Conspiracy at Army Courts-Martial, 2022: The Year in Numbers

Trends › By Offense › Article 81 › Army, 2022

Based on 33 cases · 2022 · Army records · data updated October 24, 2026

Changes From 2021

There were 21 conspiracy cases in 2021 and 33 in 2022. The contested share was 10% in 2021 and 22% in 2022. The median confinement was 11 months in 2021 and 6 months in 2022.

Other figures changed less. Punitive discharges for convicted enlisted members were 80% in 2021 and 77% in 2022. The share of convictions with confinement was 90% in 2021 and 88% in 2022. General courts-martial were 81% of the 2021 cases and 73% of the 2022 cases.

With groups this small, a few cases can change any of these figures. The changes show direction more than exact size.

Most Cases Were Guilty Pleas

Of the 33 cases, 32 have a plea recorded. Of those, 25 were guilty pleas and 7 were not-guilty or mixed pleas. A case is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge, so mixed pleas count as contested.

The contested share was 22%, lower than the 36% for all Army cases in 2022.

Plea agreements are recorded for 23 of the 25 guilty pleas, and 2 have no entry. The records show only whether an agreement existed, not its terms.

Of the 7 contested cases that reached a verdict in 2022, 1 ended in a full acquittal. In 2021, 0 of the 2 contested cases that reached a verdict did.

Other Charges in the Same Cases

Article 81 was the only charge in 2 of the 33 cases. A conspiracy charge requires an agreement to commit some other offense. The other charges show which offenses were involved.

Article 112a (drug) was charged in 12 cases. Article 121 (larceny), Article 107 (false official statement), Article 131b (obstruction), and Article 92 (orders violation) were each charged in 9.

Each sentence covers every charge in the case. The sentences below therefore cover all of the offenses, not the conspiracy charge alone.

Confinement After Conviction

There were 32 convictions, and 28 of them included confinement. The median confinement was 6 months, the same as the 6 months for all Army cases in 2022.

These are adjudged sentences: the sentences announced at trial, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal.

Fewer Sentences Longer Than One Year

Sentences longer than one year were less common here. Only 6 of 32 convictions (19%) were longer than one year, compared with 27% Army-wide.

Sentences of 6 months to 1 year were more common: 9 convictions (28%), compared with 16% for the Army as a whole. Sentences under 6 months were the most common length, with 13 convictions (41%), the same share as across the Army.

3 convictions were 5 years or more, and 4 had no confinement. Only a general court-martial can adjudge more than one year of confinement. A special court-martial can impose no more than one year.

Discharges and Dismissals

For an enlisted member, a punitive discharge is a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge. The officer equivalent is a dismissal.

Of 30 convicted enlisted members, 23 received a punitive discharge: 18 bad-conduct discharges and 5 dishonorable discharges. The share of 77% was about the same as the 76% across all Army cases in 2022.

The group includes 2 convicted officers or warrant officers, and 1 was sentenced to dismissal. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation. These records do not cover administrative separations.

Rank, Court Level, and Forum

The accused were 21 junior enlisted members, 10 NCOs, and 2 officers. That group is more junior than all Army cases in 2022.

General courts-martial decided 24 of the 33 cases (73%). A general court-martial can impose long confinement and a dishonorable discharge. Special courts-martial decided the rest.

A military judge alone decided 30 cases, and enlisted panels decided 3. No officer panel decided any case. Members decided 9% of these cases, compared with 20% Army-wide. The accused usually chooses between a judge and members, and most cases here were guilty pleas decided by a judge alone.

Installations With the Most Cases

Fort Bragg and Fort Hood had 6 cases each. Fort Leonard Wood and Fort Bliss had 3 each, and Fort Knox had 2. Together these five installations account for 61% of the 33 cases.

Larger installations try more cases of every kind, so a high count alone does not show a problem at any one base.

What the Records Do Not Show

The trial records list charges, pleas, findings, and sentences. They do not show when the conduct happened, the evidence, or the terms of a plea agreement. They do not include matters resolved through nonjudicial punishment or administrative action.

Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: 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.