Fewer or More? Desertion Charges at Army Courts-Martial, 2021–2025

Trends › By Offense › Article 85 › Army

Based on 46 cases · 2021–2025 · Army records · data updated October 24, 2026

Short Confinement and Frequent Discharges

All 46 cases ended in a conviction on at least one charge, and 40 of those sentences included confinement (87%). The median confinement was 3 months, shorter than the 6-month median across all Army cases.

Of 45 convicted enlisted members, 41 received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge (91%). Of those, 6 were dishonorable. Across the Army, the share was 73%. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation. The 1 convicted officer or warrant officer was not dismissed.

Sentence Lengths

Terms under 6 months made up 61% of convictions, compared with 39% across the Army. A quarter of sentences were 6 months or longer. Sentences longer than one year were adjudged in 6 of 46 convictions (13%), compared with 28% Army-wide. Of those, 4 were 5 years or more, including 1 life sentence.

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

Almost All Guilty Pleas

A contested case is one where the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge. Only 4 cases here were contested, and 42 were guilty pleas. Army records show whether a plea agreement existed, not what it said. Of the 42 guilty pleas, 40 are recorded with one.

Members heard 2% of the cases with the forum listed, all in 1 enlisted panel. A military judge alone decided the other 45. The accused usually chooses the forum, and most guilty pleas go to a judge alone.

Special Courts-Martial Heard Most Cases

Special courts-martial heard 27 cases. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge. General courts-martial, which can impose any lawful sentence, heard 18 cases (39%). The court level is not listed for 1 case.

The median confinement was 6 months at general courts-martial and 2 months at special courts-martial. Of the general court-martial cases, 22% were contested. None of the special court-martial cases were contested.

Desertion Was Often the Only Charge

Article 85 was the only charge in 22 of the 46 cases. When other charges were filed, the most common was Article 86 (AWOL), in 12 cases. Article 90 (disobeying an officer) appeared in 6 cases, Article 112a (drug) in 5, and Article 92 (orders violation) and Article 128 (assault) in 4 each.

The records do not divide a sentence among the charges. In cases with other charges, the sentences described above cover those charges as well as the desertion charge.

Cases by Year

The cases were tried from February 2021 through April 2025. There were 9 in 2021, 11 in 2022, 13 in 2023, 10 in 2024, and 3 in 2025. The 46 cases are 2% of the 2,422 Army courts-martial in those years.

Convictions that included desertion peaked at 12 in 2023, or 3% of Army convictions with offenses listed. Desertion was part of 19 of 891 convictions (2%) in 2021–2022 and 13 of 816 (2%) in 2024–2025, about the same share.

Rank and Installations

Of the accused, 39 were junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4), 6 were NCOs (E-5 to E-9), and 1 was an officer or warrant officer. Across the Army, junior enlisted members were 55% of the accused. This group was more junior.

Fort Bliss had the most cases, with 8. Fort Campbell had 7, Fort Bragg and Fort Hood 6 each, and Joint Base Lewis-McChord 4. Those five installations had 67% of the 46 cases. Larger installations try more cases of every kind, so a high count alone does not mean a base has a problem with desertion.

Limits of These Numbers

Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel decide whether to prosecute covered offenses such as sexual assault, domestic violence, and murder. For offenses after December 27, 2023, the military judge sets sentences within new parameters. The records list trial dates, not offense dates, so trials from 2024 on include cases under both sets of rules. Army records in this data are sparse before 2021, after Article 140a required the services to begin publishing trial records by December 2020.

The records do not show the evidence, the plea terms, or any absence handled without a court-martial, such as through nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation.

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.