> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.bodiesburied.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # When Army Accused Plead Guilty to Attempt - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-80-plea-2021-2025/ - Published: 2026-10-28T08:06:05.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-30T05:12:54.000Z - Description: Army records include 118 guilty-plea courts-martial from 2021–2025 with an attempt charge under Article 80. The median adjudged confinement was 1 year, compared with 5 months for all Army guilty pleas. - Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart - Tags: Understanding Trends, Article 80, Army [Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [By Offense](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/by-offense/) › [Article 80](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-80-courts-martial/) › When Army Accused Plead Guilty to Attemp **Short answer:** Army records include 118 guilty-plea courts-martial from 2021–2025 with an attempt charge under Article 80\. The median adjudged confinement was 1 year, compared with 5 months for all Army guilty pleas. 92% of convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge, compared with 75% across Army guilty pleas. Based on 118 cases · 2021–2025 · Army records · data updated October 24, 2026 ## Longer Confinement Than Other Guilty Pleas Article 80 makes it a crime to attempt another offense under the code, so the underlying offense differs from case to case. In this group of guilty pleas, sentences were longer than for Army guilty pleas overall. Of 118 convictions, 110 included confinement (93%). The median confinement was 1 year, compared with 5 months across all Army guilty pleas in those years. A quarter of the sentences were 2 years or longer, and 1 was a life sentence. These are adjudged sentences, announced at trial before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each covers every charge in the case. ## Confinement by Length Sentences longer than one year were 50 of 118 convictions (42%), compared with 24% across Army guilty pleas. Sentences of more than 1 year and under 5 years were 29% here, compared with 17%. Sentences of 5 years or more were 14%, compared with 6%. 39 convictions (33%) were under 6 months, compared with 44% Army-wide. 8 (7%) had no confinement, compared with 14%. Sentences of 6 months to 1 year were 18% in both groups. | Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, all Army guilty pleas in those years | | ------------------------------- | ----------- | ---------- | ------------------------------------------- | | No confinement | 8 | 7% | 14% | | Under 6 months | 39 | 33% | 44% | | 6 months to 1 year | 21 | 18% | 18% | | More than 1 year, under 5 years | 34 | 29% | 17% | | 5 years or more | 16 | 14% | 6% | ## Other Charges in the Same Cases In 82 of the 118 cases, at least 1 other article was charged. Article 134 (the general article) was the most common, in 33 cases. Next were Article 128 (assault) in 17, Article 121 (larceny) in 15, Article 120b (child sexual abuse) in 13, and Article 81 (conspiracy) in 10. A sentence covers all charges together. Cases that combined an attempt with child sexual abuse or another serious charge count their full sentences in these figures. The records do not show which offense accounted for any one sentence. ## Most Cases Were General Courts-Martial General courts-martial decided 95 of the 118 cases (81%). A general court-martial can impose long confinement and a dishonorable discharge. Special courts-martial decided 23. The median confinement was 1.2 years at general courts-martial and 4 months at special courts-martial. A special court-martial cannot adjudge more than one year of confinement or a dishonorable discharge. ## Punitive Discharges Of 113 convicted enlisted members, 104 received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge (92%). Of those, 41 were dishonorable discharges. Across all Army guilty pleas, the share was 75%. There were 5 convicted officers or warrant officers, and 3 were sentenced to dismissal, the officer equivalent of a punitive discharge. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation. ## Rank, Forum, and Plea Agreements The accused were 77 junior enlisted members, 36 NCOs, and 5 officers. That group is more junior than all Army guilty pleas in those years. A military judge alone decided 117 cases, and an enlisted panel decided 1\. Members decided 1% of cases, compared with 0% across Army guilty pleas. Plea agreements are recorded for 106 of the 118 guilty pleas, and 12 have no entry. The records show whether an agreement existed, not its terms. ## Years and Installations The cases were tried from January 2021 through November 2025\. There were 28 in 2021, 19 in 2022, 24 in 2023, 23 in 2024, and 24 in 2025. Wheeler Army Airfield had the most cases, with 16\. Next were Fort Hood (15), Joint Base Lewis-McChord (14), Fort Stewart (8), and Fort Bragg (7). Together these five had 51% of the total. Larger installations try more cases of every kind, so a high count alone does not show a problem at any one base. ## Rule Changes in December 2023 Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel, not commanders, decide whether to prosecute covered offenses such as sexual assault, domestic violence, and murder. When every guilty finding is for an offense after December 27, 2023, the military judge sets the sentence within new sentencing parameters. The records give trial dates, not offense dates. Trials from 2024 on therefore include cases under both sets of rules, and the records cannot show whether the changes affected results. The services were required to begin publishing trial records under Article 140a by December 2020, and Army records are sparse before 2021. ## What the Records Do Not Show The records do not identify the attempted offense beyond the list of charges. They do not include the evidence or the plea terms. Cases resolved through nonjudicial punishment, administrative separation, or no action are not included. For what the offense covers and how it is defended, see [Article 80 on the law firm's website](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-80/?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 tried 2021–2025: where the accused pleaded guilty to charges including Article 80 (attempt) (118 cases), compared with all Army guilty pleas in those years. 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 80 (Attempts): Court-Martial Data and Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-80-courts-martial/) (hub) - [Sentences](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/sentences/) (hub) - [Army Article 80 Cases by the Numbers, 2021–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-80-trend-2021-2025/) - [What Sentence Follows an Army Attempt Conviction?](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-80-sent-2021-2025/) - [How Often Are Contested Army Article 80 Cases Acquitted?](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-80-acq-2021-2025/) - [Pleading Guilty to Article 80 in the Navy-Marine Corps: What Sentences Followed?](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-80-plea-2017-2025/) (another service) - [Guilty Pleas in Army Child Endangerment Cases: How Often, and What Came Next](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-119b-plea-2021-2025/) - [Guilty Pleas in Army Communicating Threats Cases: How Often, and What Came Next](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-115-plea-2021-2025/) - [Article 80 explained on the law firm's website](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/practice-areas/court-martial/article-80/?ref=bodiesburied.com) - [Search every case in Military Trial Results](https://www.bodiesburied.com/military-trial-results/) (members) **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.