What Happens to Army NCOs (E-5 to E-9) Facing Attempt Charges?

Trends › By Offense › Article 80 › NCOs (E-5 to E-9)

Based on 67 cases · 2021–2025 · Army records · data updated October 24, 2026

More Contested Cases

There were 36 guilty pleas and 31 contested cases. A case is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge, either as a not-guilty plea or a mixed plea. The contested share of 46% is higher than the 34% across all Army Article 80 cases.

Plea agreements are recorded for 34 of the 36 guilty pleas, and 2 have no entry. The records show whether there was an agreement but not its terms.

Results in Contested Cases

Of 31 contested cases that reached a verdict, 10 ended in a full acquittal (32%). That is higher than the 26% for the offense overall.

Another 14 (45%) ended in a partial acquittal. In a partial acquittal, the accused is found not guilty of at least one charge or specification but guilty of another. Army results list findings charge by charge.

Full acquittals were 4 of 17 contested cases decided by members (24%) and 2 of 10 contested cases decided by a judge alone (20%). These 27 cases are the contested cases that reached a verdict and have the forum listed. The counts are small. The accused usually chooses the forum, so the records cannot show whether the forum affected the result.

Who Decided Guilt?

Members decided 27% of cases with the forum listed: 15 by enlisted panels and 2 by officer panels. A judge alone decided the other 46.

In contested cases, members decided 17 of 27 (63%). Guilty pleas were almost all decided by a military judge alone.

Confinement About the Same as for the Offense Overall

Of 57 convictions, 53 included confinement. The median confinement was 1.2 years, the same as the 1.2 years for all Army Article 80 cases. A quarter of the sentences were 2.5 years or longer. 2 were life sentences.

Sentences longer than one year were 29 of 57 convictions (51%), about the same as the 48% across the offense. The share for each sentence length is within a few points of the share for the offense overall.

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

Fewer Punitive Discharges

Of 57 convicted enlisted members, 47 received a punitive discharge: 27 bad-conduct discharges and 20 dishonorable discharges. The share across all Army Article 80 cases was 90%, which is higher.

For an enlisted member, a punitive discharge is a bad-conduct discharge or a dishonorable discharge. A sentence without one does not rule out a later administrative separation.

General and Special Courts-Martial

There were 55 general courts-martial and 12 special courts-martial. The general court-martial share of 82% compares with 87% in all Army Article 80 cases.

At general courts-martial, 96% of convictions included confinement, and the median was 1.5 years. At special courts-martial, 82% did, and the median was 2 months.

A special court-martial can impose no more than one year of confinement and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge. A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence.

Other Charges in the Same Cases

Article 80 was the only charge in 17 of 67 cases. The most common other charges were Article 128 (assault) in 15 cases, Article 134 (general article) in 14, Article 120 (sexual assault) in 13, Article 92 (orders violation) in 8, and Article 120c (indecent recording and exposure) in 8.

Each sentence covers all of the charges together. The longest sentences therefore cannot be tied to the attempt charge alone. The records do not divide a sentence among the charges.

Rank, Years, and Installations

NCOs were all 67 of the accused in this group. Across all Army Article 80 cases, 55% of the accused were junior enlisted, so this group is the more senior part of the caseload.

The 67 cases were tried between January 2021 and November 2025. There were 17 in 2021, 10 in 2022, 13 in 2023, 14 in 2024, and 13 in 2025.

Wheeler Army Airfield had 10 cases, Joint Base Lewis-McChord 8, Fort Bragg and Fort Hood 7 each, and Fort Carson 5. Together they had 55% of the 67. Larger installations try more cases of every kind, so these counts mostly follow installation size.

What the Records Do Not Show

Since December 28, 2023, new sentencing parameters apply when every guilty finding is for an offense after December 27, 2023. The records list trial dates, not offense dates. Trials from 2024 on therefore include cases under both sets of rules.

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

For what the offense covers and how it is defended, see Article 80 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.