 includes many separate offenses under one article number. Each sentence here covers every charge in the case, not only the Article 134 specification.

Years, Installations, and Rank

The 198 cases were tried from January 2021 to December 2025. There were 48 in 2021, 34 in 2022, 42 in 2023, 36 in 2024, and 38 in 2025. After 2021, the yearly counts stayed between 34 and 42.

Fort Bragg had 20 cases, Fort Hood 17, Joint Base Lewis-McChord 15, Wheeler Army Airfield 12, and Fort Benning 11. Together they had 38% of the 198. Larger installations try more cases of every kind, so a high count alone does not show a problem at any one base.

NCOs were 100% of the accused in this group. Across all Army Article 134 cases, junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) were 53% of the accused.

What the Records Do Not Show

Since December 28, 2023, a military judge sets the sentence within new sentencing parameters when every guilty finding is for an offense after December 27, 2023. The records have trial dates, not offense dates. Recent trials under the new rules therefore cannot be separated from those under the old rules.

The records do not include the evidence, the plea terms, or matters handled by nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation.

For what the offense covers and how it is defended, see Article 134 on the law firm's website. Dates and sources for the law changes: UCMJ change timeline.

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.