> ## 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. # Army Conspiracy Cases Against NCOs (E-5 to E-9): Outcomes and Sentences - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-81-ncos/ - Published: 2026-10-28T08:18:57.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-28T08:40:02.000Z - Description: From 2021–2025, 26 Army courts-martial charged NCOs (E-5 to E-9) with conspiracy under Article 81. The median confinement after conviction was 3 months, compared with 6 months in all Army Article 81 cases. - Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart - Tags: Understanding Trends, Article 81, Army [Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [By Offense](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/by-offense/) › [Article 81](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-81-courts-martial/) › NCOs (E-5 to E-9) **Short answer:** From 2021–2025, 26 Army courts-martial charged NCOs (E-5 to E-9) with conspiracy under Article 81\. The median confinement after conviction was 3 months, compared with 6 months in all Army Article 81 cases. 18 of 23 convicted NCOs received a punitive discharge, and the share for the offense overall was 82%. Based on 26 cases · 2021–2025 · Army records · data updated October 24, 2026 ## Shorter Confinement for Most Convicted NCOs Confinement was part of 91% of the 23 convictions. The median confinement was 3 months, compared with 6 months across all Army Article 81 cases. A quarter of the sentences were 1 year or longer, and 1 was a life sentence. Sentences under 6 months were 61% of convictions here, compared with 42% for the offense overall. Sentences longer than one year were 3 of 23 convictions (13%), compared with 19% across all Army Article 81 cases. These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each covers every charge in the case. With only 23 convictions, 1 case can change a share by several points. | Adjudged confinement | Convictions | Share here | Share, all Army Article 81 cases | | ------------------------------- | ----------- | ---------- | -------------------------------- | | No confinement | 2 | 9% | 15% | | Under 6 months | 14 | 61% | 42% | | 6 months to 1 year | 4 | 17% | 24% | | More than 1 year, under 5 years | 1 | 4% | 11% | | 5 years or more | 2 | 9% | 8% | ## Punitive Discharges Of 23 convicted enlisted members, 18 received a punitive discharge: 14 bad-conduct discharges and 4 dishonorable discharges. Across all Army Article 81 cases, the share was 82%. Only a general court-martial can impose a dishonorable discharge. A sentence without a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation. These records would not show one. ## Other Charges in the Same Cases Article 81 was the only charge in 3 of 26 cases. The most common other charges were Article 121 (larceny) in 9 cases, Article 92 (orders violation) in 8, Article 112a (drug) in 6, Article 131b (obstruction) in 6, and Article 107 (false official statement) in 5. A conspiracy charge requires an agreement to commit another offense. The other charges give some information about the conduct involved. One sentence covers all of these charges, so the figures above describe whole cases. ## Few Contested Cases Contested cases were 15% of those with a plea recorded: 4 not-guilty or mixed pleas and 22 guilty pleas. Across all Army Article 81 cases, the contested share was 18%. Plea agreements are recorded for 20 of the 22 guilty pleas, and 2 have no entry. The records show only that an agreement existed. There were only 4 contested cases, so this page does not give acquittal rates. 1 verdict would change any percentage a great deal. ## Who Decided Guilt? A judge alone decided 23 cases. Enlisted panels decided 3, and no officer panel decided any case. Members decided 12% of the cases, the same as the 12% in all Army Article 81 cases. The accused usually chooses whether a military judge alone or a panel of members decides guilt. Guilty pleas are almost always decided by a judge. ## Court Level General courts-martial were 77% of these cases (20 of 26). Special courts-martial were the rest. A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence, including long confinement and a dishonorable discharge. A special court-martial can impose no more than one year of confinement, and the most severe discharge it can impose is a bad-conduct discharge. Since 2019, a special court-martial can also be tried by a military judge alone, with confinement limited to six months and no punitive discharge. ## Rank, Years, and Installations Across all Army Article 81 cases, junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) were 65% of the accused. NCOs are therefore the smaller part of the Army's conspiracy cases. The 26 NCO cases were tried from February 2021 through June 2025\. There were 6 in 2021, 10 in 2022, 1 in 2023, 6 in 2024, and 3 in 2025\. The count was 1 in 2023 and higher again in 2024\. Small numbers like these can change a great deal from year to year, and the records do not explain the change. Fort Hood had 5 cases, Fort Stewart and Fort Bragg 4 each, Fort Bliss 3, and Fort Sill 2\. Together they had 69% of the 26\. Counts this small do not show a pattern at any base, and larger installations try more cases of every kind. ## 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 give trial dates, not offense dates. They cannot show which rules applied to the few recent trials. The records do not describe the evidence, the plea terms, or the cases of any co-conspirators. They do not include nonjudicial punishment or administrative separations. Army records are sparse before 2021. Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: [UCMJ change timeline](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/ucmj-change-timeline/). ### How We Counted Army courts-martial tried 2021–2025 that charged NCOs (E-5 to E-9) under Article 81 (26 cases), compared with every Army Article 81 case. 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 81 (Conspiracy): Court-Martial Data and Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-81-courts-martial/) (hub) - [Army Courts-Martial: Data and Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-courts-martial/) (hub) - [Army Conspiracy Cases Against Junior Enlisted (E-1 to E-4): Outcomes and Sentences](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-81-junior-enlisted/) - [Navy-Marine Corps Conspiracy Cases Against Junior Enlisted (E-1 to E-4): Outcomes and Sentences](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-81-junior-enlisted/) - [Navy-Marine Corps Conspiracy Cases Against NCOs (E-5 to E-9): Outcomes and Sentences](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-81-ncos/) - [How Has Article 81 Changed in Army Courts-Martial Since 2021?](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-81-trend-2021-2025/) - [Fewer or More? Conspiracy Charges at Navy-Marine Corps Courts-Martial, 2017–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-81-trend-2017-2025/) - [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.